The Blue Nile - A Walk Across The Rooftops (1984)

UK import

An album more about sound than songs. Intimate, beautiful, tasteful, impeccably arranged sound. So the emphasis is squarely on texture and structure seems optional. Nothing grabs you but you can't stop listening. And I mean all that as a compliment because I really dig the musical milieu. Spin this disc while staring out a window and suddenly your life has a budget and a cinematographer. Atmosphere with vocals almost an afterthought. Certainly not the kind of thing I was looking for in 1984, but I'm glad I finally caught up to it decades later.

Press of the time:

• Smash Hits (9 out of 10): "Straight into a league of their own comes a major new talent"
• Rolling Stone: "this shimmering music is not difficult, just sophisticated"
• Spin: "moodily captivating on the A side...but constricted by a painfully languid flip side"
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music (1997): ★★★★

The album is listed in the 2005 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die with the following quote: "If you are not moved, you may be dead."

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: My initial thought was to simply write "It plays as one long track and when it's over, you want a second helping" but the tracks Tinseltown In The Rain and Stay really do stand out on this one.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: previously recounted here

Previously revisited for the blog:
Peace At Last (1996)
Hats (1989)

Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense (2024 reissue)

Note: this release was originally purchased as an LP, later replaced by a CD, later supplemented by a homemade "Special Edition" CD-R, finally replaced with this 2 CD + Blu-Ray set. This 18 track set is a far cry from the 9 track LP I purchased back in 1985.

As described on the band's website:

Stop Making Sense is widely regarded as the best concert film of all time. This 2CD/1Blu-Ray disc edition features the complete show on 2-CDs, additional liner notes written by Tina Weymouth, David Byrne, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison as well as photos not previously available with the CD, and the audio mixed in beautiful Dolby Atmos surround sound on the Blu-Ray audio disc. A live "best-of," Stop Making Sense starts strong with the band's hit off their debut album "Psycho Killer," and dives into favorites and deep cuts from "Burning Down the House" and "This Must Be The Place" to "Girlfriend Is Better" and "Heaven." The band also performs' the Tom Tom Club's "Genius Of Love."

Yes, Stop Making Sense is indeed the best concert film of all time and this album has long been my favorite Talking Heads release. I've heard a lot of versions of this music on many formats and I gotta tell ya: the sound on this set is far superior to any previous version and it's not even close. Kudos to Jerry Harrison and E.T. Thorngren for the mix. This new mix really brings out the contributions of the added musicians Bernie Worrell, Alex Weir, and in particular, backing vocalists Lynn Mabry & Ednah Holt. Makes all previous releases (and rereleases) obsolete. 

Press of the time:

• Rolling Stone (★★★★): "a solid artistic statement from a band that's starting to have as much as they've given their listeners."
• Stereo Review: "a great live performance"
• Robert Christgau (B+): a soundtrack, albeit for the finest concert film I've ever seen"
• CashBox: "an electrifying LP"
• Billboard: "sustains remarkable polish"

Original album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #41
• Billboard Pop CD: #25
• CashBox: #29
• CashBox CD: #10
• Rolling Stone: #16

Tracks: I don't skip any tracks; my favorites are Found A Job, What A Day That Was, This Must Be The Place (Naïve Melody), Once In A Lifetime, and Take Me To The River.

Blu-Ray: As if the 2 "regular" CDs weren't sounding spectacular enough, this set comes with a Blu-Ray disc containing a Dolby Atmos mix. When Atmos mixes starting appearing, I thought it would be a passing fad, much like other legacy music formats such as DualDisc, DVD Audio, CD+G, CD Video, etc., but I'll admit it has hung around longer than I thought it would. When I came across the first Atmos disc in my collection (Abbey Road), I didn't have a proper playback for the Atmos mix. I've since researched what it would cost to get me set up with a quality system and my fixed income quickly shot down that idea. However, I came up with a decent workaround. I discovered my Sony Xbox Series X is compatible with Atmos discs, so I purchased a wireless gaming headset and - Bob's your uncle - I was all set to enjoy the Atmos mix. And lemmetellya the surround sound is fantastic, especially with lights off and eyes closed. I won't go out of my way to buy Atmos discs, but it's nice to be able to listen to the discs I have.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: When the movie was restored and rereleased in 4K for the film's 40th anniversary, I drove downtown to take it in at one of the local IMAX theaters. I went to the 11 AM screening, so there were only about 5 or 6 of us in the audience. As such, the typical movie theater distractions (talking, phone use, etc.) weren't there and I could focus on the show. It was glorious. My only regrets are 1) they weren't selling Stop Making Sense merch at the theater, and 2) I didn't stay for a second screening.

