Cicero Park
| Cicero Park | ||||
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| Studio album by Hot Chocolate | ||||
| Released | June 1974 | |||
| Recorded | Morgan Studios, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 1:36:43 (with bonus CD) | |||
| Label | RAK, Big Tree (US) | |||
| Producer | Mickie Most | |||
| Hot Chocolate chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Cicero Park | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
Cicero Park is the debut album by British soul band Hot Chocolate. It was released in June 1974 on the RAK Records label, owned by Mickie Most, who was the band's producer. The album peaked at number fifty-five on the US Billboard 200 album chart.
The original 1974 LP release comprised ten original songs by the band's writing team, lead vocalist Errol Brown and bassist Tony Wilson. The album included the group's first major international hit, "Emma" and "Disco Queen". The album did not contain the song Brother Louie, which had been a US hit for the American band The Stories. The Hot Chocolate version of Brother Louie was later issued on CD as part of the 2009 Cicero Park Bonus disc.
The album was issued on CD for the first time in an expanded 25-track 2-disc set in 2009
Cicero Park has received varying reviews from contemporary critics.
In his obituary of Errol Brown in The Independent, Spencer Leigh praised the LP for its lyrical content:
Alex Henderson writing for Allmusic gave the album a mixed review. Citing that Hot Chocolate's albums including Cicero Park tended to be mildly uneven, but more often than not, the material [on Cicero Park] is quite promising. Henderson praises the title track, the Curtis Mayfield-influenced "Could Have Been Born in the Ghetto", the funky "Disco Queen" but singles out "Emma" [as] a real treasure, although a depressing one.
All tracks written by Errol Brown and Tony Wilson; except where indicated.
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Wikipedia