Even Stevens (album)
Encyclopedia
Even Stevens was Ray Stevens
' third studio album, released in 1968
. It was also his first album for Monument Records
as well as his first studio album in five years, though he previously released four singles for Monument, starting with "ABC" in 1965
. Before the release of this album, Stevens concentrated on writing and producing songs for other artists.
Despite the album's joking title, it is considered by all media as his first "serious" album, as there are no songs on the album that are in the genres of novelty or comedy
. But Stevens never strays away from humor on the album, as evidenced in the songs "The Minority," a re-recorded version of "Funny Man," "Say Cheese," "Mr. Businessman," "Unwind," and "The Great Escape" (the last two of which humorously describe the everyday routines of a working middle-class man). With the exception of the eighth track, "The Earl of Stilton Square," all the material was written by Stevens himself, though he shares credit with another songwriter for the fourth track, "Say Cheese." Stevens successfully proves his artistic versatility throughout the album, notably with touching performances of his self-penned ballads "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" (which describes the celebration of an upcoming wedding between a man's best friend and his old flame), "Say Cheese" (which describes hiding emotional pain after a breakup), the haunting, mind-boggling "Isn't It Lonely Together," and "Face the Music." Despite not charting on the Billboard 200, the album received an overall of positive reviews from critics and fans alike.
On an interesting side note, Bobby Vinton
recorded the song "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" for his album Bobby Vinton Sings the Newest Hits
, which was released a year before this album; while "Isn't It Lonely Together" became a minor hit for former R&B singer Robert Knight
during the same year of the release of this album.
The back of the album's cover contains an essay by songwriter Tupper Saussy
that describes his experiences with working with Stevens and the making of the album (which was released a few months after the single "Unwind"). Saussy also mentions in the essay that he and Stevens worked on a song for the album entitled "Keep out of Reach of Children," which ended up unfinished and describes this particular song as "a song that would admonish adults to remove their sophisticated anxieties-over-nothing from their youngsters so as not to contaminate them with needless complexities."
Aside from the song "Unwind" (a Top 40 Canadian Pop hit that was issued on the album after its initial release), two singles were lifted from the album: "Mr. Businessman" (the only one to make the Top 40 on the American Pop charts) and "The Great Escape."
On October 8, 1996
, Varèse Sarabande
rereleased this album on CD and included four bonus tracks, the last of which was the single version of Stevens' hit "Mr. Businessman."
Ray Stevens
Ray Stevens is an American country music, pop singer-songwriter who has become known for his novelty songs.-Early career:...
' third studio album, released in 1968
1968 in music
-Events:*January 4 – Guitarist Jimi Hendrix is jailed by Stockholm police, after trashing a hotel room during a drunken fist fight with bassist Noel Redding.*January 6 – Gibson Guitar Corporation patents its Gibson Flying V electric guitar design....
. It was also his first album for Monument Records
Monument Records
Monument Records was an American record label, Washington, D.C. named for the Washington Monument, founded in 1958, by Fred Foster and Buddy Deane . Buddy Deane soon left the company, and in the early 60's bought KOTN in Pine Bluff, Arkansas where he retired to until his death...
as well as his first studio album in five years, though he previously released four singles for Monument, starting with "ABC" in 1965
1965 in music
-Events:*January 4 – Fender Musical Instruments Corporation is sold to CBS for $13 million.*January 12 – Hullabaloo premieres on NBC. The first show included performances by The New Christy Minstrels, comedian Woody Allen, actress Joey Heatherton and a segment from London in which Brian Epstein...
. Before the release of this album, Stevens concentrated on writing and producing songs for other artists.
Despite the album's joking title, it is considered by all media as his first "serious" album, as there are no songs on the album that are in the genres of novelty or comedy
Comedy music
Comedy music is music that is comedic or humorous in nature, encompassing a wide variety of music genres. Popular types of comedy music include parody music, novelty songs, comedy rock and comedy hip hop.- Notable comedy musicians :...
