title: Songs From A One Time Wildflower

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Can't even explain how many times I saw this CD in used record stores and paid it zero attention. It was only recently when seeing that I realized this artists significance. The now 56 year old Lisa Fischer had been a backup vocalist for everyone from Luther Vandross,who helped produce this album,to Billy Ocean. This led her to tour with the Rollings Stones on their [[ASIN:B00272NH04 Steel Wheels]] tour in 1989-essentially succeeding another backup vocalist of theirs Merry Clayton in such cases as singing the female part of "Gimme Shelter". All of this coming from the wonderful documentary [[ASIN:B00H8AX7R8 20 Feet From Stardom]],in which Fischer is prominently featured.  She signed up to Elektra in the early 90's and with the help of Vandross,Narada Michael Walden and Arif Mardin recorded her first (and to date only) album for the label in 1991.

  "Save Me" starts the album out with a house oriented dance jam-on which Fischer showcases her singing approach: a broad range of vocal gymnastics full of gospel infused energy that goes from high pitched Minnie Ripperton-like soaring down to a rich,growling mid tenor. This is a Walden produced and arranged number. The other songs he does here such as "How Can I Ease The Pain" and the more danceable mid-tempo title track are both sleek urban contemporary soul/pop numbers with rich melodic passages in Walden's signature style. Vandross produces the go-go style and new jack swing friendly funky pop of "Get Back To Love"-as usual helped along by stripped down production and Marcus Miller's grooving slap bass. The epic soul ballad of "Wildflower" lyrically reflects on Fischer looking back on a past of being misunderstood for living out her hopes and dreams-accompanied by a small spoken dialog in the song from her.

  "Send The Message Of Love" is a wonderful funky pop "people music" song preaching hope and caring over despair-a wonderful message for any era with a lot of poverty and violence. "So Tender",done by Attala Zane Giles is a funky soul jam with a strong gospel oriented melody that sounds almost exactly like an early 80's Vandross song actually,while he puts yet more of a go-go/new jack touch on the feisty "Some Girls"-speaking to women who alternately invite and repel their own sexuality. "Chain Of Broken Hearts" is a melancholy gospel inspired ballad courtesy of Arif Mardin while "Last Goodbye" ends the album on a highly reflective note,with a very jazzy number-heavy on the slow swinging drum brushing rhythm which finds Fischer exercising her vocal interpretation in it's most elastic possible way.

  This is one of those albums that sounds very much of it's moment of time,yet somehow manages to pull together so many elements of quality control and musical excellence. With all the hands involved in making this,it all sounds like a unified statement. Fischer herself is an exceptional singer-even being estate enough to showcase her homegrown talents by often putting her own back-rounds as the lead of the songs. Even with session aces like Hiram Bullock and Paul Jackson helping out in the studio? Not to mention winning a Grammy for best R&B female vocalist in 1992? She decided to return to backup singing-most recently touring with Nine Inch Nails. She admittedly felt more comfortable there-stating that she in fact never felt a backup singer always needed something more. She gave solo work a try,succeeded enormously and than went back to what she felt best in. So even if she never makes another album? The fact she succeeded at what provided the realization of her career AWAY from solo success showcases she's an artist who really knows where her own head is at!


title: Tina Turner's Blockbuster Solo Shot At Musical Royalty

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While many debate the syndrome of blockbuster,recording breaking pop albums of the 1980's? The fact is,it's effects on a given artist was pretty dependent on the strength of their persona's-and the necessity of success in relation to their career arc. The Ike & Tina Revue had disintegrated into a mess of domestic and drug related issues for Ike-sadly despite him being a huge musical talent and rock 'n' roll innovator. While no personal tragedies can take Ike's career arc away from him? Tina was evolving in another direction. After an aborted relaunch of her solo career in the disco era? She began to find phenomenal success in public duets/appearances with rock stars such as Rod Stewart and opening for the Rolling Stones in the early 80's. Apparently at the insistence of David Bowie? Tina decamped to England-where she released a single in 1983. Working with the funk/soul inspired new wave band Heaven 17,she began to announce a huge comeback which culminated in this 1984 release.

  "I Might've Been Queen" begins the album with a steely,danceable new wave dance/rocker where Tina discusses her lost changes of earlier solo stardom. As many times as I've heard "What's Love Got To Do With It",today considered her signature song,I realize what a wonderfully sleek jazz-pop/reggae hybrid this song actually is. Probably why it's had at least two generations since singing and swaying along to it. "Show Some Respect" is a soulfully ballsy slice of mid 80's rock 'n' soul while her version of Anne Peebles famous "I Can't Stand The Rain" merely updates the songs famous synthesized raindrops and off kilter rhythm with 80's electronics and drum machines. The title song is a beautifully elegant,mid-tempo jazzy soul-pop number with some wonderfully piano and melodic dynamics. "Let's Stay Together" was the first single released from this interestingly enough-and takes Al Green's classic and gives it similar instrumental dynamics of the title song.

  "Better Be Good To Me" is an arena friendly dance/rock anthem-powerfully declaring Tina's feelings on how she should...no MUST be treated by others in her eyes. "Steel Claw" represents the only real guitar oriented pop/rock on this album while,similar to the manner in which the band Lakeside did "I Want To Hold Your Hand, Tina takes the Beatles "Help" and transforms it into a contemporary 80's Southern soul ballad. "1984" updates Bowie's 1984 classic with electro dance beats. Between the hits,original song and interpretations? This album not only invented Tina Turner as a contemporary artist. But did so while keeping her throaty soul shouter vocals totally intact. All of the interpretations and performances,instrumentally and vocally,are top notch. And despite some naysayers? I personally feel that this album withstands the test of time pretty well for the most part. Tina's persona seems strengthened by many times by her music's UK soul/funk/rock gentrification. It was all based on the sound she pioneered with Ike,among many others,anyway. And with this albums huge international success? Tina Turner was officially back in action!


title: War,The Gypsy Man,Baby Brother And The Southern Pearl Of Texas Deliver A Musical Message

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Always one of the most musical exploratory bands on the LA music scene of the late 60's and early 70's? War's melodic and rhythmic diversity was actual of very solid ground. Yet the style of the musicianship they had could sometimes seem larger than the personality of the instrumentalists themselves. Their album [[ASIN:B009XC8SEQ The World Is a Ghetto]] became something of a big breakout because their grooving musical stew all seemed to coming together with a greater sense of fluidity. Of course the matter of a follow up album can often be a bit daunting if one has just broken out on the commercial front. Yet because they were solidly in their musical peak? War faced this dilemma with enormous levels of gusto on this album.

  The album begins with an overture that mixes in a stride style/honky tonk style piano melody with a huge cinematic Brazilian style wash of flutes and horns. "In Your Eyes" is a jaunty funky soul groove with bouncing synthesizers and a call and response vocal between the band members. "Gypsy Man" is yet another War epic-basically an acoustic guitar led 11 minute Southern style funk/rock jam that blends the jazzy/blues improvisation of Allman Brothers and Santana.  "Me And Baby Brother" and "Southern Pearl Of Texas" are both strong,full on War style funk-as is usually the case given their meat from the late percussionist Papa Dee Allen. The title song is a beautifully orchestrated,cinematic slow samba  and "people music" of the highest order while the albums ends with the Lee Oskar bluesy boogaloo of "Blisters".

  As someone who learned most of what I did about funk from Ricky Vincent's book of the same title?  One important lesson that I've come to learn is that while some albums in the height of the funk era were all funk? Many of them were very diverse as well. And that goes for artists too. Often enough,that's what creates the whole funk process to begin with: a stew of different ideas. Since it came from a similar synergy,it was no accident that funk was born heavily from jazz oriented musicians. This album brings a great sense of clarity to the possible collective chaos of a band of this type and era particularly well. It combined the definition of their previous album with the cinematically powerful progressiveness of their earlier music. It was just the sort of middle ground that can open doors for even greater things in the future. And knowing what came after this? I think this is an album that really accomplished it's mission for War.


title: Run DMC Are NOT Going Out Like THAT!

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In the year and a half that Run DMC were touring for their breakout album [[ASIN:B008DVJKGS Raising Hell]]? Rap and hip-hop exploded. It was on everything from educational shows to commercials for children's breakfast cereal. The concept had become far more mainstream than it had after "Rappers Delight". The way that hip-hop changed in order to keep at bay attempts at total assimilation into middle America was to broaden it's sociopolitical scope. All of a sudden the genre went from being fun loving,somewhat braggadocio "12 inch singles to being more progressive,album length concepts. These often had more serious,topical concerns. And by 1988,with Def Jam ascendant groups like NWA and Public Enemy became game changers in their own right. So within two years from their breakthrough? Run DMC were in danger of being a bit out of step with hip-hop. The question was how would they handle it?

  Sure enough "Run's House","They Call Us Run-D.M.C","Radio Station","Beat To The Rhyme"-with it's sample of James Brown's "Talkin Loud and Sayin' Nothin'","I'm Not Going Out Like That" and "Soul To Rock 'N Roll"-in which Run DMC actually sample themselves are all far musically busy-with multi layered rhythms as opposed to beats and combinations of lead and choral raps multi tracked one on top of the other. Thematically they feature a more direct statement of intent-with the subtext that Run DMC are simply not going to allow a newer generation of hip-hoppers to dismiss their accomplishments.  The hit "Mary Mary",the title song and "Miss Elaine"  feature heavier funk/rock oriented sounds with even more pronounced guitar solos while "Papa Crazy" loops "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" with a theme putting that songs lyrics into a contemporary context. The album ends with the witty "Ragtime",featuring the groups mocking an uppity phrasing to their rhymes over a a classic New Orleans jazz style back round.