And, as I've mentioned before, a movie poster has been hanging out above my CDs for many years.

Previously revisited for the blog:

The Best Of (2004)	The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads (1982)
Little Creatures (1985)	Remain In Light (1980)
Stop Making Sense (1984)	Fear Of Music (1979)
Speaking In Tongues (1983)	Talking Heads: 77 (1977)

The Jim Cullum Jazz Band - 'Tis The Season...To Be Jammin'! (1984)

Cornetist Jim Cullum was a local jazz legend here in San Antonio and my father was a big fan. The Jim Cullum Jazz Band was a 7 piece group that leaned towards the Dixieland/hot jazz style, so what we've got here are 17 familiar Christmas tunes given the (mostly) Dixieland treatment. Hot jazz isn't my usual bag, but if it's yours, these are good performances of good arrangements.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks:

The first 12 tracks were recorded in 1984; the remaining tracks were recorded in 2000 to augment this CD release. Personnel varied slightly, but Cullum and his chief arranger, pianist John Sheridan, were at both recording sessions.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Everything But The Girl - Eden (1984)

EU import. My jewel case has a "special edition" sticker on the front, but I can't find anything about the contents that would make it special. Your guess is as good as mine.

The debut album from the British (then) folky sophisti-pop duo. They lean heavily on a bossa nova groove throughout and it all goes down easily. Smooth adult contemporary, but not particularly memorable.

This album wasn't released in the US. In their wisdom, the record company executives at Sire thought it would be better to release a self-titled compilation of tracks in North America. That particular release did not chart.

Press of the time:

• Smash Hits (8 out of 10): "Very summery, very smoochy and very well put together. An impressive debut album."
• Record Mirror (★★★★): "If you like to sway, smooch, get mellow'n'soothed while your thoughts are provoked, this is the one for your private moment."
• Eurotipsheet/Music & Media: "a whole album is a bit too much as the material rends to complete anonymity in the long run."
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music (1997): ★★★★

New Musical Express placed Eden at #20 on its Albums of the Year list for 1984.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Not released in the US, #14 in the UK

Tracks: The album kicks off with Each And Every One, which was the only single released from the album and peaked at #28 in the UK. It is the best track and an obvious pick for single release. The rest are along the same lines but with either fewer hooks or in need of further development. Great for relaxed background music (or "smoochy" music) but really doesn't stand up to repeated active listening. I tend to skip the final track, Soft Touch, which just seems out of tune and out of place.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None. I was oblivious to this music in 1984, and I didn't really get into the sophisti-pop genre until Swing Out Sister hit the scene so who knows if I would have been interested in this one back then.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Missing (1995)
Amplified Heart (1994)
Acoustic (1992)
Worldwide (1991)
The Language Of Life (1990)

Dave Grusin - Night-Lines (1984)

This album is a mixed bag, for sure. There's the usual Grusin tracks that sound like his award-winning work for movies and TV plus some filler tracks that sound like Grusin was just playing around with the latest synths (Yamaha GS2 & DZ7, OBX, Fairlight) to see what they could do. But the better tracks on this album are a cover and a couple of West Coast/AOR tracks from Randy Goodrum.

Recorded at a time when the words "all digital recording" were cutting edge so it made sense to plaster "Digital Master" on the front cover and brand the GRP label as "The Digital Master Company."

CD liner notes.

