Songs for the New Depression
Studio album by
Bette Midler
ReleasedJanuary 8, 1976
Recorded1972-76
GenreVocal
Length38:47
LabelAtlantic (SD 18155)
ProducerBette Midler, Joel Dorn, Ahmet Ertegün, Arif Mardin, Mark "Moogy" Klingman, Jack Malken
Bette Midler chronology
Bette Midler
(1973) 		Songs for the New Depression
(1976) 		Live at Last
(1977)
Singles from Songs for the New Depression
  1. "Strangers in the Night"
  2. "Samedi et Vendredi"
  3. "Old Cape Cod"

Songs for the New Depression is the third studio album by the American singer Bette Midler, released in early 1976 on the Atlantic Records label. The album was released on CD for the first time in 1990. A remastered version of the album was released by Atlantic Records/Warner Music in 1995. A limited edition remastered version of the album was released by Friday Music in 2014.

Production and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideC+[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[3]

The album which saw her making her debut as a composer ("Mr. Rockefeller" and the French language "Samedi et Vendredi"), as well as co-producer and sound engineer features contributions from musicians as diverse as soul singer Luther Vandross, Todd Rundgren and Brazilian jazz accordionist Sivuca. Songs for the New Depression includes Midler's version of Tom Waits' "Shiver Me Timbers", a duet with Bob Dylan, "Buckets of Rain", and opens with her discofied take on Frank Sinatra's standard "Strangers in the Night" which became a #7 hit on the US dance charts. Two of the tracks, "Old Cape Cod" and "Marahuana", were originally recorded during the sessions for 1972 debut album The Divine Miss M but remixed three years later by producers Lew Hahn and Arif Mardin for Songs for the New Depression. The album peaked at #27 on the Billboard album chart. "Mr. Rockefeller" was sampled by rapper Kanye West on the song, "Last Call", from his debut album, The College Dropout.

Track listing

Side A

  1. "Strangers in the Night" (Bert Kaempfert, Charles Singleton, Eddie Snyder) - 3:22
  2. "I Don't Want the Night to End" (Phoebe Snow) - 3:53
  3. "Mr. Rockefeller" (Jerry Blatt, Bette Midler) - 4:05
  4. "Old Cape Cod" (Claire Rothrock, Allan Jeffrey, Milton Yakus) - 2:50
  5. "Buckets of Rain" (Bob Dylan), *Bette Midler - 4:00
  6. "Love Says It's Waiting" (Nick Holmes) - 1:41
    • From The Promise Suite

Side B

  1. "Shiver Me Timbers"/"Samedi et Vendredi" (Tom Waits, Midler, Moogy Klingman) - 6:25
  2. "No Jestering" (Carlton Malcolm) - 3:59
  3. "Tragedy" (Gerald Nelson, Fred Burch) - 3:06
  4. "Marahuana" (Arthur Jonston, Sam Coslow) - 2:30
  5. "Let Me Just Follow Behind" (Klingman) - 3:36

Personnel

Production

Charts

Chart (1976) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[4] 50
US Billboard 200[5] 27

References

  1. ^ Ruhlmann, William. Songs for the New Depression - Bette Midler. RhythmOne. Retrieved March 13, 2021. ((cite book)): |work= ignored (help)
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: M". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 7, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. ^ Coleman, Marc; Brackett, Nathan (2004). "Bette Midler". In Brackett, Nathan; Christian, Hoard (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 540. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  4. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. ^ "Bette Midler Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
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