Chic - Real Pea-POLL (1980)

"you can't do it alone" is knocking me out at the moment, and it's what inspired me to create the poll. but there are plenty of choice cuts here, including the opener (which has that incredible string breakdown) and the title track.

Not a single bad song. For the first and last time they articulated (fully!) a world view in each song.

I may vote for the title track. Nile Rodgers gets deserved credit for his rhythm riffing but not enough for his pungent leads.

"i loved you more" is quite ahead of its time for 1980, nailed the 80s power ballad aesthetic before it fully developed

Love "Chip Off the Old Block" with its thrilled interpellation of disco-hate clichés (homogenized, programmed).

lol immediately got "26" in my head reading this tracklisting, so "26"

lets Open Up this fuckin' pit. went with "Open Up" because of those strings but "Real People" and "26" are also excellent

“Open Up” rules but “Rebels are We” is their funkiest shit ever, so that.

certainly the funkiest song to ever use the word "nevertheless"

26

"you can't do it alone" is knocking me out at the moment, and it's what inspired me to create the poll.

listened again, and that's my vote

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

damn, too early! I thought I had more time. I did listen to it once the other week, killer album of course, so sharp so lean.

I was torn between “Rebels Are We” - I was so excited about that one when it came out, only to find that the world had stopped caring for them as a band - and “I Loved You More” - gorgeous melody and vocal, the main melody doesn’t sound unlike one of those SOS Band ballads, if that’s what you were thinking of, voodoo chili - but “Real People” in all its stateliness is up there too, and so is “You Can’t Do It Alone”.

the only one that I’m not even considering is “26”, not because I don’t like it, but that chorus/hook is not as good as they think it is and there’s way too much of it.

I decided to relisten to the choicest cuts again - and then ended up listening to the whole thing: “Rebels” it is, just for the spectacular way it sounds: the drums/beats are splendid, that hint of dubbiness in there, and there’s this sound/effect in there that I don’t know how to describe right now (not bleepy, not flange(r)y, not wah-wahy, but what?) that I love as well (not very helpful I know, sorry), all of these elements in a zigzaggy interplay with each other. it anticipates the sparser and harder, stringless sound of Take It Off, another great album.

(but ouch, “I Loved You More” is so fucking good too - I really hope someone throws it a vote)

“Rebels” is certainly a good choice, quite the groove.

voted for "real people", the syncopation on the hook hits HORD

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

my apologies to “I Loved You More”...

nice spread of votes, too bad about the winner.

i can't believe i haven't heard this. need to just blind-order the lp on discogs tbh.

This is such a sinewy record, I’m mad I missed this. Heart says 26, head says Chip Off the Old Block.

Chip.