Tracklisting:
| A1 | Illusion (5:33) | |
| Guitar - Richard Martin (3) | ||
| A2 | I Tried To Live Alone (5:08) | |
| A3 | Cocktail Hour (Blue Bossa) (3:26) | |
| A4 | Ooh Baby (6:05) | |
| B1 | Avoid The Funk (4:26) | |
| B2 | Big Bird (Au Private) (2:07) | |
| B3 | For The Love Of Money (5:54) | |
| B4 | Believing In Love (7:14) | |
Can't Fight the FeelingTell MeWatch My Stylin'
1. Round And Round 
Tracklisting:
| A1 | Set Me Free (3:37) | |
| A2 | Breaking Away (3:33) | |
| A3 | Still In Love (5:38) | |
| A4 | Love Under Moonlight (5:01) | |
| A5 | Let's Get Blue (4:31) | |
| Vocals [Duet] - Derek Bramble | ||
| B1 | Luv 2 Much (4:03) | |
| B2 | The Love Of Your Life (4:00) | |
| B3 | The Closest One (4:37) | |
| Vocals [Duet] - Derek Bramble | ||
| B4 | Step Right Up (3:57) | |
| B5 | Mated (3:51) | |
| Vocals [Duet] - David Grant | ||
Tracklisting:
| A1 | Show And Tell (3:28) | |
| A2 | I'm Out To Get You (3:39) | |
| A3 | Queen Of The Ghetto (2:53) | |
| A4 | Touch And Go (3:09) | |
| A5 | My Song (3:43) | |
| A6 | Broken Home (3:43) | |
| B1 | What You See (3:46) | |
| B2 | Love Me Gentle, Love Me Blind (4:00) | |
| B3 | Moonlightn' (3:40) | |
| B4 | For Cryin' Out Loud (3:37) | |
| B5 | A Song For You (5:42) |
Tracklisting:
| A1 | Willie's Boogie (5:46) | |
| A2 | We Gonna Have A House Party (4:11) | |
| A3 | What You Gonna Do After The Party (4:15) | |
| A4 | I Can Sho' Give You Love (5:00) | |
| A5 | I Never Had It So Good (4:12) | |
| B1 | We Gonna Party Tonight (4:31) | |
| B2 | After Love Is Gone (4:33) | |
| B3 | Soul Strut (3:53) | |
| B4 | Train Of Love (6:38) |
Solid superdope soul from Willie Hutch -- a self-produced, self-arranged, self-composed masterpiece that proves that he was one of the greatest things Motown had going in the mid 70s! The album's got a bit less of the wicked edges of Willie's blacksploitation work, but in its place is a really well-developed sense of mature soul -- stretching out through the vocals, guitar work, and overall orchestrations -- and pushing Willie into territory that was also being explored at the time by Marvin Gaye and Leon Ware. Great stuff all around, and the kind of a record that gets better each time we hear it! Titles include "Come On Girl Let's Get It On", "I Like Everything About You", "Shake It Shake It", "We Can Make It Baby", and "I'm Gonna Be Around".
