California Nights (Lesley Gore album)

California Nights
Studio album by
Lesley Gore
Released1967
Recorded1966–1967
GenrePop, rock
Length25:28
LabelMercury
ProducerBob Crewe
Quincy Jones
Lesley Gore chronology
Lesley Gore Sings All About Love
(1966) 		California Nights
(1967) 		Lesley Gore Golden Hits, Vol. 2
(1968)
Singles from California Nights
  1. "Off and Running"
    Released: 1966
  2. "Treat Me Like a Lady"
    Released: 1966
  3. "California Nights"
    Released: January 1967

California Nights is a 1967 album by Lesley Gore, the last of her seven albums released on the Mercury Records label.[1] The title track on the album, California Nights, peaked at #16 and was Gore's last Top 20 hit.[1][2] Bob Crewe produced seven of the tracks on the album, while Quincy Jones produced three.[3][a] The album was reissued in 2015 as part of a compilation in both album and CD format by Ace Records, which included 15 bonus tracks from her Mercury catalogue.[4][5]

Cash Box said of the single "Treat Me Like a Lady" that it is "a rhythmic, medium-paced bluesy ode about a gal who wants her boyfriend to pay her proper respect."[6]

Track listing

Side A
  1. California Nights (Marvin Hamlisch, Howard Liebling) - 2:44
  2. Treat Me Like a Lady (Bob Crewe, Gary Knight) - 2:56
  3. Bad (Bob Crewe, Joel Hirschhorn, Al Kasha) - 2:46
  4. I'm Going Out (The Same Way I Came In) (Bob Crewe, Gary Knight) - 2:33
  5. Maybe Now (Lesley Gore, Michael Gore)[b] - 2:21
Side B
  1. Love Goes on Forever (Bob Crewe, Gary Knight) - 3:00
  2. Off and Running (Carole Bayer, Toni Wine) - 1:52
  3. Lilacs and Violets (Fred Anisfield, Larry Weiss) - 2:07
  4. The Bubble Broke (Bob Crewe, Raymond Bloodworth, L. Russell Brown) - 2:56
  5. Cry Like a Baby (Jo Armstead, Ashford & Simpson) - 2:13

Compilation album

California Nights
Compilation album by
Lesley Gore
Released
  • May 2015 (UK)
  • June 2015 (USA)
GenrePop, Rock
Length59:43
Label
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusiclink

California Nights was released as a compilation album in both LP and CD format by Ace Records in May 2015 (UK) and in June 2015 (USA). It includes the reissue of the ten tracks from the original 1967 album, plus fifteen bonus tracks from Gore's Mercury catalogue.[4][5] The bonus tracks include ten tracks from the 1965 album All About Love, which preceded California Nights, two tracks from the 1965 album My Town, My Guy & Me, and three tracks from the 5-CD box set It’s My Party, released in 1994.[7][8][9]

Tracks 1 to 10 are from the original album California Nights (1967), tracks 11 and 12 are from the album My Town, My Guy & Me (1965), tracks 13 to 21 and 23 are from the album All About Love (1965) and tracks 22, 24 and 25 are from the It’s My Party box set (1994).

Tracks from CDCHD 1439[10]
  1. California Nights (Marvin Hamlisch, Howard Liebling) - 2:44
  2. Treat Me Like a Lady (Bob Crewe, Gary Knight) - 2:56
  3. Bad (Bob Crewe, Joel Hirschhorn, Al Kasha) - 2:46
  4. I'm Going Out (The Same Way I Came In) (Bob Crewe, Gary Knight) - 2:33
  5. Maybe Now (Lesley Gore, Michael Gore) - 2:21
  6. Love Goes on Forever (Bob Crewe, Gary Knight) - 3:00
  7. Off and Running (Carole Bayer, Toni Wine) - 1:52
  8. Lilacs and Violets (Fred Anisfield, Larry Weiss) - 2:07
  9. The Bubble Broke (Bob Crewe, Raymond Bloodworth, L. Russell Brown) - 2:56
  10. Cry Like a Baby (Jo Armstead, Ashford & Simpson) - 2:13
  11. My Town, My Guy, and Me (Bob Elgin, Lesley Gore, Paul Kaufman) - 2:27
  12. Let Me Dream (Teddy Randazzo, Lou Stallman, Bobby Weinstein) - 2:21
  13. Start the Party Again (Artie Resnick, Kenny Young) - 2:15
  14. I Won't Love You Anymore (Sorry) (Lesley Gore, Michael Gore) - 2:05
  15. I Just Can't Get Enough of You (Jo Armstead, Ashford & Simpson) - 1:58
  16. To Know Him Is to Love Him (Phil Spector) - 2:29
  17. Will You Love Me Tomorrow? (Gerry Goffin, Carole King) - 2:18
  18. Only Last Night (Barry Mason, Les Reed) - 2:35
  19. With Any Other Girl (Shelly Coburn) - 2:19
  20. I Can Tell (Steve Duboff, Artie Kornfeld) - 2:22
  21. We Know We're in Love (Lesley Gore, Michael Gore) - 2:11
  22. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah (That Boy of Mine) (Charles Koppelman, Artie Kornfeld, Don Rubin) - 2:06
  23. That's What I'll Do (George Motola, Rickie Page) - 1:49
  24. Happiness Is Just Around the Corner (Van McCoy) - 2:16
  25. Hold Me Tight (Lesley Gore, Michael Gore) - 2:26

Notes

  1. ^ Jones produced the songs "Off and Running", "Lilacs and Violets", and "Cry Like a Baby", which was written by Ashford & Simpson[3]
  2. ^ Michael Gore, Lesley's younger brother, won the Oscar in 1981 for best original song for "Fame"; Lesley and Michael were also nominated that year for "Out Here on My Own" from Fame.

References

Citations
  1. ^ a b Wilson, Lois (July 2015). "New York Singer's Swansong For Mercury". Record Collector Magazine. Issue #442
  2. ^ "Lesley Gore, 1960s pop star, dies at 68". The Washington Post. Her last Top 20 hit was "California Nights" in 1967.
  3. ^ a b California Nights (Lesley Gore album) at Discogs
  4. ^ a b "California Nights With 15 Bonus Tracks". Ace Records (United Kingdom).
  5. ^ a b Tyler, Kieron (June 14, 2015). "Reissue CDs Weekly: Lesley Gore, Sixties pop at its classiest on the 'California Nights' album". The Arts Desk.
  6. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. September 3, 1966. p. 18. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  7. ^ "Lesley Gore: It's My Party (5-CD)". Bear Family Records.
  8. ^ Lesley Gore, California Nights at AllMusic
  9. ^ Barry, Mark (June 15, 2015). "California Nights with Bonus Tracks by Lesley Gore (May 2015 Ace CD Remasters)". Mark at the Flicks.
  10. ^ California Nights (Lesley Gore album) at Discogs
Sources
  • Mercury MG-21120
  • CDCHD 1439
  • Tolliver, Trevor (August 1, 2015), You Don't Own Me: The Life and Times of Lesley Gore, Backbeat Books ISBN 978-1-4950-4972-9