. But Stevens never strays away from humor on the album, as evidenced in the songs "The Minority," a re-recorded version of "Funny Man," "Say Cheese," "Mr. Businessman," "Unwind," and "The Great Escape" (the last two of which humorously describe the everyday routines of a working middle-class man). With the exception of the eighth track, "The Earl of Stilton Square," all the material was written by Stevens himself, though he shares credit with another songwriter for the fourth track, "Say Cheese." Stevens successfully proves his artistic versatility throughout the album, notably with touching performances of his self-penned ballads "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" (which describes the celebration of an upcoming wedding between a man's best friend and his old flame), "Say Cheese" (which describes hiding emotional pain after a breakup), the haunting, mind-boggling "Isn't It Lonely Together," and "Face the Music." Despite not charting on the Billboard 200, the album received an overall of positive reviews from critics and fans alike.
On an interesting side note, Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton is an American pop music singer of Polish origin. In pop music circles, he became known as "The Polish Prince".-Early life:...
recorded the song "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" for his album Bobby Vinton Sings the Newest Hits
Bobby Vinton Sings the Newest Hits
Bobby Vinton Sings the Newest Hits was Bobby Vinton's fifteenth studio album, released in 1967.Primarily a cover album, this album contains various songs from past years, especially movie themes. Cover songs include "Call Me" and "The End of the World"...
, which was released a year before this album; while "Isn't It Lonely Together" became a minor hit for former R&B singer Robert Knight
Robert Knight (musician)
Robert Knight is an American singer best known for the 1967 recording of the song "Everlasting Love".-Career:Born in Franklin, Tennessee, Knight made his professional vocal debut with the Paramounts, a harmony quintet consisting of schoolfriends...
during the same year of the release of this album.
The back of the album's cover contains an essay by songwriter Tupper Saussy
Tupper Saussy
Frederick Tupper Saussy III was an American composer, musician, author, and artist. He was born in Statesboro, Georgia; grew up in Tampa, Florida; and graduated from the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee, in 1958. His jazz combo there put out a university-subsidized album, Jazz at...
that describes his experiences with working with Stevens and the making of the album (which was released a few months after the single "Unwind"). Saussy also mentions in the essay that he and Stevens worked on a song for the album entitled "Keep out of Reach of Children," which ended up unfinished and describes this particular song as "a song that would admonish adults to remove their sophisticated anxieties-over-nothing from their youngsters so as not to contaminate them with needless complexities."
Aside from the song "Unwind" (a Top 40 Canadian Pop hit that was issued on the album after its initial release), two singles were lifted from the album: "Mr. Businessman" (the only one to make the Top 40 on the American Pop charts) and "The Great Escape."
On October 8, 1996
1996 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1996.-January:* January – At the trial of two American teenagers, Nicholaus McDonald and Brian Bassett, for the murder of Bassett's parents and young brother, defense lawyers attempt to lay the blame for the murders on the fact...
, Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums as well as newer releases by artists no longer under a contract...
rereleased this album on CD and included four bonus tracks, the last of which was the single version of Stevens' hit "Mr. Businessman."
Track listing
CD bonus tracks- "Party People" - (Joe SouthJoe SouthJoe South is a multi-talented American singer-songwriter and guitarist.-Career:...
) - "Devil May Care" - (Joe SouthJoe SouthJoe South is a multi-talented American singer-songwriter and guitarist.-Career:...
) - "Answer Me, My Love" - (Fred Rauch, Carl SigmanCarl SigmanCarl Sigman was an American songwriter.-Biography:Born in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York, Sigman graduated from law school and passed his Bar exams to practice in the state of New York...
, Gerard Winkler) - "Mr. Businessman" (single version) - (Ray StevensRay StevensRay Stevens is an American country music, pop singer-songwriter who has become known for his novelty songs.-Early career:...
)
Album credits
- Produced by: Fred Foster and Ray Stevens
- Engineer: Charlie Tallent
- Production and engineer assistance: Jim Malloy
- Recorded at Bradley's Barn
- Photography and art direction: Ken Kim
- "The Earl of Stilton Square" was written, arranged and conducted by: Tupper Saussy
- "Face the Music" was arranged and conducted by: Louis Nunley
- All other songs were written, arranged and conducted by: Ray Stevens
Charts
Singles - Billboard (North America)| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | "Unwind" | Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
52 |
| 1968 | "Unwind" | Canadian Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
29 |
| 1968 | "Mr. Businessman" | Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
28 |
| 1968 | "Mr. Businessman" | Canadian Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
7 |
| 1968 | "The Great Escape" | Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles The Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It lists the top 25 singles below number 100 that have not yet charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Sometimes, however, singles halt their progress on this chart, and never appear on the Hot 100... |
114 |
| 1968 | "The Great Escape" | Canadian Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
43 |