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "Grusin pushes a little deeper into the pop sphere"
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #4
• CashBox: #160
• CashBox Jazz: #2
• Radio & Records Jazz National Airplay: #1

Tracks: I can't tell if singer Phoebe Snow ever heard Sly Stone's Thankful N' Thoughtful from the Fresh album, but it's obvious David Sanborn and Marcus Miller grew up with it because they take the cover of that tune to another level. It was released as both a 7" and 12" single but failed to chart. There's two tunes written and sung by Randy Goodrum here which have him sounding a lot like Stephen Bishop. The better of those two is Haunting Me, but the other, Tick Tock, has its moments. Goodrum also co-wrote a ballad with Dave Loggins, Somewhere Between Old And New York, which is sung by Snow and there's not much to get excited about. There's the theme from the TV show St. Elsewhere which peaked at #15 on the Adult Contemporary chart in '84. Also included is a track from Grusin's soundtrack to the movie Racing With The Moon.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Amparo (2008) (with Lee Ritenour)
Two Worlds (2000) (with Lee Ritenour)
Collection (1989)
Harlequin (1985) (with Lee Ritenour)
Out Of The Shadows (1982)

Various Artists - Telarc Sampler, Volume 2 (1984)

If Discogs is to be believed, my disc is a 1986 Digital Audio Disc Corp. pressing.

An early CD sampler that people would buy to show off their new $700 CD player to friends and family (see also Hear The Light On Philips (1984), et. al.). Telarc was well-known for their "pure digital" classical discs, so it makes sense that they would use such samplers as marketing tools. I couldn't find any prices, but I'd wager these sampler discs sold for about half to ⅔ the going rate for CDs at the time.

I recently picked up this copy for 50¢ as a curiosity but it turns out to be a fairly useless disc, even as a sampler. In order to pack more music on the disc, most of the tracks are brief excerpts of works so, for example, after spending 4 minutes building up the first movement of Beethoven's famous Symphony No. 5, it stops just short of the recapitulation, so there's plenty of frustration to go around. There's also a fair share of awkward fade ins/outs. But I guess "leave 'em wantin' more" was the point.

In short, the quality of the recordings here is exceptional, but I would have preferred 10-12 tracks with complete movements instead of 20 brief excerpts.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Classical CD: #8

Tracks:

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: When I was a young music major, ca. 1985, we had music history classes in which we had aural quizzes commonly called "drop the needle" tests.  In these tests, the professor would play a brief excerpt - literally dropping the needle in the middle of a vinyl record - and we were expected to identify aspects such as composer, title, era, or specific musical elements such as instrumentation, form, or time signature. If the professor was feeling particularly saucy, we were required to justify our responses. Such requests led to writing bs answers like "the chromaticism in the inner voices, particularly the violas, plus the use of folk melodies lead me to believe this piece was written in the second half of the 19th century, most likely by Tchaikovsky." That's worth an eyeroll, for sure, but that's the kind of superfluous skill that's hard to shake, so now, 40 years later, I find myself going through the same thought process when I hear a classical piece I don't recognize. Anyway, the excerpts on this CD reminded me of such tests.

U2 - The Unforgettable Fire (1984)

Note: this release was originally purchased as an LP, later replaced by a CD.

I became a fan of U2 when I first heard my buddy Jim's copy of the War album and became even more enamored with the group after I bought my cassette of Under A Blood Red Sky and wore it out over Christmas break 1983. Needless to say, this release was highly anticipated by yours truly. I wouldn't say I was initially disappointed, but I wasn't exactly thrilled with this album upon it's release in late 1984.

When I was 18 years old, I wanted the album to rock, but the music here is more moody than what I expected, so I listened to what was side one (the first five tracks) of my LP much more often than side two. The influence of the 1982 Simple Minds album New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) on The Unforgettable Fire has been discussed many times, including these articles from Pitchfork and The Irish Times. To my mind, it begs the question "why didn't the band hire New Gold Dream producer Peter Walsh to produce Unforgettable Fire?" I'm just asking, not complaining. I think Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois do fine work on the album even though I've never come across a mix that wasn't a little muddy so I'm going to guess crispness wasn't the goal with these tunes. Still, the album contains U2's finest single, so that fact alone places it in the top half of the band's eight releases during the 1980's (yes, I'm counting EPs because I'd have Under A Blood Red Sky at the top of that list). 

