Chinese Wall (album)

Chinese Wall is the third solo album by American singer Philip Bailey, released on the Columbia Records label in October 1984. The album reached number 22 on the Billboard 200 and number 10 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts respectively. The album was Grammy nominated in the category of Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male. Chinese Wall has also been certified gold in the US by the RIAA.

Background
The album was produced by English musician Phil Collins, who also played drums, keyboards, co-wrote and sang co-lead vocals.

Collins later said, "Bailey got a lot of flak for being produced by someone who is white. There was this paranoia that the album would not be played by black stations...The reason I was on the video for "Easy Lover" is that I knew it wouldn't be shown if it was just Phil Bailey."

Singles
The album's smash pop hit was "Easy Lover", a duet with Phil Collins. The song also got a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals.

The album's second single was "Photogenic Memory", released in 1984. Released in March 1985, the third and final single "Walking on the Chinese Wall" reached #46 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Critical reception
Joe Brown of The Washington Post commented, "The spirit of Earth, Wind and Fire goes one step beyond on his second solo effort, guided masterfully by Phil Collins, who can't seem to make a misstep these days. Bailey's falsetto soars ethereally (and sometimes scrapes earthily) over Collins' glistening wall of exotic percussion and electronic textures". With a 3 out of 5 stars rating, James Henke of Rolling Stone stated, "This is not as funky as Earth, Wind and Fire, but it's a hundred times more appealing."

Writing for The Voice, music journalist Nelson George praised Chinese Wall, declaring it "the most solid album by a black male since Purple Rain". He described "the Phenix Horns' stratospheric horn chart...Collins drumming (this white boy is funky) and Arif Mardin's impeccable string charts", saying Bailey "singing breathier and deeper – projects his sensitivity in a more muscular baritone."

Gary Graff of the Detroit Free Press wrote "Earth, Wind & Fire singer Bailey makes a wise bet by enlisting Collins to produce and play on his album. Besides a strong duet, "Easy Lover," the performances lift the album's quality above some inconsistent songwriting." Lou Papineau of The Boston Globe found that, "This is a likable, undemanding album of lively uptempo struts and warm ballads."

Personnel

 * Philip Bailey – lead and backing vocals, percussion (10)
 * Lesette Wilson – keyboards, acoustic piano solo (10)
 * George Massenburg – synthesizer programming
 * Godfrey Wang – synthesizer programming
 * Daryl Stuermer – guitars, guitar solo (4, 6)
 * Nathan East – bass guitar, bass pedals (4), kalimba (4), keyboards (5)
 * Phil Collins – drums (1-9), vocoder (1), LinnDrum (1, 3, 5), Simmons (2, 8, 9), keyboards (3, 6), backing vocals (3, 6, 8), lead vocals (6), percussion (10)
 * Paulinho da Costa – percussion (7, 10)
 * The Phenix Horns – horns (3, 5, 7, 8, 9)
 * Don Myrick – saxophones (3, 5, 7, 8, 9), sax solo (5)
 * Louis Satterfield – trombone (3, 5, 7, 8, 9)
 * Michael Harris – trumpet (3, 5, 7, 8, 9), trumpet solo (9)
 * Rahmlee Michael Davis – trumpet (3, 5, 7, 8, 9)
 * Tom-Tom 84 – horn arrangements (3, 5, 7, 8, 9)
 * Arif Mardin – string arrangements (5, 7, 9)
 * Josie James – backing vocals (3, 4, 8)
 * Carl Carwell – backing vocals (7, 10)
 * Winston Ford – backing vocals (7, 10)
 * Nigel Martinez – backing vocals (8)

Production

 * Producer – Phil Collins
 * Engineer – George Massenburg
 * Assistant Engineers – Steve Chase, Judy Clapp, Murray Dvorkin and Tom Perry.
 * Art Direction and Design – Tony Lane and Nancy Donald
 * Cover Photography – Ellen Land-Weber and Randee St. Nicholas
 * Management – Cavallo, Ruffalo and Fargnoli Management.