Broken Blossom is the fourth studio album by American singer Bette Midler, her second album release in 1977 and her fifth on the Atlantic Records label. Just as Midler's three previous studio albums Broken Blossom includes songs from a wide variety of genres, ranging from Edith Piaf's signature tune "La vie en rose", Phil Spector-esque covers of Billy Joel's "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" and Harry Nilsson's "Paradise" and hard rock like Sammy Hagar's "Red", to a jazzy duet with Tom Waits, "I Never Talk to Strangers", and a rendition of "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes", originally from Walt Disney's 1950 film version of Cinderella. The album reached No. 51 on Billboard's album chart.

Broken Blossom
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 17, 1977
Recorded1977
GenreVocal music
Length37:44
LabelAtlantic
ProducerBrooks Arthur
Bette Midler chronology
Live at Last
(1977)
Broken Blossom
(1977)
The Best of Bette
(1978)
Singles from Broken Blossom
  1. "Storybook Children (Daybreak)"
  2. "Paradise"

The album was released on CD for the first time in 1993. A remastered version of the album was released by Atlantic Records/Warner Music in 1995.

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [1]
Christgau's Record GuideC[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide     [3]

The Globe and Mail concluded that the majority of the songs are "either underperformed or blasted out of all proportion by producer Brooks Arthur, whose quite blatant steal of Phil Spector's production style represents a serious threat to Midler's sincerity."[4]

Track listing

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Side A:

  1. "Make Yourself Comfortable" (Bob Merrill) - 3:59
  2. "You Don't Know Me" (Eddy Arnold, Cindy Walker) - 3:39
  3. "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" (Billy Joel) - 3:02
  4. "I Never Talk to Strangers" (duet with Tom Waits) (Tom Waits) - 3:39
  5. "Daybreak (Storybook Children)" (David Pomeranz, Spencer Proffer) - 3:40
  6. "Red" (John Carter, Sammy Hagar) - 3:17

Side B:

  1. "Empty Bed Blues" (J. C. Johnson) - 3:19
  2. "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" (Mack David) - 3:09
  3. "Paradise" (Perry Botkin, Jr., Gil Garfield, Harry Nilsson) - 4:15
  4. "Yellow Beach Umbrella" (Craig Doerge, Judy Henske) - 4:24
  5. "La Vie en Rose" (Mack David, Louiguy, Edith Piaf) - 2:59

Personnel

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Production

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  • Brooks Arthur - record producer, sound engineer
  • Bob Merritt - sound engineer
  • David Latman - assistant sound engineer
  • Ivy Skoff - production coordinator
  • Bones Howe - producer track A4 for Mr. Bones Production
  • Bob Defrin - cover design
  • George Hurrell - photography:
  • Primary recording location: The Record Plant, Los Angeles. Additional recording at Studio 55, Los Angeles.

Charts

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Chart (1977) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] 47
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[6] 46
US Billboard 200[7] 51

References

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  1. ^ Fawthrop, Peter. "Broken Blossom - Bette Midler". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: M". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 7, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. ^ Coleman, Marc; Brackett, Nathan (2004). "Bette Midler". In Brackett, Nathan; Christian, Hoard (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 540. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  4. ^ McGrath, Paul (18 Jan 1978). "Bette Midler". The Globe and Mail. p. F2.
  5. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  6. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 5546". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  7. ^ "Bette Midler Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 December 2017.