Cha is the seventh studio album by Australian band Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons, but first and only to be credited as Jo Jo Zep. It is also the final studio album by the band until Ricochet in 2003. The album was released in November 1982 and peaked at number 28 on the Australian Kent Music Report. David Nichols called Cha primarily a "latin-based dance record".[1]

Cha
Studio album by
Released22 October 1982
RecordedJune 1982
StudioRichmond Recorders
GenreRock, pop
LabelMushroom, A&M
ProducerPeter Solley
Jo Jo Zep chronology
Step Lively
(1981)
Cha
(1982)
The Sound of Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons
(1983)
Singles from Cha
  1. "Taxi Mary"
    Released: September 1982
  2. "Walk On By"
    Released: December 1982
  3. "Losing Game (1983 release only) "
    Released: July 1983

In a 2014 interview with Carol Duncan, Camilleri reflected on the album saying "I had this really beautiful 13-piece band and we went around the country and we had two hit singles... but I wasn't very happy with the record. It could have been so much better and it was my fault that it wasn't as good as I wanted it to be, but anyway, it yielded these two songs and we got to play and I got to do something that I wanted to do which was play with the cha band and six horns and high-heeled boots and gay cavalier and all that nonsense, but it just left me wanting. It was nice, but it wasn't what I wanted to do."[2]

Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons disbanded in 1983.

Reception

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Cha was reviewed in January 1983 (Volume 7) of the Countdown Magazine, in which they said the album sees Jo Jo Zep "breaking away from his R&B base and exploring reggae, jazz, techno-pop, Joe Jackson-type big ballads, Caribbean rhythms and more. The result is a heady potpourri, a frothy brew of style and substance." adding "The strong vocal contributions of Jane Clifton give this work a dimension"[3]

Track listing

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Australian track listing

Side A
(L 37886)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Walk On By"Burt Bacharach, Hal David3:51
2."Taxi Mary"Jeff Burstin, Joe Camilleri, Tony Faehse4:02
3."Sherrie"Camilleri, Paul Kelly3:50
4."Slave For Love"Camilleri, Kelly4:39
5."You're Gonna Get It Boy"Burstin, Camilleri, Simon Gyllies3:11
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Lonely Man"Arthur Harris3:36
2."Man is Just a Boy"Camilleri, Kelly, Gyllies4:24
3."Spirit of the Land"Martin Kellock4:30
4."Can't Decide"Camilleri, Kelly, Gyllies3:55

International track listing [1983] (A&M Records)

Side A
(A&M Records)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Losing Game"Joe Camilleri, Simon Gyllies, Stephen Clarke4:12
2."Walk On By"Burt Bacharach, Hal David3:51
3."King Kong"Camilleri4:01
4."Taxi Mary"Jeff Burstin, Camilleri, Tony Faehse4:02
5."Flexible"Camilleri1:59
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Sherrie"Camilleri, Paul Kelly3:50
2."Man is Just a Boy"Camilleri, Kelly, Gyllies4:24
3."Spirit of the Land"Martin Kellock4:30
4."Competition"Camilleri, Lawrence4:20
5."Slave For Love"Camilleri, Kelly4:39
6."Can't Decide"Camilleri, Kelly, Gyllies3:55

Charts

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Chart (1982) Peak
position
Australian Kent Music Report[4] 28
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[5] 33

References

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  1. ^ Nichols, David (2016). Dig: Australian Rock and Pop Music, 1960-85. Verse Chorus Press. p. 307. ISBN 9781891241611.
  2. ^ "Joe Camilleri - not afraid to fly". ABC. 25 July 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  3. ^ "Jo Jo Zep And The Falcons". Rock on Vinyl. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  4. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. p. 156. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.
  5. ^ "Charts.nz – Jo Jo Zep – Cha". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 October 2017.