  On this album the general personality of Run DMC remains intact. On the other hand? This is not the sound of an up and coming group hungry to make it big. This is the sound of a group who are facing serious competition within the world of hip-hop. And yes-this albums does embrace the rhythmically elaborate and densely sample heavy sound of the Bomb Squad more than it does Run DMC's traditionally more stripped down and rock oriented approach to hip-hop. So Run,DMC and Jay were now in the positions of being hip-hop survivors more than massive innovators in the genre. Interestingly enough,it was a similar dilemma that Sugarhill Gang,Kurtis Blow and Grandmaster Flash all faced when Run DMC came along in the first place. So now that the second generation of recorded hip-hop was officially giving way to the third?  Run DMC were in more of a positions of being artistic icons of the genre than with being on it's cutting edge. And since generations in the music long after have continued to sing their praises? That isn't such a bad thing.


title: XTC Bring Out Both Their Sweet And Sour Sides On The Dawn Of Their New Age

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As one of the foremost indie bands of the new wave era in the UK,XTC had made something of a reputation for themselves as a consistent touring unit. As well as even the occasional hit maker. During the early 80's,the band began to shed members. And the weight of the group settled on the creative core of the band instrumentalists/songwriters/vocalists Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding. They were basically the Lennon/McCartney of the band. And their personalities even shared similarities to that as well. Of course another similarity to the Beatles was about to emerge. Later citing withdrawal from the pain killer Valium (to which he'd become addicted) as a reason,Andy Partridge suffered a mental breakdown. Still wishing to work with his mates in XTC,he and the current band decided to retire from touring and become a studio bound outfit. As with any band that does this,the changes in their music were more than a little pronounced!

  "Beating Of The Hearts" is a powerfully melodic opener that blends everything from gypsy folk,Arabic and new wave melodic and rhythmic ideas into an instrumentally swelling sound. "Wonderland" is a beautiful and tranquil minimalist electro pop number (one of my very favorites by the band)-with alternating synth bass and higher pitched bubbling tones. "Love On A Farmboy's Wages" is a mixture of countrified folksy guitar melodicism with a pop/rock refrain. "Great Fire" is an upbeat melodic guitar pop number while "Deliver Us From The Elements" is a dramatic,choir based piece with a rather desperate vocal and lyric from Moulding. "Frost Circus" is an ambient synthesizer based instrumental-sounding something like a haunting merry-go-round. "Jump" is another melodically upbeat with a strong South African township flavor about it.

  "Toys" is a soulful,bluesy number-which uses a metaphor of toys in a nursery to deliver a clever anti war message.  "Gold" is a booming horn based 60's uptempo soul with a funky guitar accent. "Procession Towards Learning Land" is a rhythmic instrumental based on electronic call and responses between synthesizer and drum machine. "Desert Island" is a sweetly melodic calypso oriented piece while "Human Alchemy" mixes Irish and Aboriginal Australian style folk musics that delivers and poetically scathing attack at the concept of the slave trade. "Ladybird" is a breezy,swinging piano based melody while "In Loving Memory Of A Name" (another favorite of mine here) delivers another anti war message,this time from the viewpoint of a deceased soldier's family and friends to a very upbeat Beatlesque piano based melody. The crashing pianos of "Me And The Wind",along with it's slippery bass line blends modern classical and jazz fusion while "Funk Pop A Roll",a tight jangle pop number takes a stab at commercial radio at the time.

  Truth to be told XTC used the studio in the exact same way as the Beatles did when they stopped touring-very much as a playing desk. The difference was that Andy and Colin had access to the burgeoning new technologies of digital sampling,rhythm and musical encoding. This album not only took in rhythmic,melodic and instrumental ideas from around the world and combined them into captivating pastiches,but it also clarified some of XTC's growing consciousness. Most of these lyrics are less punk/new wave anger and dourness. But are rather poetic reflections of the what has gone wrong,what is happen and what could be with the human race.  And even with all this? The general atmosphere is a very pastoral and whimsical one. The drum and guitar sounds are never particularly overwhelming. Everything is a counterpoint to melody and rhythm. Maybe it's just my personal admiration for XTC's musical progression that has me thinking...well I just wish more rock albums were presented like this one!


title: Countracula Giveth Up The Funk With Gusto!

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Truth be told my opinions on the way elements of the music press guide the opinions of the audience,especially when it comes to funk,has decreased significantly with the advent of the internet. Before that medium bought about broader based opinions? This was presented as an absolute low point for Bootsy Collins. Well I quickly learned better,having heard it first on vinyl. Another important truth was that this represented a point when P-Funk in general was fading from public view. It was still active and having huge commercial success with songs like "Pumping It Up" and the iconic "Atomic Dog". But the massive empire of George Clinton and Bootsy was starting to be subsided by the arrival of Prince and the Minneapolis sound. At least when it came to the young black public. But Bootsy actually still had a lot of music left in him. And much of it led lose on this album alone.

  "Shine-O-Myte" has a thick,stomping bass/guitar groove leading the mix of Bootsy's lead and female choral vocals right along with these metallic bass synth lines on the refrains. "Landshark" takes that same stomping groove and steady's it to really emphasize another of Bootsy's metaphoric character sketches. "Countracula" is essentially a remix of the groove of  the non album "Body Slam" while "#1 Funkateer" is a straight up groove of horn/dancing bass led steady funk. "Excon (Of Love" and "Music To Smile By" are slick funk ballads sung by the gospel fueled Godmomma,his own P-Funk girl group. "So Nice To Name Him Twice" is a full on return of the James Brown funk approach-high rhythmic lead guitar with Fred and Maceo's horn charts abound with a rapped JB style lead-even dropping the cities they'd played in on the same groove. "Play The Playboy" gets back to the stomping funk while "Take A Lickin' And Keep On Tickin" brings out a tighter,more synth driven P-Funk version of the stripped down Minneapolis funk style.

  This album is endued with funk every bit as anything that is going to come out of Bootsy Collins and his band. One difference is that this album's instrumental approach is not as flamboyant as Bootsy might've been in his 70's heyday. Of course that could be seen on Bootsy's two other projects during 1980 as well. What he and his band recognized about the newer type of funk dominating the public interests was that it all had some strong root in P-Funk. The use of synthesizers in an rhythmic context and their sense of lyrical and melodic irreverence. So Bootsy just saw these changes as the times finally catching up with what he'd been doing all along. And he elected to embrace the different variations on his sound that had sprung from the seeds (read: musicians) that P-Funk planted. It also made sense that,much like Prince (also his label mate at the time) Bootsy would take over as chief producer of this album. It would be his final album for the label,and for seven years. Even so it is a great and very strong funky album I would highly recommend to funk and P-Funk lovers alike who haven't yet heard it.


title: Bootsy's Rubber Band And Their Funky Things To Play With!

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Well it's 1978 and the P-Funk juggernaut is at it's prime. It has spin off acts flying all over the place,and has a loyal fan base keeping a vested interest. On this album we start out with Bootsy declaring "what's the name of your town?" on.."Bootsy's What's The Name Of This Town",a frantically quick tempo'd stew of bass/drum rhythm with call and response vocal exchanges. It's flat out hyper-energized funk. "May The Force Be With You" is a great example of ballad paced funk-with Bootsy's thick bass pops and the choral vocals illustrating a sexually charged Star Wars metaphor. The trill,nasal falsetto voiced Robert "P-Nut" Johnson takes the lead on the the rather soul/reggae rhythm oriented love song of "Very Yes"-cooing the melody in a comically alluring yet somehow sensuous manner.

  Of course it all continues with "Bootzilla" witch,along with "Roto-Rooter" both meld rhythmically exciting,full band funk-thick with orchestral synthesizers and a Bootsy's thunder,explosive instrumental presence. "Hollywood Squares" is a slower crawling,foot stomping type P-Funk number. All these songs have that classic P-Funk embrace of satirizing American advertising slogans (coming from the black DJ tradition) to basically promote their own musical concept. "As In "I Love You" features P-Nut again on a more fluid,very jazzy oriented slow groove ballad with strong psychedelic undertones.  This entire album represents Bootsy's Rubber Band right in it's musical prime. The energy level,even on the slower songs,is just infectious. And considering P-Funk's relatively nil commercial reception in the long term scope of things? This is proof that in funk,you don't require the charts for success because as Bootsy might say? The proof is in the footing.


title: Level 42 Become The Good Men In A Storm

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In less than two years time,Level 42 had achieved full success and seemed to turn their backs on it immediately afterwards. There was probably some thought after this that the bands progressive fusion/funk sensibilities could be applied to something even more forward thinking and pop oriented at the same time. Especially when it came to the rather more fickle American music scene of the mid 80's. Big blockbuster hit songs and albums were being encouraged. Level 42 had the musicianship,they had the songwriting ability and Mark King and Mike Lindup''s vocal style provided a perfect mid/falsetto range to reach a pretty wide audience. So on this 1985 release,Level 42 decided to reach out a little beat more.

  The title song that opens the album has a similar flavor to "The Chant Has Begun",but the polyrhythm is achieved on a drum machine-giving it a more electronic flavor while King's vocal melody is more that of a vocal jazz standard. Physical presence is slow crawling,direct funk while "Something About You",the first song I ever personally heard by them broke them through to the American market-basically adding a fuller arrangement to their usually more stripped down pop/funk sound such as on an early hit like "Love Games". "Leaving me Now"."It's Not The Same For Us" and "Lying Still" are all more melodic and spare pop ballads. "I Sleep On My Heart","Dream Crazy" and "Coup D' Etat" are all stylish,heavy slap bass led funk that for whatever reason were replaced on a special US re-cut of this album,uet are among it's strongest songs.

  On both sides of the pond,this album bought Level 42 the international commercial success they seemed to be going for. And the good thing about it is that the band were not bound by the old cliche: they didn't have to sacrifice or even over simplify their instrumental style to do it. In many ways this album extends on some of the qualities of it's predecessor. The main difference being the melodies are based much more in  pop craft,and the arrangements of this songs are just a bit tighter. But their trademark interaction and ability are still very much evident. Still,Level 42 were still very much musician's musicians oriented people. And their new found cross continental pop sensibilities didn't hold the possibility of them ever selling out. A great Level 42 classic album,and a fine example of success coming out of musical talent and ability as opposed to media savvy and image consciousness.


title: Lindsey Makes A Plan To Go Solo

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With Fleetwood Mac split apart into very separate musical and personal interests in the late 70's? Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks both made a go at separate solo careers in 1981. Nicks of course was very successful on ever level. Of course during the early 80's,Buckingham and Nicks were both dealing with cocaine habits that were starting to become something of a problem on both ends. To a degree this did have some effect on Buckingham's creative choices. His creative choice for this album was to be a multi instrumentalist. He was actually more than capable. But that physical capability matched with his personal state of mind made for a somewhat unexpected solo debut.

