Gene Dunlap - It's Just The Way I Feel/Party In Me (1981)

UK import

Detroit drummer Gene Dunlap released two albums in 1981; both albums were compiled on one CD in 2014 by Expansion Records. Dunlap was the drummer for guitarist Earl Klugh for many years and also played on a couple of Roy Ayers albums. The tunes here run the gamut from Earth, Wind & Fire-type R&B to Ayers brand of disco-jazz to Staple Singers gospel to Klugh's smooth jazz. It all makes for an enjoyable - if inconsistent - listen and I'm sure the varied styles made it very difficult for the original record label (Capitol) to market.

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IT'S JUST THE WAY I FEEL (1981)
8 tracks, 36 minutes

This album features vocalists The Ridgeways on 6 of the 8 tracks - that family group also co-wrote three of cuts here. Dunlap gets writing credit for five, plus there's one each from Klugh and Gino Vannelli. Things start off hot then cool down with some smooth jazz at the end of what was side two, tracks 5-8 here.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #202
• Billboard Jazz: #29
• Billboard R&B: #39
• CashBox: #150

Tracks: To these ears, the most obvious pop crossover single is track 3, Before You Break My Heart. Sadly, radio program directors must not have agreed with that opinion as it only reached #72 in the R&B chart and didn't crack the pop charts. Tracks 7-8 sound like they could be lifted from a Klugh album (that's a great compliment), but there's nothing here to skip.

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PARTY IN ME (1981)
9 tracks, 36 minutes

The Ridgeways are absent here and it shows. The tunes are more generic with fewer hooks than the previous album, but the performances are just as stellar - Klugh is back and is joined by Hiram Bullock. Vocal duties are handled by various persons; Dunlap himself takes a turn on This One's On Me. But much like It's Just The Way I Feel, the album lacks a stylistic focus, moving from rock-funk to quiet storm to disco. etc.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• Billboard R&B: #68

Tracks: The title track has a great groove to it and was released as a single but failed to chart; This One's On Me has a similar feel. Take My Love hit #48 on the dance chart. With its LinnDrum, synth horns and percussion break, it was 4 or 5 years ahead of its time, but that isn't keeping me from doing a little chair-dancing as a type this. The biggest R&B hit of Dunlap's solo career was the mid-tempo love song Something Inside My Head featuring vocals from Phillippe Wynne of The Spinners, which peaked at #61. Wynne understandably steals the show and makes it the best cut on the album. Again, we end the album with a smooth jazz tune, There Will Never Be Another (Like You)

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None