Rich's 1973 countrypolitan masterpiece is a long way from his late 50s sides as a session pianist at Sun and his brief 1960 flirtation with chart success on "Lonely Weekend." By this point in his career, having released records on Phillips, Groove, Smash (where he had a minor hit with "Mohair Sam") and Hi, he'd released everything from rockabilly to straight country to jazz-inflected versions of standards. What he hadn't done was establish a truly identifiable sound or crack the upper reaches of the charts. Six years at Epic hadn't yet yielded a career-making breakthrough, either.

All that changed with this Billy Sherrill production, and his emergence as The Silver Fox. Though they'd been working together for six years, they didn't find true commercial success until the release of the soulful, "I Take it on Home" and this follow-up LP. The title track hit #1 on the country chart early in '73, and crossed over to the pop Top 20. The follow-up single from the LP, "The Most Beautiful Girl," also hit #1 country and crossed over, as well. Rich cleaned up at the subsequent CMA's, sweeping top single, top LP and top male vocalist, and nabbed the Grammy for best country vocalist, as well as 4 ACM awards.

Though Rich and Sherrill had been working on their sound for several years, the resulting albums were a hit-and-miss give-and-take between Rich's multi-genre leanings and Sherrill's pop sound. On "Behind Closed Doors," Rich more fully surrendered to the role of country-pop crooner, finding a level of comfort that allowed him to star amidst Sherrill's layered, complex productions. It was a balance that became the template for 70s country pop recordings. In addition to the seamlessness of their combined sounds, producer and artist found superb material, offering smooth country and politely bluesy tunes that showed off Rich's soulful side. No doubt the maturing audience for country was more receptive than ever to the softened countrypolitan sounds.

Country music purists sometimes dismiss Rich's breakthrough as a sellout. But his ability and desire to sing a country song with tinges of jazz or pop had been with him from early on. And if one considers music to be a language, then like a language, the vocabulary - the songs, the sounds, the productions - evolves with the times. Rich made the most of the country pop vocabulary of the 70s, and added the sort of soulfulness employed by Ray Charles in his own country efforts and Elvis in his latter-day ballads.

This reissue offers four bonus tracks dating from '71 and '72, fitting in both arrangement and sentiment with the LP at large. Only one, "I've Got Mine" was previously unreleased. Newly penned liner notes from Mavericks' vocalist Raul Malo and Billboard writer Chet Flippo round out the package.

This album was Charlie Rich's breakthrough to

massive popularity after fifteen years of gigs

in venues of "lesser" status. Charlie Rich was really

a jazz pianist and blues, soul singer who gained

his worldwide fame through the more "sophisticated"

country sound developed by producer Billy Sherrill. "Behind Closed Doors" is the standout album of this genre.

"You Never Really Wanted Me" is the song that made

me a Charlie Rich fan. It is really a blues song in

my opinion and playing it late at night in the dark will

affect you too. The rest of the album contains material

that showcases not only Charlie's magnificent voice but

the genuine emotion that Charlie conveys to the listener.

The release of "I've Got Mine" on this "expanded" album

is welcome because "never before" released material by Charlie is rare and to have the sterling "Ruby, You're Warm" on CD is a treat. Buy this one and then explore the rest of this man's catalog - you will discover blues, soul, gospel, jazz, standards and rock and roll. I challenge you to find

any other singer who is his equal.

I bought this CD for 2 songs, The Most Beautiful Girl and Behind Closed Doors. As I listened, I quickly realized that this CD is a masterpiece!!! As a normal fan of Heavy Metal, I remember Charlie Rich from my early childhood, I remember liking those 2 songs, so I bought the CD. Now, I think I like the other songs better, like Peace on You (truly superb) and You Never Really Wanted Me (haunting vocals). Charlie uses his voice as an instrument, not letting it get drowned out by sound effects like todays "vocalists". Let me tell ya, this is pure genius. Charlie, I hope you are reading this, because this album reflects your talent, and your voice has propelled you to one of the greatest vocalists of all time. This album will blow you away. SUPERB!!!! Charlie, You truly are da man!!!!!!

i was way too young to appreciate 'behind closed doors' when it came out, and sort of re-discovered charlie rich this year while hearing a country classics collection. his bluesy, gospel-tinged piano adds a warm edginess to this CD. including the bonus tracks, the best songs are oddly... the odd-numbered ones, especially the title track, "take it on home", "nothing in this world", and "i've got mine". what a voice - contemplative and robust at the same time.

it was cool seeing "behind closed doors" near the top of cmt's top 100 all-time country songs. he sang about regret, temptation, and love in non-corny but provocative ways... a lesson in being a classy performer, imho.

I have been a fan of Charlie Rich for 14 years and have the original album. This CD is a must for any CD collection. Great songs that will cheer you up.