I Feel A Song
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Album Summary
Released in 1974 on Buddah Records, "I Feel A Song" stands as one of the crown jewels in the Gladys Knight And The Pips catalog — a record that caught the group right in the sweet spot of their commercial and artistic powers. Produced by Curtis Mayfield, the man whose pen and vision had already shaped so much of what made Black music transcendent in the early seventies, the album moves with the kind of grace and fire that only a group as seasoned and soulful as Knight and The Pips could deliver. Mayfield's arrangements wrapped Knight's volcanic voice in lush, rhythmically sophisticated soul-funk textures, while The Pips brought their impeccable harmonies to every corner of the record. This was not a group chasing a trend — this was a group setting the temperature for what sophisticated R&B could and should sound like in the mid-seventies.
Reception
- The album performed strongly on both the Billboard 200 and the R&B charts during the 1974-1975 chart cycle, affirming the group's commercial dominance during this period.
- Critics embraced "I Feel A Song" as a vibrant and cohesive collection, praising the chemistry between Gladys Knight's vocal power and Curtis Mayfield's production sensibility as a natural and inspired pairing.
Significance
- "I Feel A Song" is a landmark document of the sophisticated soul-funk crossover sound that defined mid-seventies R&B — music that could move your body and your spirit at the same time, and never once talked down to its audience.
- The Curtis Mayfield production throughout this album reflects his signature philosophy: rhythmically alive, harmonically rich, and always rooted in a deep respect for the emotional intelligence of Black musical tradition.
- The album captures Gladys Knight And The Pips at a moment of remarkable artistic confidence, with tracks like "The Need To Be" and "Don't Burn Down The Bridge" showcasing the full range of the group's expressive gifts — from tender vulnerability to full-throated soul power.
Tracklist
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A1 I Feel A Song (In My Heart) —
2:48
-
A2 Love Finds Its Own Way —
3:56
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A3 Seconds —
3:48
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A4 The Going Ups And The Coming Downs —
3:35
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A5 Try To Remember / The Way We Were —
4:30
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B1 Better You Go Your Way —
4:15
-
B2 Don't Burn Down The Bridge —
4:47
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B3 The Need To Be —
4:07
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B4 Tenderness Is His Way —
2:58
Artist Details
Gladys Knight And The Pips were a soul and rhythm and blues group out of Atlanta, Georgia, who came together in the late 1950s as a family act — with Gladys Knight leading her brother, sister, and two cousins through harmonies so tight they could make the midnight air stand still. Through the 1960s and into the 1970s, they delivered stone cold classics like "Midnight Train to Georgia" and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," cementing their place as one of the greatest vocal groups to ever grace the American music landscape, with Gladys's raw, gospel-drenched voice carrying enough emotion to shake the soul right out of a person. Their legacy runs deep as a Southern river, bridging the gap between gospel roots and mainstream soul, and standing as a towering testament to the power of family, harmony, and Black musical tradition in America.
