Unborn Child

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For other uses, see Unborn child (disambiguation).
Unborn Child
Studio album by
Seals and Crofts
ReleasedFebruary 8, 1974[1]
RecordedThe Sound Factory, Los Angeles
GenreSoft rock
Length38:06
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerLouie Shelton
Seals and Crofts chronology
Diamond Girl
(1973) 		Unborn Child
(1974) 		I'll Play for You
(1975)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Christgau's Record GuideD−[2]

Unborn Child was released in February 1974. This is the first major national record label pro-life release.[3] It is the sixth studio album by American pop/folk duo Seals and Crofts. It included two low-charting singles, the title track (which reached No. 66) and "The King of Nothing", which reached No. 60. The single "Unborn Child" reached No. 63 in Canada.[4]

Album conception[edit]

The project originated when Lana Bogan, wife of recording engineer Joseph Bogan, watched a TV documentary on abortion and she was inspired to write a poem from the perspective of the aborted child. While Seals & Crofts were working on their new album, she approached Seals with the poem. She asked him to add music to her pro-life message, and the result was "Unborn Child."[5]

True to their countercultural roots, they had become followers of the relatively new, small, and unknown Baha’i religion during the topsy-turvy 1960s.[3] This is a 19th-century religion that is based on the idea of unity and equality among all people. In this album, they cited the faith's assertion that life begins at conception.[5]

Regarding the album's name being the same as the lead single Unborn Child, it's because both Seals and Croft, after listening to all the tunes, realised that it represented the concept of the album better than any of the other songs.[5]

According to Dash Crofts, Warner Bros. tried to warn them not to release the album, because the subject of abortion was highly controversial. Neither Seals nor Crofts cared about the money and stated they were making the record to save lives, while Warner was primarily concerned with making money. The duo also insisted that the song's message was more universal;[5] that one should not take life too lightly, and should consider its value before carrying out the procedure of abortion.[6]

Album reception[edit]

Despite Warners' warnings, the album was released in February 1974 and the label's worst fears came true: the title track was deemed controversial at the time because of its anti-abortion stance and as a result, Unborn Child hurt the duo's popularity and it was criticized by music critics. The controversy definitely lowered the profile of Seals and Crofts and slowed down their career.[7] "Unborn Child" marked the beginning of their downward spiral.[5]

According to Bill DeYoung, the duo crossed the thin line that separated their music from the Baháʼí Faith, a religion that disapproves of abortion, and abortion-rights advocates boycotted the album and the duo's concerts.[7][6][8] For this record, Seals and Crofts won the "Keep Her in Her Place" award from the National Organization for Women (tying with Paul Anka for his recording of "(You're) Having My Baby") during "its annual putdown of male chauvinism" in the media on Women's Equality Day.[9]

However, it did receive a mostly positive review from Noel Coppage, who, in a July 1974 issue of what was then known as Stereo Review described the song "Windflowers" as "truly beautiful, one of the most dazzling opening songs I've heard on an album in a long time, and the vocal and instrumental work throughout is exceptional-two-part harmonies that soar above inspired and single-minded runs on Crofts' mandolin and unbelievably clean and understanding strums on Seals' acoustic guitar, backed by some restrained and brilliant strums on Louis Shelton's electric guitar." Of the title cut, he wrote that its "message is anti-abortion propaganda, pure and simple, but it is delivered gently and poetically inside a layered, meaty melody-and hardworking liberals like me can like the song while disagreeing with the tract it could be prosaically reduced to." He added, however, that "'Dance by the Light of the Moon' seems ill at ease with its meter and with the arbitrary, superficial rocking that scatters its ending, and 'Big Mac', while cleverly titled and worded to suggest both the trucking and hamburgering of America's interior, has an innocence uber alles attitude that just about pinpoints what it is about Seals and Crofts that is getting to me."[10]

Track listing[edit]

All songs written by James Seals and Dash Crofts, except where indicated.

Side One

  1. "Prelude" (:40) (David Paich)
  2. "Windflowers" (3:07) (James Seals, Dan Seals)
  3. "Desert People" (3:31)
  4. "Unborn Child" (3:55) (Seals, Lana Bogan)
  5. "The Story of Her Love" (3:30)
  6. "Dance by the Light of the Moon" (4:47)

Side Two

  1. "Rachel" (:58)
  2. "King of Nothing" (3:16) (Seals)
  3. "29 Years from Texas" (3:14)
  4. "Ledges" (3:08)
  5. "Follow Me" (3:44)
  6. "Big Mac" (4:16)

Charts[edit]

Chart (1974) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[11] 37
Canada[12] 18
United States (Billboard 200) 14

Personnel[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Unborn Child" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 86, no. 5. February 2, 1974. p. 38. ISSN 0008-7289. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 12, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. ^ a b Tortelli, Joseph (2022-06-22). "Seals and Crofts and The Legacy of 'Unborn Child'". NewBostonPost. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  4. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - April 6, 1974" (PDF).
  5. ^ a b c d e Songfacts. "Unborn Child by Seals & crofts".
  6. ^ a b DeYoung, Bill (27 June 2015). "How Seals and Crofts' Heartfelt Stand on 'Unborn Child' Cost Them Everything". Something Else!. Retrieved 2023-01-29.
  7. ^ a b Morabito, Stella. "Unborn Child at Forty". The Human Life Review. Retrieved 2023-01-29.
  8. ^ Washburn, Jim (26 October 1991). "Passing This Way Again: Seals & Crofts Are Trying Out New Material, Hoping There's a Place for Them in the '90s". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-01-29.
  9. ^ "People, Sep. 9, 1974". Time. 1974-09-09. Archived from the original on 18 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
  10. ^ Popular Discs and Tapes, Stereo Review, July 1974, p. 90.
  11. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 267. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  12. ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums - April 20, 1974" (PDF).
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