Come a Little Closer (album)
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Come a Little Closer
| type = studio
| artist = Etta James
| cover = Come a Little Closer (album).jpg
| alt =
| released = 1974
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio =
| length =
| label = Chess
CH-60029
| producer = Gabriel Mekler
| prev_title = Etta James
| prev_year = 1973
| next_title = Etta Is Betta Than Evvah!
| next_year = 1976
}}
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
|rev2 = Christgau's Record Guide
|rev2Score = B−{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|publisher=Ticknor & Fields|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: J|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=J&bk=70|accessdate=February 27, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}
}}
Come a Little Closer is the eleventh studio album by Etta James, released in 1974 on the Chess label.[http://www.bsnpubs.com/chess/chessconsolidated.html Chess Records discography], accessed October 19, 2012 The album reached a peak position of number 47 on Billboard{{'s}} R&B Albums chart.{{cite web|url=http://allmusic.com/album/come-a-little-closer-r10163/charts-awards |title=Come a Little Closer – Etta James |publisher=AllMusic |date= |accessdate=2012-02-10}}
Reception
AllMusic stated: "Etta James was fighting serious substance-abuse problems when this album was recorded, commuting to the sessions from a rehab center. It was a triumph simply to complete the record at all. But although James' life may have been in rough shape outside of the studio, she delivered a fairly strong set that fused forceful '70s soul arrangements with some rock, jazz, and New Orleans R&B."Unterberger, R. [http://www.allmusic.com/album/come-a-little-closer-mw0000313184 AllMusic Review] accessed October 18, 2012
Track listing
{{track listing
| title1 = Out on the Street Again
| writer1 = Trevor Lawrence, Gabriel Mekler
| length1 = 4:20
| title2 = Mama Told Me
| writer2 = Trevor Lawrence, Gabriel Mekler, Catherine C. Williamson
| length2 = 2:31
| title3 = You Give Me What I Want
| writer3 = Trevor Lawrence, Gabriel Mekler
| length3 = 3:40
| title4 = Come a Little Closer
| writer4 = Trevor Lawrence, Gabriel Mekler, Catherine C. Williamson
| length4 = 3:31
| title5 = Let's Burn Down the Cornfield
| writer5 = Randy Newman
| length5 = 3:46
| title6 = Power Play
| writer6 = John Kay
| length6 = 3:26
| title7 = Feeling Uneasy
| writer7 = Trevor Lawrence, Gabriel Mekler
| length7 = 2:50
| title8 = St. Louis Blues
| writer8 = W.C. Handy
| length8 = 4:32
| title9 = Gonna Have Some Fun Tonight
| writer9 = Trevor Lawrence, Gabriel Mekler
| length9 = 4:03
| title10 = Sookie, Sookie
| writer10 = Don Covay, Steve Cropper
| length10 = 3:09
| title11 = Lovin' Arms
| writer11 = Tom Jans
| length11 = 3:49
| title12 = Out on the Street Again (Single Edit)
| writer12 = Trevor Lawrence, Gabriel Mekler
| length12 = 3:44
}}
Personnel
- Etta James – vocals
- Gabriel Mekler, Larry Nash – keyboards
- Danny Kortchmar, Ken Marco, Lowell George, Wah Wah Watson – guitar
- Larry Mizell – synthesizer
- Bobby Keys, Charles Dinwiddie, David Allan Duke, Gene Cipriano, Jim Horn, Lew McCreary, Steve Madaio, Trevor Lawrence – horn section
- Chuck Rainey – electric bass
- Kenneth "Spider Webb" Rice – drums
- Gary Coleman – percussion
- Carlena Williams, Gwen Edwards, Venetta Fields – backing vocals
- Trevor Lawrence – arrangement