Facets (album)

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Facets
Studio album by
Released1966
March 23, 2004 (2004 reissue)
RecordedJuly 1966
StudioRPL Studios, Camden, NJ
GenreFolk rock
LabelCroce Records; Shout! Factory
ProducerJoe Salviuolo
Jim Croce chronology
Facets
(1966)
Jim & Ingrid Croce
(1969)
Alternative cover
2004 cover artwork by Shout! Factory
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Facets is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Jim Croce, released and self-published in 1966. Croce had five hundred copies of the album pressed,[2] financed with a $500 cash wedding gift that he and his wife to be, Ingrid Croce, received from his parents. Croce's parents were certain that Jim would fail completely at selling the record, and realizing that he couldn't support his family as a singer, would abandon music and finish his college education. The album was recorded in a three-hour session at a Delaware studio. Unexpectedly, it proved to be a success. Croce sold every record, even turning a profit of $2500. The majority of those records were sold to fans who attended Croce's shows at local bars.[3][4] Original vinyl copies of Facets are extremely rare today.

Shout! Factory released an expanded CD version in 2004.[5] These 7 extra songs included in the CD were recorded in 1969 after recording the Jim & Ingrid Croce album in 1968. The couple recorded 21 songs as a demonstration tape to audition for a Boston's children TV show. They did not get the job and the demo tapes had never been released until now when 7 were selected to be included with the 2004 CD release.[6]

Track listing[edit]

Original release
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Steel Rail Blues"Gordon Lightfoot2:17
2."Coal Tattoo"Billy Edd Wheeler2:17
3."Texas Rodeo"Jim Croce1:44
4."Charley Green, Play That Slide Trombone"Traditional; arranged by Jim Croce2:27
5."The Ballad of Gunga Din"words: Rudyard Kipling; music: Jim Croce4:05
6."Hard Hearted Hannah (The Vamp of Savannah)"Milton Ager, Jack Yellen, Robert Wilcox Bigelow, Charles Bates1:58
7."Sun Come Up"Jim Croce, Richard Croce2:06
8."The Blizzard"Harlan Howard2:54
9."Running Maggie"Traditional; arranged by Karl Fehrenbach1:52
10."Until It's Time for Me to Go"Buffy Sainte-Marie3:05
11."Big Fat Woman"Traditional; arranged by Eric Von Schmidt2:00
2004 reissue
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Child of Midnight"Jim Croce, Ingrid Croce2:51
13."It's All Over, Mary Ann"Jim Croce, Ingrid Croce2:35
14."Railroads and Riverboats"Jim Croce, Ingrid Croce3:13
15."Hard Times Be Over"Jim Croce, Ingrid Croce1:52
16."Railroad Song"Jim Croce2:55
17."Maybe Tomorrow"Jim Croce2:30
18."Pa (Song for a Grandfather)"Jim Croce, Ingrid Croce1:51

Personnel[edit]

  • Jim Croce – guitar, vocals
  • Richard Croce – percussion
  • Mike DiBenedetto – keyboards
  • Karl Fehrenbach – guitar, banjo
  • Ken Cavender – bass

Production[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Facets at AllMusic
  2. ^ Billboard Staff (August 22, 2003). "Rare Croce Cuts Collected On CD, DVD". Billboard. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  3. ^ "'Facets' offers a glimpse of the real Jim Croce". TODAY.com. April 8, 2004. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  4. ^ "Early Croce heard again in 'Facets'". The Washington Times. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  5. ^ Larkin, Colin (May 27, 2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  6. ^ Elliot, Rona (2004). Jim Croce Facets - CD liner notes. Los Angeles, CA, USA: Shout! Factory. p. 9. ISBN 5099751625827. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid prefix (help)