Games That Lovers Play (album)

Games That Lovers Play
Studio album by
Eddie Fisher
ReleasedNovember 1966
GenreVocal pop
Length34 minutes 27 seconds
LanguageEnglish
LabelRCA Victor
LPM/LSP 3726
ProducerAl Schmitt
Eddie Fisher chronology
Mary Christmas
(1965) 		Games That Lovers Play
(1966) 		People Like You
(1967)

Games That Lovers Play is an album recorded by the American singer Eddie Fisher in 1966, following the success of his "Games That Lovers Play" single. It was Eddie Fisher's 14th album.[1]

Background

By 1966, Eddie Fisher's chart performance had waned.[2] Mainly due to his drug use, financial problems, and scandals, although he could still score minor pop hits. The year had seen no hits for Fisher, and Dot Records eventually dropped him. Despite these failures, his longtime label RCA Records signed him once again.[3] His last single of 1966 was titled "Games That Lovers Play", and it returned him to the pop and easy listening charts soon afterwards.[4] Subsequently, Fisher recorded an album with the same name, arranged by Nelson Riddle and Eddie Samuels as the pianist.[5]

Chart performance

The single, "Games That Lovers Play", debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on October 29, 1966, and peaked at number 45 during a nine-week stay on the chart.[2] The song spent a week at number two on the magazine's Easy Listening chart, during its 14-week stay.[4] It reached number 41 on the Cashbox singles chart and stayed on the chart for nine weeks.[6]

The album debuted on the Billboard Top LPs chart in the issue dated November 26, 1966, and remained on the chart for ten weeks, peaking at number 72.[7] It debuted on the Cashbox Top 100 Albums chart in the issue dated November 26, 1966, remaining on that chart for a total of eight weeks and peaking at number 70.[8] It was his best selling album.[9] The album debuted on the Record World 100 Top LPs chart in the issue dated December 3, 1966, and remained on the chart for ten weeks, but was ranked much higher at number 53.[10]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]

The initial Cashbox review said that the album was a "A warm and tender offering of tunes from Eddie Fisher", and stated that it "Should go well with the artist’s fans."[5] Record World stated that "Fisher releases an album of beautiful songs. And he sings them beautifully." Noting that "the old and new are here in a mixture of 'Yesterday,' 'You're Devastating,' 'How Insensitive,' and 'Where's that Rainbow?'".[11] Billboard magazine believed that Fisher was "at his best and enhanced further by the superb arrangements of Nelson Riddle," with the LP. They described the material as "an exceptional array of current pop tunes adding to the programming and sales potential."[12]

William Ruhlmann of AllMusic said the album showed "Fisher was equally at home with an Antonio Carlos Jobim samba ("How Insensitive [Insensatez]," "Once I Loved"), a Rodgers & Hart standard ("Where's That Rainbow," "It Never Entered My Mind"), or a contemporary ballad (the Beatles' "Yesterday"), but gave special attention to songs like "Carnival (Manha de Carnaval)" and "Lara's Theme (Somewhere My Love)" that had sweeping melodies and a touch of melancholy.[1]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Games That Lovers Play (Eine Ganze Nacht)"James Last / Günter Loose / Eddie Snyder2:33
2."Where's That Rainbow?"Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers3:01
3."Carnival (Manha de Carnaval)"Luiz Bonfá / Luigi Creatore / Hugo Peretti / George David Weiss3:47
4."Lara's Theme (Somewhere My Love)"Maurice Jarre / Paul Francis Webster3:15
5."It Never Entered My Mind"Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers2:47
6."Just Let Me Look at You"Dorothy Fields / Jerome Kern2:50
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Yesterday"John Lennon / Paul McCartney2:45
8."How Insensitive (Insensatez)"Norman Gimbel / Antônio Carlos Jobim / Vinícius de Moraes3:07
9."I Get Along Without You Very Well"Hoagy Carmichael3:46
10."Once I Loved"Ray Gilbert / Antônio Carlos Jobim / Vinícius de Moraes3:15
11."You're Devastating"Otto Harbach / Jerome Kern3:14
Total length:34:27

Production

Recorded in RCA Victor's Music Center of the World, Hollywood, California.[13]

Charts

Album

Chart (1966–1967) Peak
position
U.S. Top LPs (Billboard)[7] 72
U.S. Top 100 Albums (Cashbox)[8] 70
U.S. 100 Top LPs (Record World)[10] 53

Singles

Year Title US AC[4] US Cashbox[6] US Hot 100[2]
1966 "Games That Lovers Play" 2 41 45

Personnel

References

  1. ^ a b c Ruhlmann, William. "Eddie Fisher - Games That Lovers Play: Review". AllMusic. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Whitburn, Joel (2002). Joel Whitburn's top pop singles 1955-2002. Menomonee Falls, Wisc.: Record Research. p. 244. ISBN 0898201551.
  3. ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 534. ISBN 9781846098567. Retrieved May 3, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c Whitburn, Joel (2007). Joel Whitburn Presents Billboard Top Adult Songs, 1961-2006. Menomonee Falls, Wis: Record Research. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-8982-0169-7.
  5. ^ a b Cashbox magazine, November 12, 1966. Album Reviews, page 46
  6. ^ a b Downey, Pat (1994). Cash box pop singles charts, 1950-1993. Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited. pp. 120–121. ISBN 1-56308-316-7.
  7. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (1996). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums 1955-1996. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 266. ISBN 0898201179. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Hoffmann, Frank W (1988). The Cash box album charts, 1955-1974. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. p. 120. ISBN 0-8108-2005-6.
  9. ^ Colin Larkin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 2004-IA38. ISBN 978-0857125958. Archived from the original on July 1, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Record World 100 Top LP's" (PDF). Record World. Vol. 21, no. 1023. January 14, 1967. p. 18. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via worldradiohistory.com.
  11. ^ "Albums of the Week: Games That Lovers Play; 96 Tears; Psychotic Reaction" (PDF). Record World. Vol. 21, no. 1014. November 12, 1966. p. 1. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via worldradiohistory.com.
  12. ^ Billboard magazine, November 19, 1966. Album Reviews, page 116
  13. ^ Fisher, Eddie (November 1966). "Games That Lovers Play (Liner Notes)". RCA Victor Records. LMP-3726; LSP-3726 (LP).
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