  "Bwana" begins the album with a melodically intricate ska number and goes into "Trouble",a big pop single that (not surprisingly) features Mick Fleetwood on drums and definitely has the flavor of his time in that band all over it. "Mary Lee Jones" takes that vocal harmony driven surf pop approach and throws in discordant,bluesy rock guitar solo. "I'll Tell You Know" and "It Was I" are both electric keyboard driven doo-wop/soul numbers while "September Song",with it's dragging minor chord doo-wop and slippery echoed bass and reverbed singing recalls some of the late John Lennon's approach. "Shadow Of The West" is a beautifully sleek,melodic country pop/rock number while "That's How We Do It In LA" returns to the manic ska rhythm.

  "Johnny Stew" is a thick,elongated dance-rock number that has a funky,dancefloor friendly groove about it wile "Love From Here,Love From There" and "Satisfied Mind" are two very heavily country oriented pop rockers. One thing I've noticed about some rock bands is how strongly they adhere to "authenticity". Punk is punk,metal is metal,folk rock is folk rock,etc. Lindsey Buckingham doesn't do that here. Much as with people such as Todd Rundgren,Buckingham writes wonderfully played,written and melodic songs that have a very kitchen sink mix of styles. He allows himself to take in influences from rock,country,folk,doo-wop,soul and a degree of avante pop to create a solo debut that is musically strong and stylistically adventurous all at the same time. For me anyway,an important solo debut that I'd advise any lead member of a rock band about to make their own record should take strong notice of!


title: Joe Sample Looking To The Past For The Future

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The late Joe Sample is one of my favorite pianists in any genre of music. He truly has the gift of being able to successfully merging instrumental personality and economy. Though some might chide him for developing within the realm of the jazz/funk idiom,both with and without The Crusaders,his playing had soul. And where soul and funk went musically,Joe Sample did what he did within that rhythmic spectrum. During the mid 90's,Sample seemed to be making a conscientious effort to extend on his talents as a straight up piano player-making a series of acoustic jazz records in different settings. This 1996 album,following an instrumental concept regarding his years with the Jazz Crusaders,was among them.

  Now the idea of this album upon listening to it is clear:Joe and the relatively small groups of musicians he's playing with here are looking to mix the gospel inflected soul-jazz that the Jazz Crusaders originally helped to advance with the West Coast cool jazz sounds of people such as Miles Davis. There's even a song here called "Miles Of Blue"-very much in the vein of his "All Blues". Trouble is? The mixture doesn't quite mesh here. "Clifton's Gold" and "Hippies On The Corner" have a deep funk stride. But the sound is just a little too spare,and the playing just a little too understated.

  Almost all these songs,including those two have wonderful playing of course and fantastic melodic ideas. But the personality isn't there. And the music lacks vitality and soul as a result. A light touch of playing can work with some soloing to create drama. But it tends to flatten out rhythm and melody. And while this is a noble attempt to update Sample's soul/jazz sound? The performance of the songs simply don't stand out too much in my opinion. Check it out yourself,and see what you think though. There are some music lovers who respond more to the sound of a music than the performance of it. And if one likes the mid 1990's  ethic of stripped down,low key retro soul/jazz that keeps it real as some might say? This might be just up your ally.


title: Pere Ubu Still In The Hipster Paradise

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Since I first heard them a decade and two or three songs ago? Something about Pere Ubu peaked my curiosity. Here was an avante garde band that were not punk,not progressive rock and not precisely psychedelic. When I bought my first album by them,2011's [[ASIN:B00AC4D6UK Lady From Shanghai]],I wasn't all that surprised to find myself subject to a very funky,groovecentric affair...all in producer/vocalist/songwriter Dave Thomas's own way. This album opens up with "Golden Surf II"-a clanging uptempo industrial exploration. "Drag The River","Dr. Faustus","Bus Station","Road To Utah","Carnival",'Irene" and the 12+ minute "Brother Ray" are all very different from the previous album. The horns sound like voices calling,the drums go from a tribal pulse to polyrhythm. And Dave Thomas's vocals and lyrics very much bring to mind an expressive blues singer in  a stream on conscience trance.

  From my own personal point of view,Pere Ubu seem to be doing for the blues and free jazz what the Talking Heads did for funk and Afropop. In this case they bring in 80's here synthesizers,drum machines and their own live instrumentation to create something that,as John Coltrane might've said,can speak to people's souls. This has been the musical core of most jazz and blues oriented musicians for as long as those genres have existed and continued to expand. All culminating in the advent of...well,soul music.  However a lot of more abstract rock bands have a tendency to express angsty rage and edginess in their vocals,lyrics and instrumentation. Pere Ubu are among such bands who come at this approach from a much more ritualistic place-borrowing heavily from psychedelia but showcasing an emotionally complexity. Not lightness,not darkness. But a music that asks more than it reveals. Very much music worth hearing.


title: Revisiting Michael Jackson At His "Baddest",

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One of the things that characterized this album in my personal family was that it was the first Michael Jackson album during his Quincy Jones era my family never had in the house growing up. One reason was a financial sacrifice of raising a child,and not buying much music. Somehow or other? I didn't hear all that many of these songs first time around. No MTV in the house,wasn't as focused on radio at this particular time due to the burgeoning matters of school and other things. It wasn't until one beautiful summer day of 1994 did I purchase this album on a cassette tape and listened to it with my mom on the way back to our lakeside summer camp. It was already eight years old,and it was like hearing something almost totally new. A sad irony,that I'd become so disconnected with Michael Jackson's music during the late 80's and very early 90's. Flash forward 18 years later. My friend and now blogging partner Henrique and I were talking about this album from a musicians perspective-basically on the level of MJ in the late 80's becoming more focused on his performance than instrumental quality control. Shortly after that,Spike Lee produced a TV documentary about this album for its 25th anniversary. It really helped to put Mike's creativity into a more musical and less of a performance perspective. It was accompanied shortly after by this special edition album-containing unreleased songs from the sessions. I greeted it with great enthusiasm. It would give me a chance to give a fresh new perspective on the album itself and even beyond. And that is what I am about to do right now.

  The title song itself,intended as a duet with Prince,has a very strong Minneapolis flavor about it with the stripped down rhythm,tight lead guitar and an excellent cameo organ solo from jazz icon Jimmy Smith. Of course it has plenty of MJ's own trademarks such as atmospheric synthesizers and JB-like horn accents. "The Way You Make Me Feel" is a hyper melodic,James Brown like funky shuffle-again updated with heavy synthesizer accents and Mike's multi tracked vocals. In the end he really does sound like what Henrique would refer to as an OG-singing "ain't nobody's bidness but me and my baby". In recent years "Speed Demon" has come to be one of my favorite numbers here. Its an example of Mike's beat boxing being presented as part of the songs percussion track. It's slow,funky nastiness is beset by some strong breaks and a bluesy guitar solo on the bridge. This segues into the sensuous mix of jazzy soul/pop and Afro-Latin melodic accents that is "Liberian Girl". Not only does it find Mike celebrating Afrocentric feminine beauty,but also using the revolutionary based African nation of Liberia as it's point of reference. "Just Good Friends" is an uptempo synth funk number that melodically has a pop-jazz fusion flavor. It's in fact not instrumentally dissimilar to the European group Mezzoforte's "Check It In" from 1985. Of course it's far harder edged-including Stevie Wonder and Mike duetting with their rapid fire leads.

  "Another Part Of Me" is one of the most musically powerful songs on the album-built on a powerful bass/guitar line with some celebratory horns and jazzy keyboard flavors. "Man In The Mirror" was one of the few songs I knew well from this album. A modern gospel song with a vital (if sometimes sadly misrepresented lyric these days-IT DOES NOT condone moral selfishness) has apparently come into question by some musicians as being musically weak for its lofty message. But I still enjoy it for the radio friendly,secularized pop gospel with the Andre Crouch Singers that it is. "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" is a melodically challenging love ballad,originally intended to feature Whitney Houston but instead with Sieddah Garrett. The only song I was never crazy about was the faux live sounding arena rock of "Dirty Diana"-with its paranoid rock groupie lyrics. "Smooth Criminal" is indeed a smooth,bass synth/horn based funk number. "Leave Me Alone" is a heavily orchestrated synth funk number-again with a JB style shuffle funk sound at the base of it. One thing about the bonus material I noticed was a pronounced Brazilian flavor about it. "Don't Stop Messin 'Round" is a raw,grooving bossa type number with a romantic Spanish type melody while "I'm So Blue" and "Free"-both mid tempo love songs also have strong Latin pop flavors as well. "Abortion Papers" is a electronically thick,hard new wave dance type number with...Mike singing a very pro life lyric? It is very well recorded and played on though. "Price Of Fame" is one of Mike's more reflective numbers speaking of his deteriorating reputation as an eccentric-referencing his father on this funky ska type piece.

