Acid jazz that leans more towards funk than jazz. Indeed, in the album's introduction, the group calls themselves "Champions of Funk." That may be going a little far, but this album is fun in a '90s throwback kind of way; their sound is similar to Incognito, Down To The Bone, and, to a lesser extent, Jamiroquai. To be honest, I picked up this CD because it was produced by Gary Katz, who is best known from his production work with Steely Dan. Katz's connections enabled him to hire great backing musicians, including Bernard "The Hit Maker" Purdie, Lou Marini, Hugh McCracken, and even Steely Dan's own Donald Fagen. Some of the material isn't the greatest, but it always grooves and the vocals by Donna Gardier are fantastic throughout. Sadly, this disc was the band's only album release, although they were famous for their white label singles.
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart
Tracks: My favorite track is 37 Hours (In The U.S.A.), but it's got competition for that title from Believe In Me and Cuban King Breeze. I also dig the heavy groove of Ridequake and the gospel-tinged (and oddly out-of-place) Hungry People. I usually skip Higher Love. The CD concludes with a bonus track remix of Believe In Me (E-Smoove's Essence Mix) that doesn't come close to adding anything to the original.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None
"37 Hours" is only track of theirs on Spotify and I can hear at least two reasons you like it: ultra smooth polished professional production and Steely Dan references both lyrically and musically.
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