Tracklisting:
| A1 | Disco Is The Thing Today (4:08) | |
| A2 | Find Yourself (4:10) | |
| A3 | All These Things (3:30) | |
| A4 | I Want To Be Loved By You (5:22) | |
| A5 | Suite For 20 G (4:30) | |
| B1 | (Doodle Loop) The World Is A Little Bit Under The Weather (3:50) | |
| B2 | Trick Bag (3:19) | |
| B3 | Mister Moon (4:00) | |
| B4 | Chug-A-Lug (3:20) | |
| B5 | Hang 'Em High / Honky Tonk Woman (5:35) |
Side 1
01 - TRY ME
Tracklisting:
| A1 | In The Mood | |
| A2 | Where Did Love Go | |
| A3 | They've Got Love | |
| A4 | Get To This (You'll Get To Me) | |
| B1 | Closer To The Source | |
| B2 | Heaven Right Here (On Earth) | |
| B3 | Everybody's A Masterpiece | |
| B4 | You're A Winner |
Long-running funk outfit L.T.D. -- Love, Togetherness and Devotion -- was formed in Greensboro, NC in 1968 by keyboardist Jimmie "J.D." Davis and bassist Abraham "Onion" Miller, both former backing musicians for the great Sam and Dave. Upon relocating to New York City, the twosome recruited guitarist Johnny McGhee, horn player Carle Vickers, saxophonists Arthur "Lorenzo" Carnegie, Toby Wynn and Abraham Miller, and trombonist Jake Riley, Jr. Vocalist/drummer Jeffrey Osborne also signed on before the group settled in Los Angeles, where Osborne's brother, keyboardist Billy Osborne joined the lineup as well. L.T.D. signed with the A&M label to issue their 1974 debut Love, Togetherness and Devotion. On their third LP, 1976's Love to the World, the group scored their first Top 20 pop hit, "Love Ballad." The follow-up, 1977's Something to Love, included the Top Five smash "(Every Time I Turn Around) Back in Love Again," and four years later L.T.D. returned to the Top 40 once again with "Shine On." However, Osborne then exited to pursue a solo career, and despite the additions of vocalists Leslie Wilson and Andre Ray, the band's commercial fortunes dimmed. In the wake of 1981's Love Magic, L.T.D. disbanded, but during the early '90s McGhee reformed the group, with 1999's Marry You featuring vocalists Greg Henneghan, Nakeisha Turner and Ronnie Henson, bassist Terry Gamble, keyboardist Ryan Cooper, drummer Jay Nichols and percussionist Mamadi Nyasuma . pascal.gf.
Tracklisting:
| A1 | Holding On | |
| A2 | We Both Deserve Each Other's Love | |
| A3 | Jam | |
| A4 | You Must Have Know I Needed Love | |
| A5 | Don't Stop Loving me Now | |
| B1 | It's Time To Be Real | |
| B2 | Concentrate On You | |
| B3 | You Fooled Me | |
| B4 | Together Forever | |
| B5 | Let's All Live And Give Together |
One of LTD's biggest from the 70s -- a sweet mix of mellow soul and boogie, handled to perfection by the talents of Bobby Martin! Jeffrey Osborne's vocals are really running strong at this point -- well-suited to both funk and ballads, with none of the cliches that started creeping into his solo work in later years. Titles include "Stranger", "Share My Love", "Say That You'll Be Mine", "One On One", and "Dance N Sing N". Tracklisting:
| A1 | One On One (5:18) | |
| A2 | Share My Love (4:20) | |
| A3 | Stand Up L.T.D. (4:43) | |
| A4 | Say That You'll Be Mine (5:04) | |
| B1 | Dance 'N' Sing 'N' (5:32) | |
| B2 | Sometimes (3:09) | |
| B3 | Promise You'll Stay (3:20) | |
| B4 | Stranger (4:29) | |
| B5 | Feel It (3:44) |
Tracklisting:
| A1 | You Gave Me Love (4:32) | |
| A2 | Where Did We Go Wrong (4:30) | |
| A3 | Getaway (4:28) | |
| A4 | Will Love Grow (4:21) | |
| B1 | Love Is What You Need (4:14) | |
| B2 | Shine On (3:58) | |
| B3 | Lovers Everywhere (3:51) | |
| B4 | Lady Love (3:40) | |
| B5 | Don't Cha Know (3:56) |
Multi-instrumentalist O'Bryan got into the business after a friend (who was in the choir he sang in as a young adult in Southern California) married Ron Kersey, who had worked in Philadelphia with groups like the Trammps in the 1970s. Upon her recommendation, Kersey got O'Bryan into a group he was forming. That quickly fell apart, but Kersey helped the singer connect with Soul Train impresario Don Cornelius, who helped O'Bryan land a deal with Capitol. During the '80s, he cut four albums and nine singles that made the R&B charts. His up-tempo tracks could sound something like a more mainstream Prince, though he tread far closer to the urban contemporary mainstream on his ballads. "The Gigolo" made number five in 1982, and over the next few years he had some up-tempo and ballad follow-ups. "I'm Freaky," which was reminiscent of "Gigolo," was the best of these; "Lovelite" was the most successful. In 2007, he returned with the ballad-heavy F1RST, issued digitally through the Headstorm label with plans for a CD version.