  "Al Capone",apparently an earlier version of "Smooth Criminal"-actually in terms of tempo and the brightness of some of the keyboard parts actually a bit closer to "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'. Though I knew about these two songs already,"Streetwalker" has an instrumental similarity to
"Billie Jean"-only with a synth bass-line and horns while "Fly Away" is another bossa jazz type number that's so melodically beautiful I fail to see why it didn't make the final cut of the original album. We get the Spanish and French re-recordings of "I Just Can't Stop Loving You". The last three tracks could've easily spoiled this edition of the album. The two remixes of "Bad" and "Speed Demon" are basically light EDM/dubstep remixes featuring the original vocals and some musical accents. Musically they add absolutely nothing to the album itself or any of the unreleased material-save in showcase how MJ's music can theoretically be re-purposed for many (sometimes passing) musical trends. As for how the original album heard with the unreleased music holds up? I really feel Michael Jackson really did succeed in making a sonically headier,and often very funky album. Of course,one thing in retrospect that even I can hear is that at the very least,this was only just contemporary for its day. Being musically "new" in 1987 would've meant embracing either the house-type sound of the new jack swing pioneered by Teddy Riley or Chuckii Booker. Most of this production sounds like a mildly updated [[ASIN:B00005QGAZ Thriller]]. It would've been excellent if it came out for 1984-85. And in a way,maybe that was a good thing for Mike-as at the time he might've agreed with Quincy he needed to follow his musical vision rather than following someone else's musical lead. Overall a very good way to hear what has now become a classic album.


title: Utopia's Studio Album Swansong

text:
For a long time,I somehow had it in mind that Utopia had split up around 1983 or so. It would'nt have surprise me if they had have though. Todd Rundgren was,like Prince,an all-in-one artist who could play,write and produce his own music. Even with the matter of ego aside,it is usually difficult for someone in that position to be able to place themselves within a bands strengths and weaknesses. On the other hand,the chemistry within Utopia's second lineup was apparently strong enough that they sustained themselves through a 1983 release called [[ASIN:B004EK3L80 Oblivion]],an apparently more experimental and heavily synthesizer/dance oriented release which I unfortunately do not have at the present time. About a year and a half after that,very early in 1985 the band released this final studio set. First time I heard about it was within the context of it being out of print. In 2011 it was reissued on CD again. That issue is also apparently out of print,with yet a new import on the way soon as of this writing. I was lucky to have come across it before this happened of course. And was more than excited to hear it.

  "Play This Game" is very much in the mainstream guitar/new wave style with a very strong hook. "Style" is my favorite song on the album-itself a bery stylized synthesizer oriented combination of mid 80's soul pop and light boogie funk that extends into the punchier "Stand For Something","Mimi Gets Mad" and "Wild Life". "Secret Society","Mated" and "Mystified" are all sleek mid tempo soul very much in that style Rundgren often shared with Hall & Oates,only with a more adult contemporary twist musically. "Zen Machine" is the only other heavy rocker on this album. "More Light" ends the album on a somewhat more progressive not,as I've noticed most Utopia albums tend to which extends itself to the spiritual/theologically themed bonus track "Monument". Of the other bonus tracks there's the spirited pop/rock of "Man Of Action" and the almost Police like ska/new wave styled "Fix Your Gaze"-another personal favorite of mine on this album.

  The liner notes to this album seem to bemoan the fact that more and more drum machines were utilized on this album,and that Todd,Kasim,Willie and Roger were getting irritated by apparent record company hassles to sound "new" at that particular time. For his part? Todd was about to resume his solo career with yet another of his complete musical 180's with his [[ASIN:B00000348M A Cappella]]later in the year. Frankly I really like the expert sonic quality of this album. As is typical of anything Rundgren put his touch on? The sound and production on this album is absolutely magnificent-of course right on the cutting edge and often at least a step ahead of the curve. Not only that but Rundgren's poetic and highly conscientious lyricism here would definitely indicate the fact that Utopia and himself would be a lot better off if allowed to be themselves. In the end,that actually does happen here. Instrumentally they expanded to...yes sound a bit more new in terms of creative vision. But definitely not to sell out. But others didn't see it quite that way and this album and the group faded away. Still its a more than worthwhile Utopia studio album. Even if theoretically,the 1992 live album not withstanding,it is their last.


title: Compelling,If Mildly Flawed Transitional Album From "His Bobness"

text:
When I think of Bob Dylan in the mid/late 1970's,I think of the bushy haired man in carnival clown makeup and that green cowboy hat touring America with his Rolling Thunder Revue. My father was lucky enough to be able to see this revue in his own hometown during that time,and was really happy with Dylan and the revue's overall performance and onstage attitude. Even my mother,not a Bob Dylan fan to say the least,admits that this period (especially the song "Hurricane") present one of his better creative periods. Of course also during this time with the drawn out theatrical film fiasco of 'Renaldo And Clara' with Alan Ginsburg,which sadly most of us have yet to see in its entirety. As this era drew to a close,Dylan himself was having his own private butterfly effect that only he was strongly aware of. There was a period of emotional cocooning to be sure. But there was something new coming out of all this for Bob Dylan. Interestingly enough,he recorded this album before he was sure what that something was going to be.

  Featuring the backup vocals of Carolyn Dennis, Jo Ann Harris and most famously Helena Springs on every track on this album,it starts out with "Changing Of The Guard",a strong heartland gospel/rocker type of number that goes into "New Pony"-a really strong blues that is repeated in style on "Is Your Love In Vain?"-both featuring some of Dylan's most structurally dynamic (and typically impenetrable) lyrical flow of phrases. "Senor" is an elaborate story song with a mildly Mexican folk flavor about it while the 8+ minute "No Time To Think" pretty much describes everything else that's here on the album: its very much a style of rock 'n soul that was already becoming an enormous part of the work of Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty-both heavily inspired by Dylan's style.

  The only thing about this album is that it lacks a certain type of distinctive quality song. I'd personally rate it as a 3 1/2 star album,however I cannot give such a rating here. On the 1990 CD of this album which I own,one other thing of note is present which gives this album a lower rating to me. The mastering job is the most horrendous I've ever heard on a CD. And I am not audiophile-not even remotely close. Yet if I didn't know better,I'd say this was a CD of a fifth or sixth generation cassette tape dub. The sound is extremely low in volume and tiny. And there are very prominent audio breaks,hisses and bumps on every song. Perhaps the reason for the blandness I hear in some of these songs were actually present on the original recording. Or they could mostly coming from the horrid mastering of my 1990 CD version. Either way its likely not great Dylan. But worth investigating,or re-investigating depending on what version one has.


title: Bob Dylan's Heart Stripped Bare

text:
Its hard for me to not to think of Bob Dylan in terms of the duel nature of the stars he's born under. Much as with the case of three other famous Gemini signs in Miles Davis,Paul McCartney and of course Prince,Dylan has had a personality that could be best described as elusively overflowing with creative ideas. On the other hand,he also seems to have a strong level of control over how this is delivered and withheld. During his 60's heyday,Dylan was renowned for being writing out of character in his own lyrics-very much the actor/trickster hero. And how many times did that role he played made him out to be an iconoclast of something which...disappointed people when he moved onto his next musical role? Well unfortunately for his personal life,his marriage to the mother of his children at this point was coming to a conclusion. It would've been very easy for Dylan to act this drama out as one of the many faces he wheres. Not even sure if he realized that this time,he'd actually be playing himself.

  For the most part this album is musically as uncomplicated and primitive as Dylan himself would likely hope it to be-built more or less around Dylan's folksy style of guitar,trademark atonal blues harp and steel guitar from Buddy Cage. Musically it is the vivid lyricism of "Tangled Up In Blue",with it's thickly layered instrumental harmonics,the sleek and shiny contemporary singer-songwriter sound of "You're A Big Girl Now" and the straight up 12 bar electric blues of "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When I Go" that represent the broadest stylistic changes. Songs such as "Idiot Wind","Lily,Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts",and the iconic closer "Buckets Of Rain" do not differ much from Dylan's late 60's musical style. Otherwise these songs lyrically focus in on what appear to be more story songs and character sketches. Took me a bit of time to realize these were all elaborate metaphors describing the long and strange life cycle of his marriage and the perfect storm of mixed emotions that flowed from its beginning to its end.

  When I was first getting into Dylan's music,most people recommended this album as the one to go for when it came to his 70's era music. One reason I could see for that is that it was probably the most personal album he ever made. Even with his noted wordplay and sense of poetry still operating at full power? All of these songs had a strong ring of truth to himself about them. As far as the compositions themselves,Dylan's performance and writing had continued to evolved. Often someone who I hear as singing very much against and outside the rhythm and melody of his own songs,Dylan actually goes with the flow here. And the nature of his vocals are far less flamboyant here than they could be during his 60's prime. Not only that,but all of the songs here are very richly and melodically crafted. Dylan always tended to venture outside the traditional verse/verse nature of folk composition by introducing a lot of pop structure. But here Dylan takes it to the next level-scaling up and down a note or so on a verse/chorus to express the intended emotion. Have a feeling these are the qualities that make this album so appealing to so many.


title: Steve Winwood Sees A Chance And Takes It

text:
Now I have a feeling that following the disappointing reception of his debut album [[ASIN:B001GHSFMQ Steve Winwood]] three years earlier that some refinements had to be made in order for Winwood to become as commercially successful as he was creatively so. One of the major ones was is that he would need to put some distance between some of the more progressive melodic/harmonic instincts he might've developed during his Traffic period. Also he might've also had the sense that,although strongly synergistic with musicians such as Jim Capaldi,that as a multi instrumental Winwood was more in the position to instrumentally carry his follow up album on his own He also added another element to the mix along with Viv Stanshall. And that was the presence of the apparently more pop radio friendly lyricist Will Jennings. The result was this album-one which held the hopes within it for the future of Steve Winwoods musical future as a solo artist.

  "While You See A Chance" proved to be the huge pop hit Winwood was looking for. With its strongly layered synthesizers and strong pop craft and construction? This is essentially an electronic/new wave re-imagining of the uptempo gospel/soul he started doing from the outset. The title song is similarly layered in Stevie Wonder-like washes of synthesizers on a funky Caribbean style mid tempo number. "Second Hand Human" is a hugely melodic,chiming synthesizer heavy pop/pop number in the same league as the hit that led off the album. Starting off as a melodic,folksy ballad "Slowdown Sundown" gets into dance floor friendly and funky groove on the refrains. "Spanish Dancer" has a beautifully liquidy sound with bubbling synthesizers and a harmonically subterranean melody. "Night Train" is a sleekly electronic jazz/funk jam while the dynamic ballad "Dust concludes the album.

