Nights Are Forever
{{for|the Jennifer Warnes song|Nights Are Forever (song)}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Nights Are Forever
| type = Album
| artist = England Dan & John Ford Coley
| cover = Nights Are Forever (album cover).jpg
| alt =
| released = July 1976
| recorded = 1976
| venue =
| studio = Studio By The Pond (Hendersonville, TN)
| genre = Pop rock, soft rock, Country
| length =
| label = Big Tree{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CE8xiT3pV6QC&pg=PT1396|title=Handbook of Texas Music|first=Laurie E.|last=Jasinski|date=February 22, 2012|publisher=Texas A&M University Press|isbn=9780876112977 |via=Google Books}}
| producer = Kyle Lehning
| prev_title = I Hear Music
| prev_year = 1976
| next_title = Dowdy Ferry Road
| next_year = 1977
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Nights Are Forever
| type = Studio
| single1 = I'd Really Love to See You Tonight
| single1date = May 1976
| single2 = Nights Are Forever Without You
| single2date = October 1976
}}
}}
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}} {{AllMusic|class=album|id=r6796}}
|rev2 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
|rev2score = {{rating|2|5}}{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2006 |publisher=MUZE |volume=3 |page=290}}
|rev4 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide
|rev4score = {{rating|1|5}}{{cite book |title=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |date=1992 |publisher=Random House |pages=227–228}}
}}
Nights Are Forever is the fourth studio album by the pop rock duo England Dan & John Ford Coley. It was the pair's breakthrough album.{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-dan-seals27-2009mar27-story.html|title=Dan Seals dies at 61; half of the pop duo England Dan and John Ford Coley|date=March 27, 2009|website=Los Angeles Times}} "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight" became one of their biggest hits, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The follow-up single, "Nights Are Forever Without You," also proved successful, peaking at #10.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/27/arts/music/27seals.html|title=Dan Seals, 61, Pop Duo's England Dan, Dies|first=Bill|last=Friskics-Warren|work=The New York Times |date=March 27, 2009|via=NYTimes.com}}
Production
The album was produced by Kyle Lehning.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/england-dan-john-ford-coley-mn0000196993/biography|title=England Dan & John Ford Coley | Biography & History|website=AllMusic}} Both top ten singles were written by Parker McGee.{{Cite web|url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/secret-oil-patch-roots-summer-breeze/|title=The Secret Oil Patch Roots of 'Summer Breeze'|date=January 22, 2020|website=Texas Monthly}}
Critical reception
Joe Viglione write on Allmusic, "Nights Are Forever was the breakthrough album for Dan Seals and John Coley after some sincere and excellent work on A&M Records in the early '70s. Two of their biggest hits were the title track and the beautiful "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight." Those songs are a good indication of the fine performances this 1976 album contains. The duo's originals like "Long Way Home" and the Dan Fogelberg-ish "Westward Wind" could have been hits as well displaying superb musicianship and delicate vocals." He also praises the work of songwriter Parker McGee as well as producer Kyle Lehning.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/nights-are-forever-mw0000312330|title=Nights Are Forever|website=AllMusic }}
The Rolling Stone Album Guide wrote that "these guys managed always to sound like oafish bores breaking their backs to be 'sensitive.'"
Track listing
- "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight" (Parker McGee) - 2:39
- "I'll Stay" (Dan Seals) - 3:20
- "Westward Wind" (Seals, Coley) - 3:17
- "Long Way Home" (Seals, Coley) - 3:18
- "There'll Never Be Another For Me" (Seals, McGee, Coley) - 2:50
- "Nights Are Forever Without You" (McGee) - 2:52
- "It's Not The Same" (Seals, Coley, Sunny Dalton) - 2:38
- "Showboat Gambler" (Seals) - 2:37
- "The Prisoner" (Seals, Coley) - 3:35
- "Lady" (Seals, McGee, Coley, Kyle Lehning) - 3:58
- "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" (Seals, Coley) - 3:08
| class="wikitable" | ||
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | ||
| 1976
|Australian (Kent Music Report) | 68{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=103}} |
Personnel
- Dan Seals – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, soprano saxophone
- John Ford Coley – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards
- Steve Gibson – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin
- Jim Seals – acoustic guitar, banjo
- Bobby Thompson – acoustic guitar
- Doyle Grisham – steel guitar
- Shane Keister – keyboards
- Kyle Lehning – bass
- Joe Osborn – bass
- Ted Reynolds – bass
- Larrie Londin – drums, percussion
- Dennis Good – trombone
- George Cunningham – trumpet
- Don Sheffield – trumpet
- Billy Puett – woodwinds
- Denis Solee – woodwinds
- Warren Hartman – string arrangements (1, 7)
- Bergen White – horn and string arrangements (4, 5, 6, 11)
- The Shelly Kurland String Section – strings
- Janie Fricke – backing vocals
- Ginger Holiday – backing vocals
- Sheri Kramer – backing vocals
- Lisa Silver – backing vocals
- Diane Tidwell – backing vocals
=Production=
- Producer and Engineer – Kyle Lehning
- Sound Consultant – Jon Yeaworth
- Recorded and Mixed at Studio By The Pond (Hendersonville, TN).
- Mastered by Mac Evans and Glenn Meadows at Masterfonics (Nashville, TN).
- Photography – Slick Lawson
Chart singles
| class="wikitable" |
| style="width:20px;"| Year
! style="width:40px;"| US Billboard ! style="width:40px;"| US Cash Box ! style="width:40px;"| US Record World ! style="width:40px;"| US AC ! style="width:40px;"| CAN ! style="width:40px;"| CAN AC ! style="width:40px;"| UK ! style="width:220px;"| Title |
|---|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1976
| style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 4 | style="text-align:center;"| 5 | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 10 | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 26 | "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight" |
| style="text-align:center;"| 1976-77
| style="text-align:center;"| 10 | style="text-align:center;"| 10 | style="text-align:center;"| 9 | style="text-align:center;"| 6 | style="text-align:center;"| 10 | style="text-align:center;"| 4 | style="text-align:center;"| - | "Nights Are Forever without You" |
References
{{Reflist|2}}
{{England Dan & John Ford Coley}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:England Dan & John Ford Coley albums