Press of the time:

• Rolling Stone (★★★): "seems to drone on and on"
• Stereo Review: "represents a significant expansion of U2's heretofore limited musical vocabulary."
• High Fidelity: "vinyl evidence of a band in transition."
• Record Mirror (+++¾): "Brian Eno's production was an important and not unwise choice"
• CashBox: "another inspired - and inspiring - set of powerful guitar rock"
• Billboard: "A cloudy, obtuse and daring outing"
• Robert Christgau (B+): "Eno has shaped this record to accentuate Bono's wild romantic idealism, and while I prefer his moral force I have to admit that the two are equally beguiling to contemplate and dangerous to take literally."

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #12
• Billboard CD: #12
• CashBox: #5
• CashBox CD: #11
• Rolling Stone: #3

Tracks: Pride is my all-time favorite U2 song and it's not even a close race. The rest of the album doesn't quite measure up (how could it?), but I also dig A Sort Of Homecoming, Wire, and the title track. I also like Bad, but the definitive version of that song is on Wide Awake In America. I wasn't a fan of MLK until I heard a church choir perform an exquisite arrangement of the piece that exposed the simple beauty of the music while reinforcing the message of the lyrics:

Sleep
Sleep tonight
And may your dreams
Be realized
If the thunder cloud
Passes rain
So let it rain
Rain down on him
So let it be
So let it be

Now I recognize the song for the great album-closer it is.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: On Monday, February 25, 1985, U2 held a concert at Reunion Arena in Dallas. At the time, I was a freshman at a nearby university; only an hour's drive from Dallas. However, my friends and I couldn't score tickets to the show, so we were stuck in the dorm that evening. The concert was sponsored by a local radio station - I think it was KEGL (Eagle 97) but who the hell knows - and starting a few hours before the show, they started playing the entire U2 catalog. During the show, the remote DJs would give brief concert updates along the lines of "the band has taken the stage" or "they just played Sunday Bloody Sunday" before kicking it back to the studio to play more U2 records. We just moped around the dorm room, listening to the radio, and kicking ourselves for not trying harder to get tickets. And then up for a 8:30 AM ear training class the next morning.

Previously revisited for the blog:

The Joshua Tree (1987)	Under A Blood Red Sky (1983)
Wide Awake In America (1985)	October (1981)

Bangles - All Over The Place (1984)

Note: this release was originally purchased as an LP, later replaced by a CD.

Here's some brief background on the group and album, from a press release published in the August 25, 1984 issue of Billboard:

I heard Hero Takes A Fall and it was all over. The band had a great sound and I was immediately a fan - and possibly in love. For this album, the band's playing made the '60s influences obvious. They later moved to slightly different, more contemporary sound, but I was nevertheless happy to see them hit it big. Hero Takes A Fall is still my favorite Bangles song (although In Your Room and Eternal Flame are right up there, too). This album is brief (10 tunes in 31 minutes) so it plays much better on CD than it did on my old vinyl copy. After reuniting with this album, I was understandably kicking myself for a good while for not (re)purchasing it sooner.

Press of the time:

• Stereo Review: "If the idea of reviving the garage band in the electronic age seems pointless to you, the Bangles will surely change your mind."
• Rolling Stone (★★★½): "All Over the Place will surely have you shaking all over."
• Musician: "These girls are not pushovers."
• Billboard: "'80s updating for that '60s signature"
• Record Mirror (2 out of 5): "the tracks have about as much clout as a two day old kitten."
• Robert Christgau: A-

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #80
• Billboard Rock: #48
• CashBox: #64

Tracks: It's all a fun ride top-to-bottom, but let's count these down to my favorite cut.

11. Restless
10. He's Got A Secret
9. More Than Meets The Eye
8. James
7. All About You
6. Dover Beach
5. Silent Treatment
4. Tell Me
3. Live
2. Going Down To Liverpool
1. Hero Takes A Fall

From my personal collection

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I didn't discover this album until the summer of 1985, even though I'm sure the above Rolling Stone review in which the words "Beatle-esque pop" caught my eye. Summer of '85 is one of my all-time favorite summers which I've recapped several times, including this post over at MFD.