Tracklisting:
| A1 | It Must Be Magic (6:03) | |
| A2 | Revolution (4:27) | |
| A3 | Where's California (5:24) | |
| A4 | 365 (4:10) | |
| A5 | Opus III (Does Anybody Care) (1:27) | |
| B1 | Square Biz (6:13) | |
| Synthesizer - Allen McGrier | ||
| B2 | The Ballad Of Cradle Rob And Me (3:42) | |
| B3 | Portuguese Love (7:47) | |
| B4 | Yes Indeed (4:57) | |
| Teena Marie - Robbery (1983) |
b. Mary Christine Brocker, 1957, Santa Monica, California, USA. A singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer, Teena Marie is one of the few white artists to sustain a consistent career in the US soul market. Spotted by Motown Records' Berry Gordy in the 70s, he linked her up with funk star and labelmate Rick James, and her early career strongly reflected their joint influences. The highly commercial Wild And Peaceful saw her backed by James and the Stone City Band on a set that included their hit duet, 'I'm A Sucker For Your Love'. She returned the favour by partnering James on 'Fire And Desire' on his Street Songs album in 1981.
Afterwards, Marie took increasing control of her career and songwriting, singing both ballads and funk. Both 'I Need Your Lovin'' and 'Square Biz' reached the Top 20 of the US Billboard charts in 1980 and 1981, respectively. In the UK, 'Behind The Groove', a surprise disco smash at number 6 in the singles chart, led to confusion in public minds over her and the similarly titled Kelly Marie (it also, accidentally, picked up on the prevalent UK disco trend for songs with 'Groove' in the title). However, her greatest success followed her move to Epic Records, which some saw as an assertion of her independence, with the number 4-peaking US hit, 'Lovergirl'. Afterwards, her chart career declined. Emerald City was a funky outing, notable particularly for Stevie Ray Vaughan 's guitar solo on 'You So Heavy'. Demonstrating her talent for modernizing her technique with the advent of each new instalment in R&B's development, Ivory was produced by Soul II Soul 's Jazzie B Tracklisting:
| A1 | Lovergirl (4:54) | |
| A2 | Help Youngblood Get To The Freaky Party (5:44) | |
| A3 | Out On A Limb (6:37) | |
| A4 | Alibi (5:23) | |
| B1 | Jammin (5:52) | |
| B2 | Starchild (5:35) | |
| B3 | We've Got To Stop (Meeting Like This) (5:06) | |
| B4 | My Dear Mr. Gaye (5:28) | |
| B5 | Light (1:18) |
Bass-heavy soul from Central Line -- very much in the Kleeer mode, although perhaps with more funk and less harmony vocals. The bass pedals and keyboards are in full effect here -- and the vocals get dramatic at times just to keep up with them. Titles include "Man At The Top", "Time For Some Fun", "Betcha Gonna", "Bad Floyd", "Lost In Love", and "Lovely Day". Tracklisting:
| A1 | Time For Some Fun | |
| A2 | Betcha Gonna | |
| A3 | How About You | |
| A4 | Lost In Love | |
| A5 | Bad Floyd | |
| B1 | Nature Boy | |
| B2 | Man At The Top | |
| B3 | Surprise Surprise | |
| B4 | You've Said Enough | |
| B5 | Lovely Day |
Tracklisting:
| A1 | Walking Into Sunshine (5:02) | |
| A2 | I Need Your Love (4:55) | |
| A3 | Breaking Point (4:04) | |
| A4 | Goodbye (4:32) | |
| Keyboards - Steve Jeffries (2) | ||
| B1 | That's No Way To Treat My Love (4:50) | |
| B2 | Don't Tell Me (5:36) | |
| B3 | (You Know) You Can Do It (4:45) | |
| Drums - Jake Le Mesurier Remix - Roy Carter | ||
| B4 | Shake It Up (4:25) | |
