Yvonne Elliman - Night Flight (1978/2024)

Night Flight is a gorgeous album containing Yvonne Elliman's only number-one hit, "If I Can't Have You," written by the three Bee Gees brothers, from the film Saturday Night Fever. It is a pop masterpiece, the only track on the album produced by Freddie Perren. Perren gives the song a big production, which sounds like the Bee Gees's work with Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson, and the hardworking singer from Honolulu gets a much deserved chart topper to help spread her gospel. She opens the album with Neil Sedaka's "Baby Don't Let It Mess Your Mind," featuring a slow tempo more laid-back than the composer's version, and simply delightful. She covers "Prince of Fools," a song co-written by Nickey Barclay from the group Fanny, Stephen Bishop's moody "Sailing Ships," her distinctive and powerful voice gliding over Robert Appere's shimmering production work, and Mentor Williams' "I'll Be Around," not the much covered Spinners' hit but a nice ballad co-written by the famous producer and Jack Conrad. There's a taste of reggae with "Lady of the Silver Spoon," and a truly elegant adult contemporary number, "Down the Backstairs of My Life." As Grace Slick left the sexual ambiguity in "Sally Go 'Round the Roses," so too does Elliman on this rendition, and good for her. These were the disco days, and it is so subtle it no doubt went over the heads of casual listeners. The back cover has Elliman in a long flowing dress with her hair wild in the wind, it's beautiful imagery with a red background on an album which might have got lost because of all the attention paid to the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. There are major names galore here, Kiki Dee, James Newton-Howard, Dee Murray, and Davey Johnstone from the Rocket Records/Elton John camp; guitarists Lowell George, Steve Hunter and Steve Cropper, keyboardist Eric Carmen, and many more included. Elliman albums always enjoy marquee players, and her talent truly deserved the support. With Alice Cooper manager Shep Gordon onboard as executive producer, and the number-one hit, it is amazing Elliman didn't give Linda Ronstadt, Helen Reddy, and Barry Manilow more chart competition. Her five hits were always welcome on '70s pop radio, but they only hinted at the depth of her full-length recordings, music worthy of more notice.