  To my way of thinking? Debating over which song I like better on this album serves no purpose. Winwood didn't merely make an album here with a hit or two and just filled it out. He constructed a creatively potent album that mixed his classic blue eyed soul approach with modern post disco/new wave synthesizer touches. And the way in which he used synthesizers were creative and highly distinctive. He was one of a scant few pop musicians who was able to create an enormous sense of warmth and feeling out of them. I include Prince and Stevie Wonder in with that too. Although this album does have its detractors for that very reason among some of the less tolerant followers of the "keeping it real" music critic brigade? It would be very difficult to debate how much this album successfully extended on what was started on Winwood's commercially failed debut album and actually began an entirely new and fruitful career for him as a solo artist with a lot to say.


title: Both A Transition And A New Beginning For Earth Wind & Fire

text:
Heard it said that Warner Bros records were not offering Maurice White the type of creative control he felt his band Earth Wind & Fire needed. Thanks in part to mutual friend in producer (and later creative soulmate) Charles Stepney,Maurice was able to bring himself and his bassist brother Verdine over to Columbia records where Ramsey Lewis (also strongly associated with Stepney) was recording. Of course this meant an enormous change in financial fortune. However the rest of the band he'd had with him on his first two albums on Warner's were...shall we say not invited to join Maurice and Verdine on their new venture. On some advice,Maurice had decided to bring in younger musicians to reach his generation. Maurice was from what's referred to as the Silent generation. While not permanently fixed on any members quite yet,he created a whole Earth Wind & Fire out of primarily baby boomer age musicians/singers. He bought in sax player Ronnie Laws,younger brother of jazz flutist Hubert Laws as well as the young keyboard player Larry Dunn. He also bought in drummer Ralph Johnson,who remains in the band to this very day. Along with the recently deceased former Friends Of Distinction vocalist Jessica Cleaves and (later) supplicant guitarist Roland Bautista Maurice bought in a 20 year old falsetto who'd become so vital to EWF's new sound,he'd take over for Maurice in heading the band and also remains to this day-a man by the name of Philip Bailey.

  Opening with "Time Is On Your Side",they start right out with a song that typifies their new direction. The horns,percussion and wah wah bass and guitar are very much punchier. And the percussive rhythms of the songs beat deeply reflect the Afro-Latin boogaloo sound that was a huge part of funk from the get go. This along with "Save The Children",on which Bautista actually grinds out some grinding,hard rocking bluesy funk guitar riffs both feature the flowering tenor of Maurice's lead vocals with the trademark falsetto croon of Bailey's that really made this band start to stand out. He also shines as the lead singer on the grooving soul version of David Gate's Bread hit "Make It With You" and a heavily orchestrated and nearly heard breaking rendition of the folk standard "Where Have All The Flowers Gone". "They Don't See" is a mid tempo soul ballad revolving around not only people turning their backs on their religions,but on faith in life in general. Of course its drenched with heavy gospel vocal harmonies and organ soloing.  "Power" is an eight minute,power packed uptempo jazz/funk extravaganza,on which Verdine and Roland play this mean grinding bass/guitar part with Laws playing someof the most passionately inspired sax solos of his entire career. "I'd Rather Have You" showcases the powerful and rangy voice of Cleaves,never featured again as strongly in her time with EWF while the closer "Mom" turned out to be a fairly popular number with a reverbed bass led bossa nova/soul flavored atmosphere to close out the album.

  Creatively speaking? This album was an absolute triumph. True much of this band turned out to be a one shot lineup. Ronnie Laws and Roland Bautista left the band after this album-with Bautista succeeding Al McKay in 1981. I have my own theories as to why the two left so early. While this album actually fared extremely well on the R&B charts,at #15 on the Top 20 albums charts? Its one single "Mom" didn't make the Top 100 singles charts. And consequently that probably earned it little more than underground radio airplay. But one should never under estimate the power of an underground audience. Maurice White was aiming Earth Wind & Fire's music directly at the 50's and 60's generation youth who were coming of age at this time. And the majority of them were essentially looking into the (then) FM radio area and word of mouth album recommendations to seek out new music. My father bought this album from a very astute local record store owner when it first came out-simply on her observance that he was drawn to albums by Weather Report and Sly & The Family Stone. Even though this was hardly the commercial success Maurice and the band might've envisioned,it did prove to be a success with the people he was trying to reach. These are songs you'll hear performed by them a lot during a lot of tour and TV performance footage they did during this era. Maurice,Verdine and Philip never allowed the music on this album to fade into obscurity simply because it wasn't a commercial blockbuster. And that's one reason why I see this as something of a second chance,a second debut as it were for Earth Wind & Fire.


title: James And The JB's At The Apollo Doing Their Funky Revolutionary Thing!

text:
During 1971,James Brown and his band were right in the eye wall of their hurricane of the groove. This perfect storm was the opposite of destructive,however. It was a storm that created,got people to move their feet and contemplate moving their minds as well. It was the beginning of a funk era-"united funk" as writer Ricky Vincent calls it. And James was leading the way. Every time I saw this album,the cover always attracted me. Of course the concept of the black man as a metaphoric prisoner in America was completely appropriated into the latter hip-hop culture's imagery. But what I tuned into was the expression on James' face as he looked between the bars. It was one of positive minded dreaming and wonder-about the possibilities of himself and others as liberated individuals-internally as well as externally. This photograph on the cover art really got my mind wandering in terms of what kind of music laid within. Since James Brown would've been 81 if he had lived this year? I thought this would be the perfect time to explore this albums contents.

  Opening with the usual intro it goes right into the fast tempo funk of "Its A New Day So Let A Man Come In And Do The Popcorn". That same fast paced groove continues onward through a fast medley of "I Can't Stand It","Mother Popcorn" and "I Got The Feelin" along with "Call Me Super Bad" and "Soul Power".. It gave the aural impression of James' iconic quick footed choreography one can almost hear through the audio. The album itself actually starts off with a nearly eight minute "Bewildered"-a ballad wherein James actually gives a positive take on Woman's Lib from a black female perspective. "Sex Machine","Escape-Ism" and a 12+ minute "Make It Funky" are a none stop funk workout-the latter containing a vitally street level conversational "rap" where James' encourages his band members to proudly mention (and take pride in) their Southern home towns. After this James cools down with a short version of his soul ballad classic "Try Me". "Give It Up Or Turnit Lose" and "Hot Pants" continue the heavy funk right into the end and applause.

  If someone were to ask me what album do they think represents the core essence of James Browns' musical character during the height of his funk prime,I would recommend this album without hesitation. As innovative and vital as his studio recordings were,there is something about the atmosphere of James Brown's live shows that best showcase the nature of his musical talent. It gives him more time to personally interact with his band mates-bringing a level of intimate male bonding into his creative outpouring of talent. Of course the rhythmic nature of this music brings out the very finest in the exploratory organ solos of Bobby Byrd and the deeply percussive bass/guitar interaction between Hearlon Cheese Martin,Robert Coleman and Fred Thomas. But it also communicates James Brown's multi faceted messages of action. When someone dances to this music,they will likely feel compelled by the sound of the groove and the words of James to do something very important for the world. This is live "people music"-straight up funk of the highest degree. And truly a testament to James Brown during his creative peak.


title: Billy Cobham Takes His Music Out On The Floor

text:
Ever since his time with the Mahavishnu Orchestra,Billy Cobham was one of the original fusion drummers who took their craft extremely seriously. From the first moments of his debut [[ASIN:B000002I77 Spectrum]],one could see that Cobham's instrumental trademark was going to be a compelling mixture of technical acumen and high level rhythmic intensity. Haven't heard it in some time,but I always found his approach on that album musically overwhelming. Over the course of the 70's decade, Cobham began to balance his virtuosity with a stronger vitality of song construction. By the time 1979 rolled around? The disco era was coming to a close. For his part,Cobham heeded this very little attention and instead focused on focusing dancers in on his groove. For this album Cobham employed the talents of arranger George Dl Barrio as well as a bevy of different players for each number. He also chose to do that with the production assistance of the late,great Crusaders founder Wayne Henderson on this relatively rare 1979 release on Columbia.

  "Oh Mendocino" is a tasty Brazilian funk/fusion number with a strong melody sung by Jim Gilstrap and prominantly showcasing the fast paced slap bass playing of Nathaniel Phillips. "Dana" focuses in more on a Charles Stepney/Ramsey Lewis "sweeter funk" instrumental attitude of a type I seldom hear from Billy Cobham during this era. With the ferocious ARP synthesizer bass textures of Bobby Lyle,"What Is Your Fantasy" is right out of the late 70's Isley Brothers school of chunky bass synthesizer textured hard funk. Its my favorite number here. "A Little Travellin' Music" introduces a heavy mix of percussion and orchestration as Cobham's virousic drumming comes strong back into play. The familiar "The Lonely Bull" is taken a frenetic Brazilain dance/funk bass-filled with sweaty vocal sighs and whispers. "I Don't Want To Be Without You" has this hugely melodic return to the Ramsey Lewis soul/funk territory. "Bring Up The House Lights" reunites Cobham with George Duke for a hard,bluesy,foot stomping funk group where the two humorously rap with each other about (among other things) album producer Wayne Henderson.

