Bio & Discography
Gwen Guthrie broke into the business in 1974 singing backups for Aretha Franklin, and her clear, smooth voice made her a natural for anonymous parts and jingles. She soon branched out into writing (Ben E. King's "Supernatural Thing," "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" recently covered by India), where she began to make a name for herself. Finally she became a solo artist, where she didn't make much impact outside of her 1986 hit single "Ain't Nothin' Goin' On But The Rent." Guthrie died very young (42) of uterine cancer on 2/3/99. Not a groundbreaking innovator or big commercial force, she had a subtle way with a ballad and a good ear for catchy riffs, and if you like 80s R&B you should give her a try.
Gwen Guthrie (1982)Her first album was produced by Sly Dunbar & Robbie Shakespeare with Steven Stanley. Surprisingly, the drums and bass are almost nonexistent: their approach to dance music is to start with a Chic-style stripped-down groove, replacing Tony Thompson with a toy drum machine and substituting a keyboard bass line for Bernard ("Peek-A-Boo," "Dance Fever"). They also run all the tracks on the first side together, which only accentuates the similarity of the songs. Things are better on side two, which features the disc's best groove ("For You (With A Melody Too)") and two fine ballads: "It Should Have Been You" and Guthrie's own "God Don't Like Ugly," previously recorded by Roberta Flack. A disappointing tossoff with few Guthrie originals, but nostalgic fun for fans of the NYC Hi-NRG movement.
Sly and Robbie again, and the same basic formula: mindless dance tracks Guthrie didn't write, some with good hooks ("Seventh Heaven"), some without ("Hopscotch"), and a couple of fine Guthrie slow numbers ("Younger Than Me," "Oh What A Life"). The most embarrassing moment is a bubble-gum funk cover of Sly Stone's "Family Affair," which loses all the original's power. Guests include Bernie Worrell and Jimmy Maeulin.
Somewhere in between the simpleminded dance of the two previous records and the confident hi-tech R&B of the following two, this is a carefully produced (by disco pioneer Eumir Deodato) mix of piano ballads (Guthrie's own "Thrill Me") and uptempo synthfunk ("Put Love In Control"). Given more space to show herself, Guthrie responds enthusiastically: caressing each word on the slow numbers ("Oh Donny No"), blithely knocking out the faster ones ("I Gotta Have You"), and projecting an easygoing sense of humor ("Love In Moderation," with lyrics recalling Smokey Robinson). Plus, there's one amazing dance tune, "Joy Riders," with a keyboard riff that will stick in your head until it seems like it's always been there. The trouble is, much of the songwriting is rote, and since the arrangements are strictly within genre conventions, many of the tracks have not much going for them aside from Guthrie's winning earnestness. This album isn't easy to find and, with only a few Guthrie compositions, may not be worth the effort. But if you trip over a copy, don't pass it up. Songwriters include Katreese and Jerry Barnes, Raymond Jones, David Conley, Andy Goldmark, Phillip Field, Brian Morgan and Shelley Scruggs; musicians include most of the aforementioned plus Ira Siegel and Jeff Southworth (guitars), Josh Thompson (keyboards), and Sammy Figueroa.
In some ways this is a pretty typical 80s R&B production, laden with electronic percussion and synth bass lines, but it's set apart by Guthrie's light touch (she produced). Her uptempo numbers like the title track and the eminently chantable single "Ain't Nothin' Goin' On But The Rent" are understated, avoiding the bombast of contemporaneous Pointer Sisters efforts. Guthrie also gets endearingly mushy on her own ballad "You Touched My Life," and blends her torchy vocals with electronic backing on an affecting remake of Bacharach & David's "(They Long To Be) Close To You." She didn't write much of the material, but the album succeeds in creating a subtle groove of its own. There are a ton of musicians here, including Dunbar, Steve Ferrone, Maeulin and Worrell.
After the success of the previous album, Guthrie got to write and produce almost everything here, and the result is pleasant, pretty late soul. A mix of funky dance tracks ("Destiny," the AIDS comment "Can't Love You Tonight") and ballads ("What Would I Do Without You," "Bye Bye Lover"); nearly everything has a solid melody and a no-nonsense arrangement. Her other 80s records have more idiosyncratic touches, and this album is padded out with a silly remix of "Can't Love You" featuring rapper Gangster-B and a lifeless cover of the Marvelettes' "Too Many Fish In The Sea," but it's a safe bet for Guthrie fans. Guests include Bobbi Humphrey on flute, Sly & Robbie, and Ray Chew.
Guthrie's production is less idiosyncratic here, using synth vamps, programmed drums and hip-hop elements pretty much like everyone else on the R&B scene was doing. But she sounds comfortable, not forced, and the tunes are strong and memorable: tender love songs ("Sweet Bitter Love"), sassy love songs ("Miss My Love," "Same Ole Thang"), and lively lust songs ("Hot Time In Harlem"). This time around she wrote or cowrote nearly everything (except for a lengthy, moving cover of Stephanie Mills' "Never Knew Love Like This Before"), and it seems to help; there are also lots of nice touches like sampled horns on "Same Ole Thang" and off-kilter fills on "Feel Good." Nothing groundbreaking here, just an enjoyable lesson in the fundamentals. Coproducers include Sly and Robbie, Brian Jackson and Greg Smith, who play most of the instruments - guests include George Benson, who duets on the forgettable "I'll Give My Best To You," Lenny White, Richard Tee, and Ferrone. pascal.gf.
| 1) | Put Love In Control |  | ||||
| 2) | Love In Moderation | | ||||
| 3) | Just For You | | ||||
| 4) | I Gotta Have You | | ||||
| 5) | I Can't Feel It No More | | ||||
| 6) | Oh Donny, No | | ||||
| 7) | Joy Riders | | ||||
| 8)Thrill Me OTHER ALBUMS FROM GWEN GUTHRIE ARE ONE THE BENTLEYFUNK BLOGS |
IMA TRY THIS ONE OUT TOO..OOH
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