Whales & Nightingales

Whales & Nightingales
Studio album by
Judy Collins
ReleasedNovember 1970
Recorded1970
StudioFedco Audio Labs, Providence, Rhode Island
GenreFolk
Length42:32
LabelElektra
ProducerMark Abramson
Judy Collins chronology
Who Knows Where the Time Goes
(1968) 		Whales & Nightingales
(1970) 		Living
(1971)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[3]
The Village VoiceC+[4]

Whales & Nightingales is the eighth studio album by American singer and songwriter Judy Collins, released by Elektra Records in 1970. It peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.[5]

The album includes material by Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Jacques Brel and Joan Baez, as well as Collins' top-forty version of "Amazing Grace",[6] and the traditional "Farewell to Tarwathie", on which Collins sang to the accompaniment of humpback whales.[7]

In 1971, the album was certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of over 500,000 copies in the US.[8]

Track listing

Side one

  1. "A Song for David" (Joan Baez) – 3:25
  2. "Sons Of" (Eric Blau, Jacques Brel, Gérard Jouannest, Mort Shuman; arranged and adapted by Joshua Rifkin) – 2:21
  3. "The Patriot Game" (Dominic Behan) – 4:05
  4. "Prothalamium" (Michael Sahl, Aaron Kramer; arranged and adapted by Rifkin) – 1:37
  5. "Oh, Had I a Golden Thread" (Pete Seeger) – 3:55
  6. "Gene's Song" (Traditional; arranged and adapted by Gene Murrow) – 1:23
  7. "Farewell to Tarwathie" (Traditional; arranged and adapted by Judy Collins) – 5:13

Side two

  1. "Time Passes Slowly" (Bob Dylan) – 3:30
  2. "Marieke" (Jacques Brel, Gérard Jouannest; arranged and adapted by Rifkin) – 3:12
  3. "Nightingale I" (Collins) – 2:14
  4. "Nightingale II" (Collins, Rifkin) – 5:16
  5. "Simple Gifts" (Traditional; arranged and adapted by Collins) – 1:28
  6. "Amazing Grace" (John Newton; arranged and adapted by Collins) – 4:04

Personnel

Additional musicians
All duties are unspecified in liner notes.

Technical

  • Mark Abramson – producer
  • John Haeny – engineer, assistant producer
  • Joshua Rifkin – arranger and conductor (tracks 2, 4, 9, 11)
  • John Nagy – string arrangement (track 8)
  • William S. Harvey – cover concept, art direction
  • Herb Goro – photography
  • Greg Fulginiti – recording assistant

Charts

Chart performance for Whales & Nightingales
Chart (1970–1971) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[9] 26
Canada Top 100 Albums (RPM)[10] 14
UK Albums (OCC)[11] 16
US Top LP's (Billboard)[12] 17
US Top 100 Albums (Cash Box)[13] 15
US The Album Chart (Record World)[14] 14

Certifications and sales

Certifications for Whales & Nightingales
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[8] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r96074
  2. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). "Collins, Judy". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th Concise ed.). New York: Muze UK Ltd. pp. 338–339. ISBN 978-1-84609-856-7.
  3. ^ Evans, Paul (1992). "Judy Collins". In DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide: Completely New Reviews: Every Essential Album, Every Essential Artist (3rd ed.). New York: Random House. p. 154. ISBN 0-679-73729-4.
  4. ^ Christgau, Robert (January 7, 1971). "Consumer Guide (15)". The Village Voice. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  5. ^ "US Albums and Singles Charts > Judy Collins". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
  6. ^ "Judy Collins - Chart history | Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2014-08-11.
  7. ^ a b Chrispell, James. "Judy Collins - Whales & Nightingales Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  8. ^ a b "American album certifications – Judy Collins – Whales & Nightingales". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  9. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. p. 69. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. ^ "RPM 100 Albums" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 14, no. 25. February 6, 1971. p. 14. ISSN 0315-5994.
  11. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  12. ^ "Billboard Top LP's" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 83, no. 6. New York: Billboard Publications Inc. February 6, 1971. p. 60. ISSN 0006-2510.
  13. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. XXXII, no. 32. New York: The Cash Box Publishing Co. Inc. January 30, 1971. p. 39. ISSN 0008-7289.
  14. ^ "The Album Chart" (PDF). Record World. Vol. 25, no. 1234. New York: Record World Pub. Co. January 30, 1971. p. 40. ISSN 0034-1622.