In the City of Mercy was Tom Chapin's first album since the death of his brother Harry, and on it he seemed to be trying to assume Harry's mantle as a singer/songwriter who crossed over to the pop market. The album was cut at Criteria Studios in Miami and featured some of the same musicians Harry had used on his last album, Sequel, among them producers Ron and Howard Albert. It had a distinct pop/rock sound with Chuck Kirkpatrick (another player on Sequel) contributing electric lead guitar to catchy rock arrangements that seemed to grow out of Howard Albert's keyboard parts. The sound didn't quite achieve the gloss of a full-scale pop production, however, in part because of Chapin's vocals, which sometimes sounded strained. The songs themselves, nearly all of them written by Chapin, were insubstantial efforts, most of them vaguely describing romantic discord, often with similar images. The most heartfelt number seemed to be "Willie (The Ballad of Willie Sutton)," a celebration of the life of the bank robber. A cover of brother Harry's "Circle" was also included. Fans of Chapin's children's records will find him practically unrecognizable in this slight, unsuccessful bid for pop acceptance. (In the City of Mercy was reissued on CD by Gadfly Records on September 12, 2000.)
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