I've spun this disc about a dozen times and I still don't know what to make of it. Lewis always leaned towards jazz-pop crossover, but it seems his friend and former drummer Maurice White (along with producer/writer Morris "Butch" Stewart) introduced Ramsey to the Roland Super Jupiter, LinnDrum, and the infamous Yamaha DX7. Plus there's some undeniable Herbie Hancock Future Shock/Sound-System influence. Add in some Prince-flavored R&B dance grooves then throw a lot of timely production at the whole thing and this is about as 1985 as it gets. Smooth jazz need not apply, but the lead track, This Ain't No Fantasy, did scrape the bottom of the Billboard 12 Inch Singles Sales chart. One newspaper called it "techno-jazz" so let's just go with that.
Reviews/ratings:
- Stereo Review: "the fifty-year-old pianist has armed himself with synthesizers"
- The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★
Album chart peaks:
- US Billboard 200: Did not chart
- CashBox Jazz: #13
Tracks: I find myself enjoying the (mostly) instrumental tracks such as The Quest and Slow Dancin'. I'll confess Ram Jam gets me moving and actually features Lewis on traditional piano for a bit. Almost half the tracks here include lead vocals from various artists: It's Gonna Change (Josie Aiello), Victim Of A Broken Heart (Morris "Butch" Stewart), Never Give Up (Alice Sanderson Echols), and Part Of Me (Maurice White & Brenda Mitchell). Despite good performances, they're all fairly generic R&B of the time.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None
Previously revisited for the blog:
Tequila Mockingbird (1977)
Hang On Ramsey! (1965)/Wade In The Water (1966)
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