Arvo Pärt - Tabula Rasa (1984)

The first disc released in ECM's New Series:

CashBox, January 26, 1985, p. 9

Arvo Pärt is an Estonian composer who created a type of minimalist composition technique he calls tintinnabuli. This recording is generally considered Pärt's introduction to the Western world and contains two of his most well-known works: Fratres and Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten. I discovered Fratres through a piano/cello version used in There Will Be Blood and I'm glad I did.

Headphones recommended.

Press of the time:

• Stereo Review: "Sensitive, exciting, and fully realized compositions"
• Musician: "there's barely a moment on this recording that won't elevate or entrance the listener"
• DownBeat (★★): "'Where is the music?' As hapless Hamlet says in the play, that is the question."

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks, with links to program notes from the composer's website:

• Fratres (violin/piano)
• Cantus In Memory Of Benjamin Britten (Staatsorchester Stuttgart, Dennis Russell Davies, cond.)
• Fratres (12 cellists)
• Tabula Rasa (Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Saulus Sondeckis, cond.)

My favorite here is the Cantus - such a gorgeous piece with constant downward motion until the resolution. Of the two versions of Fratres presented, I prefer the calmer setting for cellos. Tabula Rasa is a 26½ minute piece that includes two violin soloists and prepared piano (been a good long while since I've heard one of those). It will require more listening and work on my part - hopefully I can find a score to examine. I look forward to continuing that journey. [Here was a moving start to that journey, back when I subscribed to The New Yorker: Consolations: Arvo Pärt by Alex Ross, December 2, 2002]

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None. This album was issued as I was heading off to college to study music and I wish someone had introduced me to it at that time.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Fratres (1995)

James Newton Howard & Friends (1984)

Subtitled "Rock Instrumentals for Synthesizers, Drums, and Percussion," it's below average music being performed by above average musicians using the newest audiophile technology available when this was recorded in December 1983:

Audiophilia isn't my bag, but if you consider yourself an audiophile, please click here for a more thorough analysis of things like surface noise, dynamic range, and the like. Produced by Bill Schnee (Pablo Cruise, Boz Scaggs, Huey Lewis, etc.) under the direction of Sheffield Lab founders Lincoln Mayorga and legendary mastering engineer Doug Sax. Sax's liner notes thoroughly explain the history of this recording so I won't go into it in this space. The latest in digital synth technology at the time from Yamaha was the DX7, DX9, and GS1 - all used on this album.

I first became aware of James Newton Howard by reading his name in the credits on the Toto IV album. While this music is a bit bland, Howard would go on to score over 100 motion pictures, receiving nominations for Oscars, Emmys, and Grammy awards in the process.

To be honest, this CD should have appeared during "Early CD Week," but I didn't own the disc back then so there ya go. For those interested, my copy appears to be a later reissue because of the ridged jewel case as well as the indication that the disc was made in the US. Also included in the jewel case was a Sheffield Lab catalog that included a lot of CDs with which I was previously unfamiliar. I'm not saying I need to collect them all, but never say never, right? In the catalog, this particular disc lists the following review:

Best sounding record (and CD!)? Probably Sheffield Lab's 'James Newton Howard & Friends.' Great playing - alive, daring, powerful - aided by a superbly clean and dynamic recording.

-Jimmy Hughes/Hi-Fi Answers

Likewise, I have no complaints about the sound or the playing. It's the writing. Also, I was previously unfamiliar with Hi-Fi Answers. It appears to have been an audiophile magazine from the UK published in the '80s, but now I'm down that rabbit hole, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: 9 tracks, 26½ minutes. To my ears, it sounds like Toto demos for a prog rock album.  All tracks seem to be written/arranged to show off what the new digital Yamaha synths should do, confirming what Sax writes in the liner notes. The better of these nine are Gone Buttlefishin' and the simple ballad She. Track 4, L'Daddy, has a promising groove that desperately needs a melody. The others are forgotten as soon as the next track begins.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Grover Washington, Jr. - Inside Moves (1984)/Paradise (1979)

Two Elektra releases from the master of smooth jazz saxophone. An odd album pairing for a couple of reasons: 1) the overall sound of the two albums are very different, from production style to mix to instrumentation, and 2) the newer album is first on the CD - should have been the other way around, in my opinion. You can never go wrong with chronological order.