A wonderful set of modern soul -- and one of the few excellent albums on the Handshake label! Karin's a singer we know nothing about, but she's got a great approach for this boogie-styled set -- one that's upfront and belting on the more uptempo numbers, but also wonderfully soulful on the mellower tracks -- which actually stand out as some of our favorite on the record! There's a proud, full sound to the album -- post-disco soul at its best, and handled with enough depth to match the best of the better-known modern soul of the time! Arrangements are by Dunn Pearson and Dennis Williams -- always with a warm sound -- and titles include "So Right", "Here I Go Again", "Under The Influence Of Love", "Ooh Baby Don't", "Last Night In My Dreams", and "Ready Ready Love".| 1) | Under The Influence Of Love |  | ||||
| 2) | You Know Me, I Know You | |||||
| 3) | Here I Go Again | |||||
| 4) | So Right | |||||
| 5) | Last Night In My Dreams | |||||
| 6) | Ready,ready Love | |||||
| 7) | If You're In A Hurry | |||||
| 8) | Ooh! Baby,don't |
Track List:
A great album by Curtis -- filled with some excellent lesser-known gems! There's No Place Like America was Curtis' scathing testament to the State Of The Union -- and it's got a hip political tone that's right up there with the best of his early 70s songwriting -- perhaps even more so, as the message is a bit subtler than on other albums, and laid out in this stoner mellow funk vein that's very tasty throughout, and which makes for an extremely unified album! The album includes a version of the cut "Hard Times", which was done earlier by Baby Huey, plus "Blue Monday People", "Love To The People", and "When Seasons Change". Also includes the great sweet love song, "So In Love"!
This is
DISC 1:
1. Gypsy Woman
2. Grow Closer Together
3. Never Let Me Go
4. Little Young Lover
5. Minstrel And Queen
6. I'm The One Who Loves You
7. Sad Sad Girl And Boy
8. It's All Right
9. Talking About My Baby
10. I'm So Proud
11. Keep On Pushing
12. You Must Believe Me
13. See The Real Me
14. Amen
15. I've Been Trying
16. People Get Ready
17. It's Hard To Believe
18. Woman's Got Soul
19. Meeting Over Yonder
20. I Need You
21. You've Been Cheatin'
22. Man Oh Man
23. Can't Satisfy
24. We're A Winner
25. I Loved And I Lost
26. We're Rolling On (Part One)
DISC 2:
1. Fool For You
2. This Is My Country
3. Choice Of Colors
4. Check Out Your Mind
5. Move On Up
6. If There's A Hell Below, We're All Going To Go (Don't Worry)
7. Makings Of You, The
8. Beautiful Brother Of Mine
9. Freddie's Dead
10. Superfly
11. Pusherman
12. So In Love
13. Only You Babe - (single edit)
14. Do Do Wap Is Strong In Here - (single edit)
A great album of mellow soul tracks from Curtis Mayfield -- laidback, slinky, and almost to his earlier work what Let's Get It On was to the early 70s career of Marvin Gaye! The album's got a warm, soulful vibe that's totally great -- not as all-out funky or politically righteous as before, and instead more deeply personal, and almost intimate at times -- in a way that really lets Curtis open up with those fragile and heartbreaking vocals that made his 60s work so great. The restraint here is totally great -- another mid 70s masterpiece from arranger Rich Tufo -- and at times, Mayfield hits a similar mode to some of Leroy Hutson's best Curtom work from the time! Titles include "Just Want To Be With You", "All Night Long", "When We're Alone", "I'm Gonna Win Your Love", "Sparkle", "Never Say You Can't Survive", and "Show Me Love" Tracklisting:
