The Road Is No Place for a Lady

The Road Is No Place for a Lady is the fifth and final album released by Cass Elliot. It was the second album she recorded after signing with RCA Records. The album was recorded over a period of two months during the summer of 1972 at London's Trident Studios, produced by Lewis Merenstein and arranged and conducted by Larry Fallon and Del Newman.

The Road Is No Place for a Lady
Studio album by
Cass Elliot
ReleasedOctober 1972
RecordedSummer 1972
StudioTrident Studios, London
GenrePop rock
LabelRCA
ProducerLewis Merenstein
Cass Elliot chronology
Cass Elliot
(1972)		 The Road Is No Place for a Lady
(1972)		 Don't Call Me Mama Anymore
(1973)

The album was essentially pop music but with several different styles woven in. It contained touches of swing music and even gospel. Two singles were released; the first, "(If You're Gonna) Break Another Heart", was written by Albert Hammond and released in August 1972. The song had little impact on the charts along with the second single, "Does Anybody Love You", released in November.

Conception

As with her previous album, Elliot was keen on exploring different musical avenues than what she had in the past. She chose Trident Studios along with British session musicians and studio engineers to help her achieve a "new" sound. As with her previous album, RCA granted her complete control over the material and allowed her to show her vision. The album was also credited to Cass Elliot and not "Mama Cass".

Cover

The album cover was shot at Travel Town Museum in Griffith Park, Los Angeles by Ave Pildas and depicted Cass relaxing on a couch set on a railroad with a luxury train in the background.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic link

The release of the album was originally slated for August 1972 but not released until October due to a fault in the mixing stage at Trident. As with Cass' previous self-titled album, released in February of that same year, the album was not a hit.

After its initial release, the album was unavailable for over 30 years. Due to the fault in the mixing stage the original tape masters would have to be completely re-mixed and remastered for a reissue to be possible. In 2005, the album's two singles were released on the CD Dream a Little Dream: The Music of 'Mama' Cass Elliot. The album was finally re-released in full in August 2009 in a Collector's Choice Music two on one CD with Cass Elliot.

In 2002, Rolling Stone magazine reviewed The Road Is No Place for a Lady.

Track listing
  1. "(If You're Gonna) Break Another Heart" (Albert Hammond, Michael Hazelwood)
  2. "Saturday Suit" (Jimmy Webb)
  3. "Does Anybody Love You" (Renée Armand, Kerry Chater)
  4. "Walk Beside Me" (Mike Leslie, Billy Day)
  5. "All My Life" (Diane Hildebrand, Leah Kunkel)
  6. "Say Hello" (Paul Williams)
  7. "Who in the World" (Malcolm Arnold, Trade Martin, Geoff Morrow)
  8. "Love Was Not a Word" (Al Gorgoni, Trade Martin, Chip Taylor)
  9. "Oh, Babe, What Would You Say?" (Eileen Sylvia Smith)
  10. "The Road Is No Place for a Lady" (Leah Kunkel)

Personnel
Technical

References
  1. Randi, Don, with Karen “Nish” Nishimura, You’ve Heard These Hands: From the Wall of Sound to the Wrecking Crew and Other Incredible Stories, Hal Leonard Books 20 p. 228
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