  The "old" Cobham is somewhat represented on "Viastar-An Encounter"-largely an unaccompanied drum solo with a lot of phaser and ending with a space funk/fusion melodic wash on synthesizer until fade out. Though recorded during the last days of disco,this album defines itself by taking the orchestration and dance floor friendliness common to disco-dance music and offering up a great deal of musical complication. Unlike contemporary Lenny White? Billy Cobham made very few (if any at all) attempts at simplifying his drumming steal for the "4 on the floor" beat. Instead Cohbam's approach here accentuates the melody in a much strong way And the approach of the orchestration borrows from Brazilian pop,jazz and even European classical music. They wrap in and around the music rather than being an accessory. So no-a disco album Cobham did not make. What he created was a very melodic and rhythmically involving album that was full of percussion,powerful playing and funk all the way. Truly a lost jazz/funk album worth seeking out for both admirers of Billy Cobham and Wayne Henderson alike.


title: Rufus Creating A Musical Path For All To See!

text:
Following [[ASIN:B000002OIQ Ask Rufus]],Chaka and the band found themselves facing new territory. Drummer Andre' Fischer had departed Rufus due to a falling out with Chaka involving her alcoholic and micromanaging husband Richard. The band itself was in a bit of a pickle at this point. Chaka was moving towards the solo career that almost seemed inevitable when three of the original band members left in 1974.Not only that but the band were now without a drummer. While they searched for a more permanent replacement the band bought in former Leon Russell session drummer Richard "Moon Calhoun for this particular session. As keyboard player Nate Morgan departed during that same time David "Hawk" Wolinski,who had co-written the previous albums "Hollywood" joined Rufus as a regular member. His playing,writing and even singing projected a stronger physical personality into Rufus that no one had possessed since Tony Maiden joined the band in 1974. Since the more reflective and occasionally slower tempos of the previous album didn't always meet with the greatest of enthusiasm,the band decided to take a more contemporary production of their more classic uptempo funk sound.

  The title song of this album was written with Hawk and Chicago's Danny Serephine,and that bands version was included on their excellent album [[ASIN:B0000021RV Chicago 13]],an album musically similar to Rufus in many ways. Chaka herself composed "Stay",a more mellowed out bass/guitar type groove somewhat similar to what was on the previous album yet strong enough to endure as one of her classic songs. "Turn" is a unique hard funk song. Very bluesy in orientation and full of powerful horn,bass/guitar and organ interaction,the songs entire pitch changes at seemingly random intervals throughout-perhaps reflecting the songs plea to "turn turn turn for the better". "Best Of Your Heart" is a melodic,jazzy mid tempo ballad that swings right into the fast paced,percussive Brazilian jazz instrumental "Finale",featuring a tremendous synthesizer solo from Hawk. "Blue Love" is one of my favorite songs here-starting off with a melodic synth line,it goes from somber break up ballad into an uptempo jazzy funk jam as the confidence level in Chaka's lyrics rise as the song concludes with understanding "you never know love until somebody leaves you".

  "Stranger To Love" is a powerfully orchestrated ballad-built upon its strings and Leslie amp'd drums. "Take Time" is one of my favorite Rufus instrumentals-a very bass oriented in the pocket kind of groove with a very strong synthesizer counter melody with Tony Maiden rocking out pretty Hendrix style on lead guitar solo. "Destiny" is a wonderfully melodic bossa/jazz-pop type number that Chaka gives one of her all time stand out vocal performances. As far as I'm concerned? Its one of her classic songs. "Change Yours Ways" ends the album in a very jazzy funk mode-again with somewhat drastic shifts in tempo. There truly is something unique about this album rhythmically. Each song tends to be like a pocket jazz/funk/soul symphony with at least two unique parts fusing into a single song. And considering what Rufus were experiencing at this time,its only fitting that the lyrical focus of this album zeroed right in on themes of change and growth. Now I first discovered this album as part of the vinyl record collection of my Aunt's father in New Jersey during a family trip there. Luckily for me? I found the CD of this album at the Tower Records in Manhattan the very next day. To me this is probably the culmination of Rufus's classic sound. It still has the unique instrumental trademark of mid 70's Rufus,but a lot of the production gloss of the latter 70's era. In many ways? Its one of Rufus's most creative,strong and enduring musical works. Especially with its focus on uptempo songs of different musical colors.


title: The Grand Finale Of Marvin Gaye,In His Lifetime

text:
Between 1979 and 1980,Marvin Gaye left the Motown label who had help establish his iconic career over (among other things) a dispute over what would end up as his final album for the label with [[ASIN:B000001AL4 In Our Lifetime]],a record that returned him to the more sociopolitical concerns of his triumph with [[ASIN:B00007FOMP What's Going On]] a decade earlier. During this time Marvin himself traveled between Hawaii (where he claimed he attempted suicide) to Ostend,Belgian. It was there that,having freshly severed his relationship with Motown managed to sign to the local imprint of Columbia records and begin plans to renew his musical career. Marvin was 43 years old,divorced and having drifted out of a difficult relationship with the rather young Janis Hunter. He hadn't had a huge pop chart hit in almost six years. With the advent of Prince and fellow former Motowner Michael Jackson strongly on the horizon,the always highly self competitive Marvin was able to muster enough inner strength,passed his overarching personal demons,to record this album in 1982.

  Over a mix ferocious drumming and conga based percussion "Midnight Lady" opens the album with a full on orchestra of bass synthesizer and melodic keyboard parts over the vocal symphony of himself Marvin was so willing to provide. "Sexual Healing",the song that bought him back to the charts is build around a drum machine,Marvin's voice and a tight rhythm guitar but surely makes its point well. "Rockin' After Midnight" takes a cue from the funk found on the opener for a bass synth/rhythm guitar based jam grooving along for 6+ minutes. "Til Tomorrow" is a slow seduction ballad blending Marvin's classic style of this with the more modern instrumental setting. "Turn On Some Music" is a slinky and harmonically vivid boogie funk type number finding Marvin using the metaphor of sexual foreplay with playing a vinyl album-perhaps this one. "Third World Girl" has a rather electronic take on a funk/reggae sound. "Joy" of course-with its potent brew of guitar,sax,Sly & The Family Stone like horn voicings,keyboard and vocal lines is indeed the most joyous groove this album has to offer. The album ends with a more full band revisit of the "Sexual Healing" melody on "My Love Is Waiting".

  Of course this would indeed be the final album of Marvin Gaye's lifetime. Others would be released posthumously over the years. And while the accompanying Sexual Healing tour for this album wound up representing all the factors that led to Marvin's all too early demise,this album showcases a very plausible and secure musical future for him. While always frustrated between his need to have commercial success and his desires to be a swinging jazz crooner,few albums balance these two desires in the same way as this. The music on this album is an interesting variation on the post disco/pre boogie funk sound of a type I never heard elsewhere. The bass synthesizer defines most of this album,the drum/percussion parts are both flamboyant and fluid and the use of the echoed clavinet hear is used almost in the manner of bluesy jazz harpsichord/organ than anything else. With its mixture of contemporary instrumentation and even than quite retro soloing effects combined with Marvin's spacious vocal arrangements for an album that musically bares a stamp rather unique to it-all the while sounding very familiar. Even if it foreshadowed his end,the possibilities were boundless for a totally reinvented Marvin Gaye musical sound. And that is why I feel this is one of his finest and most thoroughly funk oriented albums.


title: Chaka Khan Would Like To Get Naughty With Us

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Rufus's 1979 album [[ASIN:B00FY3IUNC Masterjam]] was not the official finale for Rufus & Chaka Khan. But according to the lady herself,it was the last time she recorded an entire album in the studio with them. With her personal life continuing to spiral out of control in a dizzying array of a mutually abusive marriage,two children and epic proportions drug abuse Chaka began focusing on her career seemingly as an effort to lose herself in a form of musical sublimation. Continuing on at Warner Brothers with Arif Mardin at the helm and Ashford & Simpson penning many of the songs,Chaka also found herself at the disposal of yet more excellent singers and musicians such as Steve Ferrone,Marcus Miller and with him of course the late great Luther Vandross. Where sometimes album cover art reflects the music within to near perfection this albums cover,including a similarly dressed photo of Chaka's almost lookalike  than 6 year old daughter Milini,it was a superb window to what would come.

  "Clouds" is the complete flipside of "I'm Every Woman" from her debut [[ASIN:B000002KJ4 Chaka]]-a much slower and funkier number that's still disco friendly but somewhat more emotionally fearful. Very much in the duel lyrical nature of classic soul really. The bubbling melodic bass synthesizer groove of "Get Ready,"Get Set" represents some of the most powerful,unique and sensually alluring funk on this album. "Move Me No Mountain" is a favorite of mine on here-a hard groove adult contemporary type re-imagining of a standard full of Chaka's trademark vocal passion and ability. "The sweetly composed jazzy ballad "Nothing's Gonna Take You Away" segues into the fan faring funk/pop of the title song. "Too Much Love" is an amazing mix of rocking,dancefloor read Latin funk with more than enough energy to spare while "All Night's All Right" represents the hardest funk on this album-sounding very much like an early 70's Rufus track.  "Papillon" is a bumping,midtempo soul oriented groove with a pretty melody and featuring the vocals of both Vandross and a young Whitney Houston. "What You Did" and "Our Loves In Danger" are both two more dance friendly pop/funk numbers defined again by Chaka's singing.

  This album is one of my favorite Chaka Khan albums,perhaps my very favorite. The reason for that is it's consistency. While her iconic solo debut had many powerful and funky moments,the production and general sound of the songs had a somewhat jarring flavor. They sounded as if they were produced at very different times and places. This album,though actually very diverse sounds like a totally coherent album session of songs that were instrumentally and conceptually designed to flow together from beginning to end. It was where Chaka Khan's solo identity emerged as being capable of delivering genuine album statements as opposed to smash dance singles. The musicianship and production on this album is absolutely impeccable. And with all the studio technques used on Chaka's voice her-from her renowned concept of doing her own back-round vocals to different echo plexes,her vocals are only even more enhanced by everything that touches it. Neither the musicians nor Chaka herself are drowned out by anyone behind the console. This is a great example of a sleek pop/funk/post disco sound where everything was just coming to a wonderful and successful musical head.


title: We Can Rule The World With The Masterjam!