| A1 | Show Me Love (5:11) | |
| A2 | Just Want To Be With You (3:11) | |
| A3 | When You're Alone (5:23) | |
| A4 | Never Say You Can't Survive (3:17) | |
| B1 | I'm Gonna Win Your Love (4:41) | |
| B2 | All Night Long (4:12) | |
| B3 | When You Used To Be Mine (3:39) | |
| B4 | Sparkle (4:00) |
A real dancefloor set from Curtis -- recorded with some sweet Philly production from the likes of Norman Harris and Bunny Sigler -- in the sweeping, soaring, strings-heavy mode of the Philly disco records of the time! And yes, this isn't classic Curtis from the righteous years -- but the surprising thing is how well his voice really holds up in the tracks -- coming through with a strength that's fresh and surprising, given some of his disco contemporaries, and sounding pretty darn nice overall, thanks to some tight arrangements by the likes of Fred Wesley, Norman Harris, and Gil Askey. Linda Clifford does a duet with Curtis on "Between You Baby & Me", and the other cuts include "Victory", "Tell Me Tell Me", "You're So Good To Me", "You Better Stop", and "Over The Hump" Tracklisting:
| A1 | Tell Me, Tell Me (How Ya Like To Be Loved) | |
| A2 | What Is My Woman For? | |
| A3 | Between You Baby And Me | |
| Vocals - Linda Clifford | ||
| A4 | Victory | |
| B1 | Over The Hump | |
| B2 | You Better Stop | |
| B3 | You're So Good To Me | |
| B4 | Heartbeat | |
One of the last great Curtis Mayfield albums for Curtom -- often overlooked, but essential in any collection of his work! The sound is still very much in the classic Curtom mode, with less of the uptempo and disco groovers that were showing up on some of the other records from the time -- and more of the sweetly soulful styles that Curtis was also working on as his 70s career progressed. Includes the classic groover "Tripping Out" -- plus "Never Let Me Go", "Something To Believe In", "It's Alright", and "Never Stop Loving Me". Tracklisting:
| A1 | Love Me, Love Me Now (7:56) | |
| A2 | Never Let Me Go (3:07) | |
| A3 | Tripping Out (6:59) | |
| B1 | People Never Give Up (5:50) | |
| B2 | It's Alright (3:53) | |
| B3 | Something To Believe In (4:45) | |
| B4 | Never Stop Loving Me (3:34) |
'Just For You' I bought on import when it arrived on these shores in 1979. The preceeding 12 inch single, 'Cisselin' Hot', was the 'bee's knees' on the dancefloor back in those days. A real stomper that sounds dated these days. What made this album such a great release was the production involvement of Skip Scarborough and Dave Crawford. They really gave this outing a feeling of 'freshness' that is epitomised by the dancer 'Don't Tell Me You're Sorry'. A great tune. The real cream cut for this punter has to be 'Do You Believe', which is set around mid-tempo and is part written by Art Wilson (check the audio on him at this site, excellent stuff). It is one of 'those' timeless pieces of soul music. Great album.
Three years down the line, and still with Arista, came 'If I Had The Chance'.....came and went that is! I guess that that 82 was a vinatge soul music year that certain albums just didn't cut it. This LP has it's moments but is not a patch on his first release, however, it would be folly to miss the excellent 'Love Is Missing From Our Lives'. A great piece of soul music that would have sat happily alongside any tune from the first album.
