As with all Partridge Family albums (with the exception of
Bulletin Board),
Up to Date was produced by
Wes Farrell at
United Western Recorders, Studio 2 in
Los Angeles. As with the group's first album, it was engineered by Bob Kovach, with arrangements by
Mike Melvoin. Consistent with all of the Partridge Family's studio output, the album features musicians associated with iconic Los Angeles–based session players "
the Wrecking Crew":
Hal Blaine (drums),
Joe Osborn (bass guitar),
Mike Melvoin (keyboard),
Dennis Budimir (guitar) and
Louie Shelton (guitar). Once again, members of overlapping studio groups the
Ron Hicklin Singers and
the Love Generation – brothers
John and
Tom Bahler,
Ron Hicklin and
Jackie Ward – feature prominently as backing vocalists throughout the album. The album features three songs written by "
I Think I Love You" songwriter
Tony Romeo, who contributed material to all eight of the Partridge Family's studio albums. The LP also includes five songs co-written by Wes Farrell, including three with prolific lyricist
Gerry Goffin (former songwriting partner of
Carole King). And two of the songs – including the hit "Doesn't Somebody Want to Be Wanted" – were co-written by Wes Farrell,
Mike Appel and Jim Cretecos, whose five Partridge Family songs as a songwriting trio include "I Can Feel Your Heartbeat". Between 1972 and 1975 Appel worked as manager and producer for
Bruce Springsteen.
Up to Date features
David Cassidy's first contribution as a songwriter; with Wes Farrell he co-wrote the song "Lay It on the Line". The recording introduced a distorted guitar sound to the group's repertoire. Cassidy publicly despised one of the LP's hits, "Doesn't Somebody Want to Be Wanted", and making it proved to be a very hard task. He did not think it was a good song and hated the idea of his having to talk in the middle of it so much so he initially refused to do it. This caused consternation with the studio and the record company, prompting the involvement of the heads of both
Bell Records and
Screen Gems, which at the time were the respective
record and
television divisions of the major
Hollywood studio
Columbia Pictures. Production shooting of the TV series was halted in order to provide a place in time where his manager and agent could talk to him over the issue. One of the things they said was about how many more copies of the record would be sold if it contained a speaking role from him. They put pressure on him until he caved in and did the record as requested. When it was finished, he was unsuccessful in trying to keep the record shelved in Bell's vaults. His feelings toward the song remained negative: The album's distinctive cover (overseen by
Bell Records art director Beverly Weinstein) was designed in the form of a calendar indicating the birth dates of the family (including dog Simone), which were the actual birth dates of the cast members. The album also included a book cover. This was the last album to feature
Jeremy Gelbwaks as Chris Partridge on the cover, as he left the show soon after the album's release. ==Track listing==