Risqué (album)

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title: "Risqué (album)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["chic-(band)-albums", "1979-albums", "atlantic-records-albums", "albums-produced-by-nile-rodgers", "albums-produced-by-bernard-edwards", "albums-recorded-at-power-station"] topic_path: "arts/music" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risqué_(album)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox album"]

Field	Value
name	Risqué
type	studio
artist	Chic
cover	Chic-Risque.jpg
released	July 30, 1979
recorded	1978–1979
studio	Power Station, New York City
genre	{{flatlist
length	36:46
label	Atlantic
producer	{{flatlist
prev_title	C'est Chic
prev_year	1978
next_title	Les Plus Grands Succès De Chic: Chic's Greatest Hits
next_year	1979
misc	{{Singles
name	Risqué
type	studio
single1	Good Times
single1date	June 1979
single2	My Forbidden Lover
single2date	September 1979
single3	My Feet Keep Dancing
single3date	December 1979
::

| name = Risqué | type = studio | artist = Chic | cover = Chic-Risque.jpg | alt = | released = July 30, 1979 | recorded = 1978–1979 | venue = | studio = Power Station, New York City | genre = {{flatlist|

• Disco
• soul
• funk | length = 36:46 | label = Atlantic | producer = {{flatlist|
• Nile Rodgers
• Bernard Edwards | prev_title = C'est Chic | prev_year = 1978 | next_title = Les Plus Grands Succès De Chic: Chic's Greatest Hits | next_year = 1979 | misc = {{Singles | name = Risqué | type = studio | single1 = Good Times | single1date = June 1979 | single2 = My Forbidden Lover | single2date = September 1979 | single3 = My Feet Keep Dancing | single3date = December 1979

Risqué is the third studio album by American disco band Chic, released on Atlantic Records on July 30, 1979. One of the records that defined the disco era, the album became highly influential not only within the movement, but also in other styles such as hip hop, art rock and new wave. In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked the album at number 414 on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Release

Risqué includes three classic Chic hits; "Good Times" (#1 US Pop, #1 US R&B June 23, 1979, #5 UK), "My Forbidden Lover" (#33 US R&B, #43 US Pop October 13, 1979, #15 UK) and "My Feet Keep Dancing" (#42 US R&B, #101 US Pop December 8, 1979, #21 UK). Risqué reached #5 on the US albums chart and #2 on the US R&B chart. It has been certified Platinum by the RIAA for sales over 1 million copies. It peaked at #29 in the UK and was certified Silver by the BPI.

Risqué was released on compact disc by Atlantic Records/Warner Music in 1991 (catalogue number 7567-80406-2). The album was digitally remastered and re-issued by Warner Music Japan in 2011.

Critical reception

| rev1 = AllMusic | rev1score = | rev2 = Christgau's Record Guide | rev2score = A− | rev3 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | rev3score = | rev4 = Mojo | rev4score = | rev5 = MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | rev5score = | rev6 = Pitchfork | rev6score = 9.4/10 | rev7 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide | rev7score = | rev8 = Smash Hits | rev8score = 8½/10 | rev9 = Sounds | rev9score = | rev10 = Spin Alternative Record Guide | rev10score = 9/10 Risqué received widespread critical acclaim for its lyrics and tone. The Bay State Banner wrote that "one hears lyrics that are sometimes almost indictments and other times reflective... The beat is more aggressive, the sound tougher and the vocals—while still repetitive and delivered flatly—are arranged and produced so that they demand attention and focus in quickly on a song's sentiments."

In a review for BBC, Daryl Easlea called the album "one of the greatest exhibits in the case for disco's defence," and saying that it was "Chic's most sustained artistic statement, a celebration of a 70s that was collapsing under its own excess and hedonism."

Legacy

"Good Times" has been extensively sampled in other artists' works, most notably in the first top 40 rap single, "Rapper's Delight" by Sugarhill Gang, that same year. "Will You Cry" was sampled in "Just a Moment" by Nas from the 2004 album Street's Disciple.

Accolades

::data[format=table]

Publication	Country	Accolade	Year	Rank
Blender	United States	The 100 Greatest American Albums of All time	2008	36
Dave Marsh and Kevin Stein	Top 40 Chartmakers - 1979	1981	7
Robert Dimery	1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die	2005	*
Rolling Stone	The Essential Rock Collection	1997	*
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time	2020	414
The Guardian	United Kingdom	Alternative Top 100	1999	34
1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die	2007	*
My Favourite Album Series	2011	*
Guardian Writers' Favourite Albums Ever	2013	*
Mojo	Mojo 1000, the Ultimate CD Buyers Guide	2001	*
The Mojo Collection	2003	*
Paul Morley	100 Greatest Albums of All Time	2003	*
NME	Albums of the Year	2016	23
NME's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time	2013	208
Q	The 50 Best Albums of the 70s	1998	45
The Rough Guide	Soul: 100 Essential CDs	2000	*
Gilles Verlant	France	300+ Best Albums in the History of Rock	2013	*
Les Inrockuptibles	50 Years of Rock'n'Roll	2004	*
Philippe Manœuvre	100 Necessary Albums	2014	*
Rock & Folk	The 300 Best Albums from 1965-1995	1995	*
The Best Albums from 1963 to 1999	1999	*
555 Albums from 1954-2014	2014	*
Télérama	The Best Albums of All Time	1993	*
(*) designates lists that are unordered.
::

