High Crime (album)

High Crime is the seventh studio album by Al Jarreau, released in 1984. While slightly lower in the charts than his 1981 Breakin' Away and 1983 Jarreau release, this album scored in the top 10 on the Billboard Jazz charts and top 50 in the Billboard 200. In 1986 the album received a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male. The album was certified Gold in 1986.

AllMusic gave the album the following review: "High Crime is fueled by the hard-pushing hit from Jarreau's previous album Boogie Down, producer Jay Graydon cranks up the energy level some more and comes up with a snazzy high-tech vehicle for his converted R&B singer. The sound is hotter, stoked by greater reliance upon synthesizers and electronically goosed rhythm tracks, and Jarreau's own vocals are more hectic, though again not much in the way of individuality is required of him. But the material this time isn't as strong—though 'Murphy's Law' is pretty catchy with its flugelhorn punctuations—and so the reluctance to exploit the unique vocal talents of Jarreau is more glaring. The minor hit single of the album, oddly, is the mundane ballad 'After All,' an ominous harbinger of bathos to come from Jarreau down the road."

Track listing
Side 1
 * 1) "Raging Waters" (Al Jarreau, Jay Graydon, Robbie Buchanan) - 4:25
 * 2) "Imagination" (Al Jarreau, Jay Graydon, Clif Magness, Glen Ballard) - 4:45
 * 3) "Murphy's Law" (Steve Kipner, Paul Bliss) - 4:06
 * 4) "Tell Me" (Al Jarreau, Jay Graydon, Greg Phillinganes) - 4:33
 * 5) "After All" (Al Jarreau, Jay Graydon, David Foster) - 4:18

Side 2
 * 1) "High Crime" (Al Jarreau, Jay Graydon, Bobby Lyle) - 4:29
 * 2) "Let's Pretend" (Jay Graydon, Richard Page, Steve George, John Lang) - 3:59
 * 3) "Sticky Wicket" (Al Jarreau, Jay Graydon, Greg Phillinganes) - 4:16
 * 4) "Love Speaks Louder Than Words" (Bill Champlin, Richard Feldman, Glenn Friedman) - 3:57
 * 5) "Fallin'" (Al Jarreau, Jay Graydon, Nathan East, Marcel East) - 4:56

Personnel

 * Al Jarreau – lead vocals
 * Jay Graydon – guitar (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10), synthesizer (2, 3, 4, 6, 10), computer concept (3)
 * Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar (6, 8)
 * Bob Beats – bass guitar (1)
 * Nathan East – bass guitar (2, 10)
 * Jake Jugs – bass guitar (4)
 * Skinsoh Umar – drums (1)
 * Chip McSticks – drums (2)
 * Michael Baird – percussion (2, 9), cymbals (4), drums (5)
 * Tyrone B. Feedback – drums (4)
 * O. Rapage – drums (7)
 * Rug Toupé – drums (7)
 * Pat Mastelotto – electronic drums (7)
 * U. L. Blowby – drums (8)
 * Champ Time – drums (9)
 * Tubs Margranate – drums (10)
 * Robbie Buchanan – synthesizer (1, 2, 4, 5, 9), piano (6)
 * Gary Chang – Fairlight programming (2)
 * Paul Bliss – computer concept (3)
 * Steve Kipner – computer concept (3)
 * Greg Phillinganes – synthesizer (4, 8, 10)
 * David Foster – piano (5), synthesizer (5)
 * Erich Bulling – Yamaha DX1 programming (5)
 * Bobby Lyle – synthesizer (6)
 * Bo Tomlyn – Yamaha DX1 programming (6, 10)
 * Steve George – synthesizer (7)
 * Jerry Hey – horn arrangements (2, 8), flugelhorn (3)
 * Gary Grant – flugelhorn (3)
 * Horns (2, 8) – Bill Reichenbach Jr., Charels Loper, Chuck Findley, Gary Grant and Jerry Hey
 * Backing vocals – Al Jarreau (3, 6, 9, 10), Richard Page (3, step-outs on 7), Bill Champlin (6, 8, 9), Carmen Twillie (6, 8, 9) and Siedah Garrett (8)
 * Arrangements – Robbie Buchanan (1, 5), Jay Graydon (1-10), Al Jarreau (2, 5), Clif Magness (2), Glen Ballard (2), Paul Bliss (3), Steve Kipner (3), David Foster (5), Jeremy Lubbock (5), Bobby Lyle (6), Richard Page (7), Steve George (7), Greg Phillinganes (8), Bill Champlin (9), Richard Feldman (9), Marcel East (10) and Nathan East (10)

Production

 * Producer – Jay Graydon
 * Recorded by Ian Eales and Jay Graydon at Garden Rake Studios (Sherman Oaks, CA).
 * Mixed by Jay Graydon at Garden Rake Studios; Ian Eales and Michael Verdick at Channel Recorders (Burbank, CA).
 * Mastered by Steve Hall at Future Disc (Hollywood, CA).
 * Album Coordinator – Shirley Klein
 * Art Direction – Jeffrey Kent Ayefoff and Michael Hodgson
 * Design – Michael Hodgson
 * Photography – Just Loomis
 * Lyrical and Poetic Consultant – Monica Dalsasso
 * Management – Patrick Rains & Associates