Tracklisting:
| A1 | Just For You (4:34) | |
| A2 | Emergency (3:55) | |
| A3 | River Of Love (4:54) | |
| A4 | Don't Tell Me You're Sorry (3:38) | |
| A5 | Forever (3:49) | |
| B1 | Cisselin' Hot (5:30) | |
| B2 | Lady In My World (3:17) | |
| B3 | I've Been Needing Love So Long (3:46) | |
| B4 | Do You Believe (3:41) |
01 - Talk to me
Rufus grew out of the Chicago band the American Breed, which had a hit in 1968 with the oldies-radio staple "Bend Me, Shape Me." Guitarist Al Ciner, bassist Chuck Colbert, drummer Lee Graziano, and keyboardist Kevin Murphy had all played in the band at one time or another before forming a new group, originally called Smoke, with vocalists Paulette McWilliams and James Stella. Stella was quickly replaced by lead vocalist/songwriter/keyboardist Ron Stockert, and Colbert by bassist Dennis Belfield; the group changed its name to Ask Rufus, which was later shortened to Rufus. In 1972, drummer Andre Fischer -- another former American Breed member -- replaced Graziano, and a young female vocalist named Chaka Khan (born Yvette Marie Stevens) replaced McWilliams. Although Khan's dynamic stage presence helped this version of the band take off, Stockert was still the guiding force when they signed with ABC in 1973, and he lent a more pop/rock flavor to the group's self-titled debut, released later that year.
Although the album sold poorly, Rufus gained a fan in Stevie Wonder thanks to their cover of his "Maybe Your Baby." Wonder gave them a new composition, the slowly grinding "Tell Me Something Good," that he'd written specifically with Khan's vocal style in mind. Pulled as a single from their second album, 1974's Rags to Rufus, "Tell Me Something Good" was a Top Five smash that turned Khan into a star; she also co-wrote the R&B chart-topping follow-up, "You Got the Love." Clearly, the band had found its niche, and a number of personnel shifts ensued: Stockert left, Belfield was replaced by Bobby Watson, and Ciner was replaced by Tony Maiden. Their funk sensibility thus bolstered, Rufus returned with a strong new album before year's end, Rufusized, which spawned two more hits in "Once You Get Started" and "Please Pardon Me (You Remind Me of a Friend)." The billing on 1975's Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan made the singer's star power official, and produced one of the group's biggest hits in the R&B number one "Sweet Thing." Dave "Hawk" Wolinski joined as a second keyboardist for 1977's mellower Ask Rufus (the hit was "At Midnight (My Love Will Lift You Up)"), and William "Moon" Calhoun replaced drummer Fischer on 1978's Street Player.
Following the release of Street Player, Khan made what was perhaps an inevitable move into solo recording with the release of her debut, Chaka; despite scoring a significant hit with "I'm Every Woman," she remained an official member of Rufus. Still, the band's next album, Numbers, was recorded without her, and upon its release in 1979, it stiffed. Khan was back on board later that year for Masterjam, produced by Quincy Jones, and the band (featuring new drummer John "J.R." Robinson) was back on top of the R&B charts with "Do You Love What You Feel." However, Khan split again for 1980's Party 'Til You're Broke, and although she returned for 1981's Camouflage, Rufus' chart fortunes were slipping away. The George Duke-produced, Khan-less Seal in Red bombed, but Khan returned for one last go-round on 1983's Stompin' at the Savoy, a double-record set featuring three sides of live material and one side of new studio recordings. One of those new songs, "Ain't Nobody," became Rufus' final number one R&B hit, and also won a Grammy, allowing the group to end its career on a high note. Her contract up, Khan finally left for good afterwards and became a superstar thanks to a cover of Prince's "I Feel for You." ~ pascal.gf. Tracklisting:
| A1 | Tonight We Love | |
| A2 | Hold On To A Friend | |
| A3 | Love Is Taking Over | |
| A4 | Secret Love | |
| A5 | Party 'Til You're Broke | |
| B1 | Can I Show You | |
| B2 | You're Made For Me | |
| B3 | What Is It | |
| B4 | We Got The Way | |
| B5 | Afterwards |
