Adventures in Paradise (Minnie Riperton album)

Adventures in Paradise is the third studio album by Minnie Riperton issued in May 1975 by Epic Records.[3] The album rose to No. 5 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart and No. 18 on the Billboard 200 chart.[4][5]

Adventures in Paradise
Studio album by
Minnie Riperton
ReleasedMay 22, 1975
StudioWally Heider Studio Three,
Los Angeles
Genre
Length40:12
LabelEpic
Producer
Minnie Riperton chronology
Perfect Angel
(1974)		 Adventures in Paradise
(1975)		 Stay in Love
(1977)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
BBC(favourable)[2]

Background

After Lovin’ You and Perfect Angel finished their chart run, Epic wanted a follow-up disc, and fast. With previous co-producer Stevie Wonder busy recording his Songs in the Key of Life (which Minnie would also turn up on singing backup on "Ordinary Pain"), Minnie and husband Richard Rudolph hired Stewart Levine to co-produce her next album.[6] More songs came from the Riperton/Rudolph camp as well as collaborations with Jazz Crusader Joe Sample and songwriter Leon Ware (who was enjoying a hot streak thanks to his work on Marvin Gaye’s album I Want You).[6] Guitarist Larry Carlton was brought in as an arranger. The result, Adventures In Paradise, took on a mellow soul-jazz tone.

The album was a standard recording but available in two formats: quadraphonic and stereo. Epic Records anticipated a soul funky sequel, using Family Stone and Tower of Power horn section, which would have been released in November 1975. However, the sessions were never released due to legal issues.

Music

The album's best known song is the sensual "Inside My Love". Riperton made it quite clear during the track's initial release that the song wasn't about a woman asking a man to have sex with her - it was about going deeper than that, attaining true intimacy.[6] "Inside My Love" went to number 26 R&B during the summer of 1975, but stalled at #76 on the pop listings. Much of pop radio balked at playing the single due to the lyrical content (“Do you wanna ride, inside my love[...]”) even though Leon Ware claimed that the words were inspired by a church preacher he heard speak when he was a child (the minister said, “let us come into the house of the Lord”).[6]

"Love and its Glory" was never a hit, but it is an epic love song of two teens struggling to be together, despite parental objections. The girl in the song is named Maya, which is the name of Riperton's daughter.

Artwork

On the album cover of Adventures in Paradise, Minnie is seen sitting serenely next to a lion. Though the actual album photo session was calm, things spiraled out of control on a promotional photo shoot with a different lion.[7] The animal lunged at Minnie without any provocation.[8] Fortunately, the animal’s tamer was on the set and the lion was quickly subdued. It was around this time that Riperton discovered she had cancer.[6] In 1976, she told Flip Wilson on The Tonight Show that she was suffering from breast cancer and had undergone a mastectomy.[6]

Track listing

All tracks written by Minnie Riperton and Richard Rudolph, unless otherwise noted.

Side One
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Baby, This Love I Have"Minnie Riperton, Leon Ware, Richard Rudolph3:44
2."Feelin' That Your Feelin's Right"Riperton, Ware, Rudolph4:22
3."When It Comes Down to It" 3:24
4."Minnie's Lament" 4:10
5."Love and It's Glory"Riperton, Ed Brown, Rudolph5:10
Side Two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Adventures in Paradise"Riperton, Joe Sample, Rudolph3:15
7."Inside My Love"Riperton, Ware, Rudolph4:45
8."Alone in Brewster Bay" 4:25
9."Simple Things" 3:44
10."Don't Let Anyone Bring You Down" 2:55

Personnel
  • Minnie Riperton - vocals
  • Larry Carlton - arrangements, conductor
  • Ed Brown - bass
  • Sid Sharp - strings
  • Stewart Levine - director
  • Dorothy Ashby - harp
  • Jim Gordon - drums, percussion
  • Rik Pekkonen - engineer
  • Dean Parks (tracks: 6, 7, 9), Larry Carlton, Richard Rudolph - guitar
  • Joe Sample - keyboards
  • Doug Sax - mastering
  • Kenneth McGowan - photography
  • Producer – Minnie Riperton, Richard Rudolph, Stewart Levine
  • Recorded By – Gary Starr
  • Jim Horn, [Additional saxophone] Tom Scott - saxophone
  • Masaharu Yoshioka – liner notes[3]

Charts
Chart (1975) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] 54
U.S. Billboard Pop Albums[4] 18
U.S. Billboard Black Albums[5] 5

Singles

Year Title US
Pop[10]		 US
R&B[11]
1975 "Inside My Love" 76 26
"Simple Things" — 70
1976 "Adventures in Paradise" — 72

References
  1. "Minnie Riperton: Adventures In Paradise". allmusic.com.
  2. "Minnie Riperton Adventures in Paradise Review". bbc.co.uk.
  3. Minnie Riperton: Adventures in Paradise. Epic Records. May 1975.
  4. "Minnie Riperton: Adventures In Paradise (Billboard 200)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  5. "Minnie Riperton: Adventures In Paradise (Top Soul Albums)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  6. Minnie Riperton - Petals: The Minnie Riperton Collection (CD liner notes) The Right Stuff/Capitol Records 7243 5 29343-2
  7. youtube.com
  8. youtube.com
  9. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 252. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. Minnie Riperton Chart History.Billboard
  11. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 489.
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