Peter Chipman – “You Girl”
About 9 years or so ago, this one came into my collection, it was signed by Peter, dated 1978 and he’s kind of rocking a certain look, so I figured why not, let’s give it a try.
The A-Side opens with “I Didn’t Ever Really Love You” – and it starts with some really nice orchestration before we get into Peter’s vocals, and you know at first I was kind of a bit unsure about it, but once he gets into the song and the chorus, it’s not bad. It really does have a nice chorus. “Write Me a Love Song” comes next, and we continue with another good song, the vocals are actually quite nice and the musicianship is good too. “Everybody’s Writin’ Songs” comes next, and Peter has a really calm and mellow voice, and I could say his vocals are comparable to Jeff Kimball – he’s another fantastic vocalist, and he comes from Ottawa, Ontario. “Softly” follows next, and it starts off quietly and softly, and I’m really hoping this song has a great big pick up in, because I really think Peter’s voice could really pull off a big vocal part. But I do think that he is going to keep it low and quiet. The musicianship is still pretty great. We close out the A-Side with “You Light Up My Life” – yes, the Debby Boone song. I quite enjoy this song, so it is nice to hear a male version of this song, I think it might be the make or break for this album. The orchestration as he hits the chorus, delivering all the right notes vocally, and it’s quite good.
The title track, “You Girl” opens the B-Side, and Peter goes right into delivering another fantastic song. He delivers some beautiful high notes on this one during the chorus. The more I go through this album, the more I am amazed by Peter’s vocal abilities, and just the production quality behind this one. “Changin’ My World” comes next, and we keep up with that upbeat sound that Peter delivers song after song. His vocals are something else. This song is one of the best ones on the album so far. “At the Start” follows next, it’s gone a nice upbeat bass sound to it, the vocals once more are something beautiful. “My Lady” continues next, and it’s a slower song, but with some fantastic vocalization and orchestration on this one, Peter continues to showcase his abilities one song after another. The chorus is absolutely beautiful. “The Last Farewell” closes out the album, it’s a song written by Roger Whittaker, and it starts with a spoken word intro that is almost like a story before we start to get some light guitar playing before Peter goes on to sing. I do think Roger Whittaker is a great comparison to Peter. It’s a fantastic way to close the album, and it was an absolutely great album.
Peter passed away September 26, 2021 at the age of 76. More about his career and life can be found here.
Catalog Number:
CML (S) 220
Credits:
Drums – George Ursan
Bass – Peter Clarke
Keyboards – Ron Johnstone
Percussion – Ken Moore
Harp – Donna Hossack
Trumpets – Gary Guthman, Don Clark & Blaine Tringham
Trombones – Dave Robbins, Bill Trussell & Sharman King
French Horns – Brian G’Froerer & Martin Hackleman
Woodwinds – Fraser McPherson & Anthony Nickels
Dobro – David T. Williams
Strings – Gerald Jarvis, Arthur Culver, Mary Culver, Agnes Roberts, Angelina Avison, John Loban, Carole Cole, James Reynolds, Leslie Malowaney, Steve Wilkes, Lee Duckles, Chris Catchpole & Daniel Blackman
Background Vocals – Corlynn Ramsay, Jane Mortifee & Nancy Nash
Produced by Bob Brooks for Capcan Music
Arranged & Conducted by David Williamson
Acoustic Piano – Bob Brooks
Recorded at The Little Mountain Sound Co., Vancouver
Engineers – Daryl Stratichuk & Roger Monk
Assistant Engineer – Bob Rock
Photography – Mona Helcermanus-Benge
Graphics by Camart Studio Ltd.
Manufactured by IRC Ltd.
Produced in co-operation with C-Fax Radio Victoria
Released:
1977
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