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By 1979,the relationship between the now burgeoning solo artist Chaka Khan and the band Rufus was beginning to seriously decay. Sadly the sex and drugs cliches of the pop music world had began to catch up with Chaka. The band had even opted to record without her the previous year for their album [[ASIN:B001N9DLR6 Numbers]] (sadly their only album that has never been on CD as far as I can tell) while simultaneously introducing their new drummer John Robinson. It was from here that Rufus hooked back up with a rather beleaguered Chaka and set their sites on the production guidance of Quincy Jones-whose stable of musicians included the Brothers Johnson and Jerry Hey's Seawind Horns. Rufus's bassist Bobby Watson had already played bass for MJ on his smash funk/pop triumph [[ASIN:B000CNEQ9Q Rock With You]] earlier in the year. Sensing that perhaps their sound could use a make over,it was Quincy who ended up producing this eighth Rufus album-even as Chaka Khan's interest in the band was severely on the wane.

  "Do You Love What You Feel" as well as the title song are both extremely indicative of the Rufus/Quincy collaboration. Both are high octane,Afro-Latin drum/percussion heavy pop hook filled danceable funk songs with that Quincy Jones/Rod Temperton-style horn/string packed late 70's disco era funk sound written all over them from top to bottom. On both Chaka's vocals and Tony Maiden's clean rocking guitar riffs are at their most powerful and energetic. "Any Love" and especially a remake of the old Quincy/Leon Ware collaboration "Boby Heat"-with its extended percussive intro both more strongly reflect the 4 on the floor disco era. Some might even complain some of the bass lines identify them as more polka than funk at the root. However the bluesy bass/guitar interaction and especially Chaka's vocals tell another side of that story. "Heaven Bound" and "Live In Me" are both slickly sensual midtempo numbers with a much heavier melodic funk orientation. The pretty straight up hard funk groove of "What Am I Missing" finds Chaka lamenting how the blitz of her life at that time was beginning to shelter her from fulfillment.

  "Walk The Rockaway" is definitely on the heavier funk side of the disco era-with a thick rhythmic blend of percussion,guitar,bass and horns where Tony declares proudly "everybody's got their own way of moving/it don't matter as long as your grooving". Wonderful metaphor for life wouldn't you say? Patti Austin and Peggy Lipton Jones co-wrote "I'm Dancing For Your Love" with the band-a very impressive soul/funk/pop number with a strong Michael McDonald/Doobie Brothers attitude about it. In a lot of ways,this is my favorite album by Rufus. Every song is quite different from the other. And the funk,pop-jazz and disco era elements are all presented in the most high quality and rhythmically powerful way possible. By virtue of the music itself and those involved in making it,this album is creatively Rufus's [[ASIN:B00005QGAT Off the Wall]]-an album possessed of the most dignified and classy funk and dance grooves it was dressed for big success. Though it was,producing the bands only two music videos that I know of for the first and final track,this was not exactly a reboot of Rufus & Chaka Khan as a band. She was back to her solo career in a years time. And her and Rufus gradually broke apart within the next several years. But even if this was the cap off to an era,it was one serious "masterjam" to go out on for sure!


title: Feels Like Paradise!

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With the bands first two albums [[ASIN:B000051XX7 Diamond Life]] and [[ASIN:B000051XX9 Promise]] both becoming enormous successes with their respective hits being all over the place (that former even ending up represented on a breakfast cereal premium sticker I had growing up,it was hard to believe that the band themselves-including the regal beauty of their lead singer Sade Adu herself,were very much unlike most hit musicians of their time period. They were straight out of the same UK jazz/funk scene that had spawned Loose Ends,Incognito,Level 42 and Spandau Ballet. And despite succeeding on a level maybe mildly exceeding the best that any of their contemporaries could do,Sade always kept themselves just a little bit behind their own public face. Which,of course was almost totally related to their music:music videos with a strong cinematic scope and stylish live performances. They had always possessed a very distinctive quality about their music-almost to the point where they deserved a genre all their own. When this third album,and final of their first decade,arrived in 1988 I have vivid memories of Sade albums somehow being an event. Somehow,over the years I've actually had to do much growing into this album-somewhat like a pair of shoes that were just a tad too big for me.

  "Love Is Stronger Than Pride" itself is nothing like any Sade song I'd ever heard up to that point. Their is a wide,empty void in the middle of the songs rhythm-extremely subtle percussion with only a stronger little heartbeat on the choruses. With its atmospheric,ethereal keyboards and sustaining melody it very much encompasses the feeling of a humid,sensous encounter. Maybe even a mildly distant one at that.Of course the rhythm is entirely absent from "I Never Thought I'd See The Day",which flows right along with its moody melody as far as it can take it. "Paradise","Nothing Can Come Between Us","Keep Looking" and the closing instrumental "Siempre Hay Esperanza" all embody this grooving,heavily stripped down funk sound that has since become most strongly associated with Sade. They are filled with heavy percussion and some of the fattest and locked down basslines Paul S. Denman has ever thrown down. And he's thrown down many. "Turn My Back On You" is a particular favorite of mine-built on a strong,subtle variation of the James Brown-like bass/guitar interaction following each vocal and instrumental chorus. "Haunt Me" is a pretty Flemenco flavored Spanish guitar balladed while "Clean Heart" takes a jazzier pop midtempo balled cue-a bit like a more stripped bare variation of some of the music on their debut.

  To be honest? When I first heard this album? I didn't really understand. Though relatively intelligent in some areas at the age of 8,this album contains extremely adult oriented outlooks on romance and melodies that were somewhat harder to hum. For some reason it became the only 80's era Sade album that I ended up ignoring. During my earliest years of adulthood however I rediscovered this album-by that time of course having absorbed a lot of Prince,Crusaders,Miles Davis and an entire myriad of jazz/Afro/Funk hybrids. So one day I found this album on CD,with my father having had the cassette for years and listened to it-as some point near or around the summer of 2003. All of a sudden this album lept out at me in a way that it never had before. While present this album doesn't focus in on the horns and piano as much as the first two Sade albums. The entire album is very much oriented around a very spare type of funk that emphasized Sade's singing as well as bringing the bass/guitar accents more out front. What I didn't realize at the time was this Sade were laying the groundwork for all the music they've since created on this particular. And for the most part? That hasn't been a bad thing at all. So in the context of where this took Sade rather than in comparison to what came before,this album is a resounding,romantic and hard grooving success.


title: A Career Defining Sophomore Album That Hit It's Best Shot At Exactly The Right Moment

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One thing to be said for Pat Benatar's debut album [[ASIN:B000EHRAFW In the Heat of the Night]] is that she was one of those off and running artists. There was an overall attitude of "I'm just warming up here" written all over every song on that album. So right off the bat this album opens right up with the chugging guitars of the bluesy arena shuffle of "Treat You Right" before going right into a similarly crafted version of The Rascals "You Better Run"-delivered by Benatar with an extreme aggressive vocal energy. "Never Wanna Leave You" is a somewhat Police-like reverbed ska/reggae type pop-rocker where Benatar again applies the soaring high end of her vocal range to a beautifully orchestrated refrain. Of course there's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot",probably her signature song and likely still the song most people associate most strongly with her.

  "Hell Is For Children" is a darker,somewhat understated bluesy rocker that deals with the then (and perhaps still now) uncomfortable subject of child abuse-even making frank lyrical mention of the lengths an abusive parent might go to hide what they've done to their children. I have to give Benatar special credit for bringing this out in the open on this menacing guitar rocker. "Little Paradise" marches along at a steady pace with a thickly layered ,rhythmic guitar riffing with Benatar grinding the verses along at a sometime faster-than-many-voices could-sing-it pacing. "I'm Gonna Follow You" brings in that sleeker,funkier groove of the previous album title track into the fore-with a more rock ballad twist this time. Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights" adds Benatar and Geraldo'd rockier touch that adds great emphasis to Bush's epic original approach and again strongly emphasizes Benatar's higher vocal range. "Prisoner Of Love" and the faster "Out-A-Touch" end the album with two more heavily crafted,hook filled rockers.

  One thing that was very much to Pat Benatar's favor was that during the year this album really began to hit,MTV came along. True the cable network was in its beginnings. But Benatar's videos from this album would end up being in their earliest rotation. Her luck came with the fact that contemporaries Heart would be there too. MTV's policies are apparently as open and friendly to female artists as they were unfriendly to black musicians at that time. Another one of those interesting little ironies of sociopolitical history. Knowing Pat Benatar? She was probably disgusted with MTV's racist policies. But she knew if the videos of hers,Joan Jett and Heart could be a huge part of MTV's early success,the huge breakthrough's of Michael Jackson a few years later were inevitable. That side of Pat Benatar is all over this album. She grows even more direct and honest,even to the point of addressing unpleasant subjects in an earnest and sincere way. So she was tough,tender and topical all at the same time. And she did it with the optimum level of gusto. One seriously recommended early 80's rock 'n roll album.


title: An Enormous Part Of The Apex Of An Important Band!

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With their [[ASIN:B005F9TQAG Eldorado]] album Electric Light Orchestra had officially laid the groundwork for a musical sound that was going to far outlive the band itself. Though they were likely too busy to know it at that particular point. Already beginning to set up quite a reputation as a live.Not only that but the bands rhythm section of drummer Bev Bevan and keyboardist Richard Tandy were becoming an ever more important part of the bands dynamic aside from what Jeff Lynne did as a songwriter/producer/arranger. As if the previous album hadn't been a big deal ELO were geared up in 1975 for an album that would make their sound even more concise for listeners. Not to mention perhaps a little more radio friendly. A difficult balance but on every level this album made it work for them.

  "Fire On High" is a beautiful open-ably blending Lynne's trademark cinematic string arrangements with the strong emphasis on the rhythm section of Bevan building them up from the bottom and Tandy's keyboard effects creating this textural blend of melody and harmonic dynamics. "Waterfall" is another wonderful ELO ballad,very melodic and well crafted as always. "Evil Woman" of course was the breakout hit-a danceable and rather soulful clavinet driven pop number and one of my personal favorite ELO hits."Nightrider" might be one of the definitive ELO numbers musically. Its got the gleaming keyboards playing wonderfully descending melodies-produced in Lynne's futurist fashion with his rangy and often angelic lead vocals. "Poker" is a very interested song: fast hard,almost proto punkish guitar rock at the base yet had a very progressively orchestrated chorus. "Strange Magic",another hit here starts out a gentle ballad but builds into this powerfully orchestrated and sweeping chorus.

