Niecy
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Niecy
| type = studio
| artist = Deniece Williams
| cover = Deniece Williams - Niecy.jpg
| alt =
| released = March 19, 1982
| recorded = 1981
| venue =
| studio = Sigma Sound, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| length =
| producer = Thom Bell, Deniece Williams
| prev_title = My Melody
| prev_year = 1981
| next_title = I'm So Proud
| next_year = 1983
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Niecy
| type = studio
| single1 = It's Gonna Take a Miracle
| single1date = March 1982
| single2 = Waiting by the Hotline
| single2date = June 1982
| single3 = Waiting
| single3date = October 1982
}}
}}
Niecy is an album by American singer Deniece Williams which was released in 1982 on ARC/Columbia Records.{{cite book|title=Deniece Williams: This Is Niecy|date=1982|publisher=ARC/Columbia Records}} The album reached No. 5 on the Top Soul Albums chart and No. 20 on the Billboard 200.
Critical reception
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/niecy-mw0000318814|title=Deniece Williams: Niecy|author=Kantor, Justin|publisher=Allmusic|website=allmusic.com}}
| rev2 = Robert Christgau
| rev2score = B+{{cite web|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=8625|title=Deniece Williams: This Is Niecy|author=Christgau, Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|publisher=Village Voice|website=robertchristgau.com}}
}}
With a B+, Robert Christgau found "Williams's exquisite clarity and thrilling range have always slotted her among the perfect angels for me, but there's a lot more to her work with Thom Bell, who finally challenges Burt Bacharach on his own turf, applying strings and woodwinds and amplifiers with a deft economy that textures rather than sweetens. And Williams's lyrics, while never startling, become increasingly personal as her professional confidence grows--she's wrinkling her brow more and her nose less." People described the album as "upbeat, soulful and polished."{{cite web|url=https://people.com/archive/picks-and-pans-review-niecy-vol-17-no-20/|title=Picks and Pans Review: Niecy|date=May 24, 1982|publisher=People|website=people.com}}
Justin Kantor of AllMusic wrote that "Williams enlisted Philly soulmeister Thom Bell as her co-producer (and primary co-writer) a second time on this mellow 1982 release. Building upon the lush balladry of 1981's My Melody, this set inevitably bears a few similarities to its predecessor, but manages a more diverse soundscape." J.D. Considine of Musician wrote: "Williams like the Spinners' Philippe Wynne has the uncanny ability to pull the most out of a tune while maintaining a distinctive vocal personality. Philly Soul lives."{{cite magazine |id={{ProQuest|964127547}} |last1=Considine |first1=J D |title=Rock |magazine=Musician |issue=45 |date=July 1982 |pages=88, 97 }} Crispin Cioe of High Fidelity found "as a writer, Williams deals in the unabashedly romantic; as a singer she lends her lines an emotionalism that rings true. In Bell's sympathetically rich arranging/production context small sentiments take on grand proportions, and therein lies the album's charm."{{cite magazine |last=Cioe |first=Christian |date=July 1982 |title=Denice Williams: Niecy |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-High-Fidelity/80s/High-Fidelity-1982-07.pdf |website=High Fidelity |volume=32 |pages=74, 80 |number=7}}
Singles
A cover of The Royalettes' "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" was released as a single. The song peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart, No. 6 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Singles chart and No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Track listing
=Original release=
{{Track listing
| headline = Side one
| title1 = Waiting by the Hotline
| writer1 = Deniece Williams, Thom Bell
| length1 = 3:40
| title2 = It's Gonna Take a Miracle
| writer2 = Teddy Randazzo, Bob Weinstein, Lou Stallman
| length2 = 4:10
| title3 = Love Notes
| writer3 = Deniece Williams, Skip Scarborough
| length3 = 4:22
| title4 = I Believe in Miracles
| writer4 = Deniece Williams, Bill Neale
| length4 = 2:52
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Side two
| title5 = How Does It Feel
| writer5 = Deniece Williams, Thom Bell
| length5 = 5:50
| title6 = Waiting
| writer6 = Deniece Williams, Thom Bell
| length6 = 4:32
| title7 = Now is The Time for Love
| writer7 = Deniece Williams, Thom Bell
| length7 = 4:09
| title8 = A Part of Love
| writer8 = Deniece Williams, Kevin Bassinson
| length8 = 3:39
}}
Personnel
= Musicians =
- Deniece Williams – vocals
- Thom Bell – keyboards, backing vocals, arrangements and conductor
- George Merrill – synthesizer, backing vocals
- Bobby Eli – guitar
- Bill Neale – guitar, strings (4)
- Bob Babbitt – bass guitar, Piccolo bass
- Charles Collins – drums
- Ed Shea – percussion
- Larry Washington – percussion
- Don Renaldo – strings, horns
- Joseph B. Jefferson – backing vocals
= Production =
Charts
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
= Weekly charts =
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col"| Chart (1982)
! scope="col"| Peak |
|---|
| {{album chart|Billboard200|20|artist=Deniece Williams|rowheader=true|accessdate=April 19, 2021}} |
| {{album chart|BillboardRandBHipHop|5|artist=Deniece Williams|rowheader=true|accessdate=April 19, 2021}} |
{{col-2}}
= Year-end charts =
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col"| Chart (1982)
! scope="col"| Position |
|---|
| scope="row"| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1982/top-r-and-b-hip-hop-albums|title=Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1982|magazine=Billboard|accessdate=April 19, 2021}}
| 32 |
{{col-end}}
=Singles=
| class="wikitable" border="1" |
| Year
! Single ! Chart ! Position |
|---|
| rowspan="6"|1982
|rowspan="3"|"It's Gonna Take a Miracle" | 10 |
| US Billboard R&B Singles
| 1 |
| US Billboard Adult Contemporary Singles
| 6 |
| rowspan="2"| "Waiting by the Hotline"
| 103 |
| rowspan="2"| US Billboard R&B Singles
| 29 |
| "Waiting"
| 72 |
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Deniece Williams}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Deniece Williams albums
Category:Columbia Records albums