I enjoy his entire œuvre, but there's just something different about Washington's releases on Elektra (1979-1984). I prefer Inside Moves to Paradise, but with a total running time of around 80 minutes, this is easily a top-to-bottom listen that offers up just the right amount of variety.

---

INSIDE MOVES (1984)
7 tracks, 52 minutes

Washington hit his commercial peak with 1980's Winelight album and the hit single Just The Two Of Us. He spent his remaining time on the Elektra label chasing that success and hoping lightning would strike twice. Can't say as I blame him - I'd have done the exact same thing. Inside Moves has plenty of good stuff from great musicians, including Ralph MacDonald, Marcus Miller, Richard Tee, Eric Gale, Steve Gadd, and Jon Lucien. The latter provided the vocals for the single release When I Look At You, which unfortunately didn't dent the charts.

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "flawless, smooth crossover"
• Downbeat (★★★): "Real good album, all in all"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #79
• Billboard R&B: #21
• Billboard Jazz: #3
• CashBox: #60
• CashBox Jazz: #1
• Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay: #4

Tracks: It's all good 'n' smooth, but my favorites today are Dawn Song, Secret Sounds, and Jet Stream.

---

PARADISE (1979)
10 tracks, 36 minutes

Note: this release was originally purchased as a LP, later replaced by a CD.

This album has a very different sound when compared to Inside Moves and utilized a completely different backing band, most notably electric violinist John Blake, who is featured prominently on each cut. 

Reviews/ratings:

• CashBox: "a provocative showcase"
• Record World: "could prove to be one of his biggest"
• Downbeat (★★½): "one man's boredom can be another man's gold"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★½

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #24
• Billboard R&B: #15
• Billboard Jazz: #2
• CashBox: #33
• CashBox Jazz: #1
• Rolling Stone: #36
• Record World Jazz: #1

Tracks: Of the seven tracks on Paradise, my top picks are Tell Me About It Now, the title track (written by Blake) and Asia's Theme.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: The little town where I attended undergrad had - for a brief time - a record store that stocked both new and used. I don't remember buying anything there but a used copy of Culture Club's Colour By Numbers LP. The guy in the next room over, nicknamed Buffalo Tom, was starting to develop a taste for the smooth stuff in late '84/early '85 and picked up copies of Inside Moves and David Sanborn's Straight To The Heart. On my fairly new Fisher all-in-one, I promptly dubbed Inside Moves to one side of a blank cassette then dubbed Sanborn on the flip. That tape got a lot of playing time; it's nice to have this album handy again.

Previously revisited for the blog:

Prime Cuts 1987-1999 (1999)	The Best Is Yet To Come (1982)
Soulful Strut (1996)	Come Morning (1981)
All My Tomorrows (1994)	Winelight (1980)
Time Out of Mind (1989)	Skylarkin' (1980)
Anthology (1985)	Mister Magic (1975)

Kool & The Gang - Albums 1979-1984 (2020)

UK Import

Some records are bathed in such a happy spirit that listening to them is like taking a short, revitalizing vacation. The effect has nothing to do with the loudness of the music or the heaviness of the beat; it's all in the spirit of the performance.

Review of As One in Stereo Review, February 1983, p. 76

I was in down mood recently and arbitrarily spun the Kool & The Gang compilation The Dance Collection and found my spirits immediately lifted. Not only were there many comforting, familiar tunes, almost all the tunes were positive, happy, major-keyed, at dance speed or midtempo. So I ordered this 6 albums on 3 CDs set from BGO and the albums have been in steady rotation ever since. I didn't have any of these albums back when they were originally released and boy did I ever miss out on some good stuff. The dates perfectly cover the years I was in grades 8-12 in middle/high school and on into my freshman year at university.

Why start the set in 1979 with the group's 11th studio album? Ladies' Night marked the beginning of the group's most successful era which (probably not coincidentally) also marks the debut of lead vocalist James "J.T." Taylor and the use of Eumir Deodato as producer. All six albums here peaked in the top 30 on the Billboard 200 chart and spawned multiple top 40 singles on both the pop charts (14) and the R&B charts (17).