  "Down Home Town" introduces a Southern American/Country-Western flavor into their sound while "One Summer Dream" again ends the album with another of their beautiful cinematic ballads. The ELO that most people associate with their 70's hit period develops into full swing here. Every one of their albums,even in their bit hit period was never afraid to explore unique methods of expressing what the band had to say. But as time went on for ELO they learned to do so while maintaining a very identifiable core sound. While not a rock opera styled concept album that one would likely associate with Jeff Lynne,at least not in the traditional sense,this album helped establish ELO has a unique and important pop phenomenon that could continually push the boundaries of its own talents.


title: The Whole Funk,Nothing But The Funk..And It Ain't Illegal Yet

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George Clinton moved Funkadelic to Warner Bros. records in 1976. The label provided Clinton with far better studio facilities than they'd had at Westbound,not to mention the stronger business and promotional connections that could be made. I can imagine George's confusion at the time. He was basically caught between P-Funk's positively revolutionary social commentary and being able to afford the luxury of maintaining his every growing stable of musicians and performers under the P-Funk banner. And by the late 70's that banner included Parliament,the girl groups Parlet and Brides of Funkenstein,Bootsy's Rubber Band as well as side projects by Fred Wesley/Maceo Parker's Horny Horns as well as former Spinner Phillipe Wynne's solo career. It was a case of spreading oneself too thin taken even further to the nth degree. It didn't help matters that Funkadelic's first effort for the label [[ASIN:B001C3EHRQ Hardcore Jollies]] was a musically unfocused effort that performed very poorly commercially. In fact,its a wonder Warner's didn't drop Funkadelic right than and there. What Clinton needed was to reignite the strong conceptual tract,both musically and lyrically,that had made Funkadelic such an important contribution to the funk era before the term P-Funk had even been coined. So there's a very good possibility that this might've been a make or break album for the Funkadelic side of P-Funk anyway. The fact that it did re-make them is an understatement and a half.

  The title song was not only the hit they needed,but is also P-Funk's anthem more than any other song Clinton was involved in. Taken at a fast danceable tempo it blends percussive Afro-Latin type rhythms with Worrell's "video game" style synthesizers, extremely strong hooks/harmonies ,appropriately anthemic lyrics that borrowed equally (and intentionally ironically) from American law and 19th century minstrelsy. After a deep bass groove at the opening "Grooveallegiance" veers into a slick reggae type rhythm for a Clinton style satire on the Pledge Of Allegiance. "Who Says A Funk Band Can't Play Rock" is a hard rocking number surrounding some crunching Mike Hampton guitar solos as well as still relevant questions such "who says a jazz band can't play dance music? who says a rock band can't play funk?"-reminding those not in the know who the only qualities really separating these music's were performance and intent. "Enema Squad (The Doo Doo Chasers" is a wonderfully witty example of irony. Over a melodic pop/rock/funk style backdrop George and his fellow P-Funkers compare world affairs with various scatological metaphors-all coming down to the fact that "the world is a toll free toilet". "Into You" showcases a brightly melodic funk groove with a Larry Graham style bass vocal declaring their "not into the neutron bomb" or "the drug addict principle"-choosing interpersonal freedom as a better choice in what seems to be an early commentary on the war on drugs. "Cholly" (Funk Get Ready To Roll)" wittily presents the challenge of exposing the mildly bougie caricature Cholly,a classical/jazz enthusiast,to the exaxt type of hard bass/guitar funk that the song itself espouses.

  "Lunchmeataphobia (Think,It Ain't Illegal Yet)" is a throbbing,feedback drenched funk metal number. The album is rounded out by the slick instrumental track  for "PE Squad/Doo Do Chasers" and a Mike Hampton led live version of "Maggot Brain"-Eddie Hazel's 1971 defining Funkadelic rock classic. On every possible level this album did exactly what their Warner's debut failed to do. And for those who,such as myself when they first heard it are wondering why this isn't populated with grooves similar to the title song might want to understand that its part of the reason this album succeeded on so many levels. During the disco-dance era,when many major labels were attempting to homogenize uptempo soul/funk music as much as they could to turn more of a profit,this album marked a return for Clinton to the concept of what a funk album was meant to be. Later Rickey Vincent quoted this album for his blanket term for what this tributary of funk was: "united funk". Much as with Parliament's [[ASIN:B00008RV1A Mothership Connection]],this album presents seven uptempo numbers-plus a 45 single included as part of this CD. But these numbers all explore the different facets of Clinton and his band's musical personality-from hardcore percussive funk,sleek slower grinding soul harmony inflected grooves and blistering guitar oriented hard rock/heavy metal. Music like this would be what would inspire the Prince,Lenny Kravitz and Living Color's of the music world in the following decade. And even if it may take several listens to understand what this album so vitally represents,that will lead to an understanding of how important the album is. And why it needed to happen when it did.


title: The Legacy Of a Very Dynamic Duo

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Sad but true as it is I was not following the career of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe with quite the same enthusiasm and consistency from the late 90's on as I had during my youth. It was one of those times when I was very busy with a lot of other things than following musicians artistic ventures. Which is a pity for such a creatively inclined person. Well my problem entirely,not there's. Neil  and Chris were very busy on their own. They kept recording even when other groups of their era had either given up their careers or their signature sounds. They even staged a (failed) theatrical production-apparently a career long ambition. Somehow or other when they delivered this 2009 album with such a positive proclamation for a title,I was listening close again.

  "Love Etc" is an excellent opening number,melding stripped down early 80's synth pop type synthesizers with a big shuffling chorus-complete with call and response vocals. "All Over The World" is one of those enormous pop classics in their classic style that they create with amazing regularity-whether they receive the public's full recognition or not-based around that famous Tchaikovsky melody. "Beautiful People" hearkens back mildly to the more guitar based sound of [[ASIN:B0000657ZC Release]]-only with a more synth/new wave element mixed in. "Did You See Me Coming","More Than A Dream" and "Building A Wall" are very much classic Pet Shop Boy disco/pop numbers in their signature style. "Vulnerable" has a brooding pulse about it's dance rhythm and is more breezy in flavor. Same goes for the faster paced "The Way It Used To Be.

  "King Of Rome" makes wonderful use of the percussion box for a mildly funkier rhythm whereas "Pandemonium" brings that shuffling beat back into the equasion-an easy hit type song with its typically highly crafted melodies. "Legacy" has a very theatrical sound to it-very much in the spirit of their stage show from only a short number of years earlier. In a way this album can be seen very much as a bridge between their 90's masterpieces and some of their more experimental post millennial releases. One has to give them credit. They've recorded and toured consistantly throughout the years,seen many different trends in dance music come and go fast and finally come to the conclusion that its their influence among a number of others that is the connective thread between all of them. So that's what they do on this album: offer their own distinctive sound to influence yet another oncoming generation of artists and continually satisfy their creative pop music journey.


title: Miss Janet Celebrating Her Breakthrough!

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On Janet Jackson's 45th today,thought I'd give this album what amounts up to the second review I gave it. In a lot of cases,time has really allowed certain recordings to grow on me. Even though her singing is not the strongest of the past few decades,she seems to have a significant understanding of the right settings in which to use her soft,girlish vocals. Not to mention how she's become noted as a tremendous harmonizer-a talent that does deserve much merit these days when harmony singing,even with oneself almost seems like a lost art. This album,produced by Jermaine Dupri,chose to celebrate not the anniversary of Janet's musical career,which began in 1982 to little fanfare but rather her enormously successful [[ASIN:B000002GFE Control]] album,which represents basically a year zero in her career and shows that in many cases three times really is the charm. Now this album was never intended to match what Janet did with Jam/Lewis on that album in terms of quality and commercial endurance. But in the eight years since its release,this album has emerged as being very high quality-especially for its era.

  The title song is a series of jazzy chorded vocal harmonies woven throughout the album. "So Excited"-which uses Grand Mixer DST's scratching from Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" as a rhythmic base,"Show Me","Call On Me",recorded with Nelly and "Get Me Out" are all intense and percussive danceable funk numbers. Yes very modern in production,but full of heavy funk regardless. "This Body" is the only song that really isn't quite that strong. While the groove is as tight,if not tighter than those proceeding it the lyrics are rather trite.  "Do It To Me" is a wonderfully churning,rhythmic ballad with some wonderful keyboard/horn loops and a prominent retro 70's soul flavor all around-not to mention being filled with some beautifully dynamic melodies executed by Janet's trademark multi tracked vocal harmonies. "With You" is a nice,melodic and easy rhythm guitar based smooth groove while "Daybreak" is the modern equivalent of an uptempo sunshine soul number. "Enjoy" is a wonderfully mixed set of percussively rhythmic keyboard textures and harmony-a musical highlight of the album while the powerfully jazzy melodies of the ballad "Take Care" is my favorite on the entire album which ends with "Love 2 Love",which again possesses hugely dynamic melodies along this somewhat delayed big reverbed back beat.

  Between the writing, instrumentation and production of Janet and Jermaine Dupri this is a musically powerful album. There is a much stronger funk element here on the dance numbers,something that was beginning to re-occur in the R&B world around the time of this albums's release. What made it even more fascinating was the way Janet was starting to handle her vocals. Known for possessing a three octave vocal range-primarily in the soprano area Janet drops into the lower end of that on many of the songs here. Her phrasing and mildly nasal Midwestern drawl have a quality on this album that is often a lot closer to the vocal tone of her brother Michael,though obviously not in his trademark dynamic tenor. You get to hear Janet add more of a sense of expression to her vocals as she twists and bends notes,harmonizes with herself across her entire 3 octave range and generally sings with somewhat more of a vocal attack then her usual whispering tone. Those nostalgic for Janet's 80's sound might be better advised to go to her albums from that era. The production on this album is very modern,but the musical flavor is very much that of the 1970's if anything than the 80's. Really it has emerged as one of her strongest releases of the new millennium.