Duophonic

Released

August 31, 1992

Recorded

May 1991–May 1992

Studio

Sigma Sound Studios, Electric Lady Studios, RPM Studios, The Magic Shop and The Hit Factory (New York, NY); Ocean Way Recording (Hollywood, CA).

Genre

R&B

Length

56:40

Label

Capitol

Producer

Andy Dean, Josh Deutsch, Ben Wolff

Charles & Eddie chronology

Duophonic
(1992)

Chocolate Milk
(1995)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Billboard	(favorable)^[2]
Robert Christgau	^[3]
Entertainment Weekly	A^[4]
Los Angeles Times	^[5]
NME	8/10^[6]
People	(favorable)^[7]

Duophonic is the debut album by American vocal duo Charles & Eddie, released in August 1992. The album has influences of "classic Northern soul of the '60s and '70s",^[1] and includes the worldwide smash hit "Would I Lie to You?" along with two further singles: "NYC (Can You Believe This City?)" and "House Is Not a Home".

Critical reception

Amy Linden from Entertainment Weekly gave the album an A, writing, "By laying silky harmonies on top of gritty hip-hop beats, gospel organ fills, and languid guitars, Charles & Eddie’s Duophonic creates an R&B paradise."^[4] Terry Staunton from NME felt it "turns out to be a most assured debut split fairly neatly between upbeat funk and well-crafted ballads that manage to avoid the usual sentimentality." He concluded, "It's a fine testament to two young men who are set to become one of the most important soul discoveries of the decade."^[6]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"House Is Not a Home"	Eddie Chacon, J. Freed	4:46
2.	"NYC (Can You Believe This City?)"	Chacon, Freed	5:45
3.	"Would I Lie to You?"	Mick Leeson, Peter Vale	4:38
4.	"Hurt No More"	Chacon, Freed	4:33
5.	"I Understand"	Charles Pettigrew	1:10
6.	"Unconditional"	Chacon, Andy Dean, Ben Wolff	4:40
7.	"Love Is a Beautiful Thing"	Seth Swirsky	4:45
8.	"Father to Son"	Chacon, Dean, Wolff	5:40
9.	"December 2"	Chacon	1:53
10.	"Be a Little Easy on Me"	Diane Warren	5:07
11.	"Vowel Song"	Chacon, Dean, Wolff	4:15
12.	"Where Do We Go from Here?"	Chacon	4:13
13.	"Shine" (includes untitled hidden track starting from 5:50)	Chacon, Freed, Rafael Hernandez	7:00

Personnel

Charles Pettigrew – lead vocals (1-4, 6-8, 10-13), backing vocals (2-4, 6-8, 10-13), all vocals (5)
Eddie Chacon – lead vocals (1-4, 6-8, 10-13), backing vocals (2-4, 7, 10-13), all vocals (9), percussion (13)
Amp Fiddler – organ (1-4, 8, 12), acoustic piano (1, 3), Wurlitzer electric piano (1, 8), clavinet (2, 4, 12), Rhodes (2, 3, 5, 6)
Garry Hughes – strings (1, 3, 7, 8, 12), loops (2), programming (2, 3, 8, 11), sampling (5), keyboard programming (5), percussion (7), clavinet (8), Rhodes (8, 11), keyboards (11)
Josh Deutsch – loops (2), programming (2), guitars (12)
Ed Tuton – loops (2), programming (2)
Greg Smith – additional programming (3)
Paul Gordon – keyboards (10), organ (10)
Paul Griffin – organ (10, 13)
Chris Bruce – guitars (1, 2, 10)
Jean-Paul Bourelly – guitars (2, 9)
David Fiuczynski – guitars (3, 4, 6-8, 11, 12)
Jeff Anderson – bass (1-4, 6-8, 10, 12)
Lonnie Hillyer – wah bass (4), guitars (13), bass (13)
Yossi Fine – bass (11)
Gene Lake – drums (1-4, 6-8, 11, 12)
Carla Azar – drums (10)
Daniel Sadownick – percussion (1-4, 6, 8, 10-12)
Andy Snitzer – saxophone (5, 12)
Michael Davis – trombone (5, 12)
Kent Smith – trumpet (5, 12)
Lani Groves – backing vocals (2, 11)
Vaneese Thomas – backing vocals (2, 3, 11)
Andrew Wyatt – backing vocals (2, 3, 11)
Barry Carl – backing vocals (3)

Production

Producer – Josh Deutsch
Additional track production on tracks 6, 8 & 11 – Andy Dean and Ben Wolff
Production assistance and technician – Artie Smith
Engineers – Michael Christopher and Ed Tuton
Additional engineer – Bradshaw Leigh
Assistant engineers – Shannon Carr, Suzanne Dyer, Phil Klum and Joe Warda.
Mixing – Femi Jiya and Ed Tuton
Mixed at The Hit Factory, Electric Lady Studios and Sound On Sound Recording Studio (New York, NY).
Mastered by Howie Weinberg at Masterdisk (New York, NY).
Project coordination – Janice Prendergast
Art direction and design – Icon (21)
Photography – Richard Lohr
Styling – Cathy Casterine
Management – Tony Smith and Patty Spinks at Hit & Run America.

Samples

"NYC (Can You Believe This City?)" samples "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield^[8]

Charts

Weekly charts[edit]

Chart (1992–93)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)	83
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[9]	4
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[10]	9
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[11]	6
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[12]	10
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[13]	20
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[14]	26
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[15]	5
UK Albums (OCC)^[16]	19
US Billboard 200^[17]	153

Year-end charts[edit]

Chart (1993)	Position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[18]	36
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[19]	73
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[20]	51
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[21]	40

References

^ ^a ^b Duophonic at AllMusic
^ "Album Reviews: New & Noteworthy" (PDF). Billboard. September 19, 1992. p. 57. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
^ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: Charles & Eddie". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
^ ^a ^b Linden, Amy (November 20, 1992). "Duophonic". Entertainment Weekly.
^ Johnson, Connie (September 27, 1992). "In Brief". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
^ ^a ^b Staunton, Terry (December 12, 1992). "Long Play: Deadly Duophonic". NME. p. 31. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
^ "Picks and Pans Review: Duophonic". People. December 14, 1992. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
^ "Charles & Eddie's 'N.Y.C.' sample of Buffalo Springfield's 'For What It's Worth'". WhoSampled. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
^ "Austriancharts.at – Charles & Eddie – Duophonic" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Charles & Eddie – Duophonic" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Charles & Eddie – Duophonic" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
^ "Charts.nz – Charles & Eddie – Duophonic". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Charles & Eddie – Duophonic". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
^ "Swedishcharts.com – Charles & Eddie – Duophonic". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
^ "Swisscharts.com – Charles & Eddie – Duophonic". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
^ "Charles & Eddie, TLP". Billboard. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
^ "Jahreshitparade Alben 1993". austriancharts.at. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1993". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1993". hitparade.ch. Retrieved October 8, 2020.