Track listing

| all_writing = Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers | headline = Side one | total_length = | title1 = Good Times | length1 = 8:08 | title2 = A Warm Summer Night | length2 = 6:10 | title3 = My Feet Keep Dancing | length3 = 6:38 | length7 = | title10 = | length9 = | title9 = | length8 = | title8 = | title5 = | title7 = | length6 = | title6 = | length5 = | length4 = | title4 = | length10 = | headline = Side two | title4 = My Forbidden Lover | length4 = 4:39 | title5 = Can't Stand to Love You | length5 = 2:56 | title6 = Will You Cry (When You Hear This Song) | length6 = 4:06 | title7 = What About Me? | length7 = 4:09

Personnel

• Alfa Anderson – lead vocals (1, 4, 6, 7)
• Luci Martin – lead vocals (1, 3, 4, 5)
• Fonzi Thornton – vocals
• Michelle Cobbs – backing vocals
• Ullanda McCullough – backing vocals
• Raymond Jones – keyboards
• Robert Sabino – keyboards
• Andrew Barrett (Schwartz) – piano
• Nile Rodgers – guitars, vocals
• Bernard Edwards – bass guitar, lead vocals (3)
• Tony Thompson – drums
• Sammy Figueroa – percussion
• Jean Fineberg – saxophones
• Alex Foster – saxophones
• Barry Rogers – trombone
• Jon Faddis – trumpet
• Ellen Seeling – trumpet
• The Chic Strings:
  • Valerie Heywood – strings
  • Cheryl Hong – strings
  • Karen Karlsrud – strings
  • Karen Milne – strings
• Gene Orloff – concertmaster

Tap Dancers on "My Feet Keep Dancing"

• Eugene Jackson
• Fayard Nicholas
• Sammy Warren

Production

• Bernard Edwards – producer for Chic Organization Ltd., arrangements and conductor
• Nile Rodgers – producer for Chic Organization Ltd., arrangements and conductor
• Bob Clearmountain – sound engineer
• Jim Galante – assistant engineer
• Jeff Hendrickson – assistant engineer
• Peter Robbins – assistant engineer
• Jackson Schwartz – assistant engineer
• Raymond Willard – assistant engineer
• Dennis King – mastering
• Carin Goldberg – art direction
• Ken Ambrose – photography
• All songs recorded and mixed at The Power Station (New York, NY)
• Additional recording at Electric Lady Studios (New York, NY) and Kendun Recorders (Burbank, CA)
• Mastered at Atlantic Studios (New York, NY)

Charts

::data[format=table] | Chart (1979) | Peak position | Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) | |---|---|---| | 75 | | | ::

Certifications

References

References

1. Hung, Steffen. "Chic - Good Times".
2. Hung, Steffen. "Chic - My Feet Keep Dancing".
3. Hamsley, David. (2015). "To Disco, with Love: The Records That Defined an Era". [[Flatiron Books]].
4. (September 22, 2020). "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".
5. Henderson, Alex. "Risqué – Chic". [[AllMusic]].
6. Christgau, Robert. (1981). "Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies". [[Ticknor and Fields]].
7. Larkin, Colin. (2011). "[[The Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]". [[Omnibus Press]].
8. Brown, Geoff. (October 2018). "Three Cheers!".
9. (1996). "MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide". Visible Ink Press.
10. Beta, Andy. (December 12, 2018). "Chic / Sister Sledge: The Chic Organization 1977–1979".
11. Sisario, Ben. (2004). "The New Rolling Stone Album Guide". [[Simon & Schuster]].
12. Starr, Red. (September 6–19, 1979). "Albums".
13. Silverton, Peter. (August 11, 1979). "Chic: Risqué (Atlantic K50634)".
14. Walters, Barry. (1995). "Spin Alternative Record Guide". [[Vintage Books]].
15. (30 Aug 1979). "Shades of Blue". Bay State Banner.
16. Easlea, Daryl. (2011). "Review of Chic - Risqué".
17. (2008). "100 Greatest American Albums of All Time".
18. (1981). "The Book of Rock Lists". Dell/Rolling Stone Press.
19. (2005). "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". Cassell Illustrated.
20. (May 15, 1997). "The Rolling Stone 200: The Essential Rock Collection".
21. (22 September 2020). "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".
22. (29 January 1999). "The alternative top 100 from 11-40 {{!}} Special reports {{!}} guardian.co.uk".
23. (17 November 2007). "1000 albums to hear before you die: Artists beginning with C (part 1)".
24. (26 September 2011). "My favourite album: Risqué by Chic".
25. (24 October 2013). "What's the difference between best and favourite albums?".
26. (2003). "The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion". Canongate.
27. (2003). "Words and Music: A History of Pop in the Shape of a City". Bloomsbury.
28. (10 October 2016). "NME's best albums and tracks of 1979".
29. (24 October 2013). "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time: 300-201".
30. (2000). "Soul: 100 Essential CDs". Rough Guides.
31. {{cite Kent

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