Black Magic is a 1972 soul album released by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas on the Gordy (Motown) label. It is the last studio album issued by the group after ten years with the label. The album is significant for featuring the group's biggest hit of the decade with the Jackson 5-esque "Bless You". The track returned the Vandellas to chart success briefly in the US reaching number fifty-three pop, number twenty-nine R&B and reaching number thirty-three on the UK pop singles chart. It was also a top twenty hit in Canada reaching number sixteen on the chart, and a top ten single in Puerto Rico, where it reached the number two position. Two other subsequent singles, "In and Out of My Life" and "Tear It on Down", were the trio's last Billboard charted hits reaching the top 40 on the R&B charts. "No One There" was released in the UK as a solo single for lead singer Martha Reeves.
| Black Magic | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 3, 1972 | |||
| Recorded | 1971 | |||
| Genre | Soul | |||
| Length | 35:53 | |||
| Label | Gordy | |||
| Producer | Johnny Bristol The Corporation Hank Cosby Jimmy Roach Ashford & Simpson Lawrence Brown & George Gordy | |||
| Martha Reeves & the Vandellas chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Black Magic | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Rolling Stone | (mixed) [1] |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [2] |
After this album, the trio disbanded that December ending the group's ten-year tenure together. Reeves later recalled that many of the tracks on the album were originally assigned to Diana Ross before being reassigned to the group.
Track listing edit
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "No One There" |
| 3:32 |
| 2. | "Your Love Makes It All Worthwhile" | 3:24 | |
| 3. | "Something" (previously released on Natural Resources) | George Harrison | 2:41 |
| 4. | "Benjamin" |
| 3:29 |
| 5. | "Tear It on Down" |
| 3:27 |
| 6. | "I've Given You the Best Years of My Life" |
| 2:58 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bless You" |
| 2:58 |
| 2. | "I Want You Back" |
| 2:50 |
| 3. | "In and Out of My Life" | Lawrence Brown | 2:56 |
| 4. | "Anyone Who Had a Heart" | 3:57 | |
| 5. | "Hope I Don't Get My Heart Broke" |
| 3:41 |
Personnel edit
- Martha Reeves – lead vocals
- The Andantes – background vocals
- Lois Reeves – background vocals
- Sandra Tilley – background vocals
- Valerie Simpson – background vocals
- Nickolas Ashford – background vocals
- The Blackberries – background vocals
- The Funk Brothers – instrumentation
- Various Los Angeles session musicians – instrumentation
- Album coordination by Harry Balk
- Produced by Johnny Bristol (tracks 1 & 6), The Corporation (tracks 2, 7, 8 & 10), Henry Cosby (track 3), Jimmy Roach (track 4), Ashford & Simpson (track 5), and George Gordy & Lawrence Brown (tracks 9 & 11).
- Art direction by Curtis McNair
- Graphic supervision by Tom Schlesinger
- Photography by Raffaelli
References edit
- ^ "Black Magic". Rolling Stone. 1972-05-11. Archived from the original on 2017-09-17.
- ^ Black Magic at AllMusic
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