Excellent remastering job on these plus a fantastic liner note booklet that includes full credits as well as a nice essay by Charles Waring, columnist for Record Collector and contributor to MOJO and Wax Poetics. Well done. I'll probably never listen to all three discs consecutively, but just putting one CD in and enjoying 2 albums is just the right amount of good vibes. Or maybe shuffle tracks from all six. I prefer the first two CDs to the third, but it's all just a big box of feel good.

---

LADIES' NIGHT (1979)
6 tracks, 34 minutes

Press of the time:

• Rolling Stone: "It's clearly a long way from 'Jungle Boogie'"
• Billboard: "The group effectively fuses funk and disco with jazz, r&b and pop"
• CashBox: "worth the wait"
• Record World: "slick rhythmically and vocally with Deodato's production to match"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #13
• Billboard R&B: #1
• CashBox: #14
• Rolling Stone: #32

Also, the album as a whole made the Disco Top 100 chart, peaking at #5.

Tracks: The singles are fantastic - Ladies' Night (#8 pop, #1 R&B), Too Hot (#5 pop #3 R&B, #11 dance), Hangin' Out (#36 R&B) - but the other three cuts are just as good and discolicious. The smooth grooves of Too Hot take me back to 8th grade dances/parties in a big hurry.

---

CELEBRATE! (1980)
8 tracks, 35 minutes

Press of the time:

• Record World: "winning combination is back"
• CashBox: "The band continues to craft top-flight R&B/pop songs"
• Stereo Review: "the music is never very heavy, never very hot, never very anything except comfortable"
• Robert Christgau (C-): "they've adapted painlessly, nay profitably, to disco"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #10
• Billboard R&B: #2
• CashBox: #12
• Rolling Stone: #19

Tracks: The title track has become the group's signature tune and wedding reception staple. Case in point: my lovely wife and I attended a wedding last month and all the 20-somethings in attendance at the reception flooded the dance floor when this song played and they knew every word of the lyrics. (Oddly enough, they belted out Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance With Somebody even louder than Celebration, but that's neither here nor there.) The truth is, I've heard Celebration thousands of times by now yet I never tire of it and it never fails to improve my mood. A rare thing, indeed.

Celebration (#1 pop, #1 R&B, #1 dance, #34 AC) was the platinum-selling hit, but there were two other singles from the album: Jones Vs. Jones (#39 pop, #33 R&B) and Take It To The Top (#11 R&B, #1 dance) - of those two, the latter gets the nod from me. But that's just the first three cuts on the album. We're then treated to the tasty dance instrumental Morning Star (that sounds like it was lifted from a Tom Browne album of the time), then the funky Love Festival. There isn't much going on in the remaining tunes, but they're certainly enjoyable enough filler.

---

SOMETHING SPECIAL (1981)
8 tracks, 36 minutes

Press of the time:

• Rolling Stone (★★½): "finds the band comfortably rehashing the successful pop-soul formula they launched with 'Ladies' Night'"
• Billboard: "light, lilting tempos, sprightly jazz tinged horn lines and simple good time messages"
• CashBox: "looks like it will continue the hot streak"
• Stereo Review: "These are nearly all monotonous, thumpy productions of songs about steppin' out an' gettin' down."

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #12
• Billboard R&B: #1
• CashBox: #10
• Rolling Stone: #19

Tracks: The lead track, Steppin' Out (#89 pop, #12 R&B, #16 dance), is a fantastic opener and I can't believe it didn't chart higher than it did. The other singles from this album were Take My Heart (#17 pop, #1 R&B, #16 dance) and my personal favorite from this release, the funk-fest of Get Down On It (#10 pop, #4 R&B, #16 dance). Take My Heart is a fantastic shuffle for sure and might have the best arrangement on the album, but "Get your back up off the wall!" is so dang catchy, the English teacher in me will even excuse the two consecutive prepositions. ;-) Good Time Tonight is the obvious attempt at duplicating the sound and feel of Celebrate and almost succeeds; Be My Lady and the super-positive Stand Up And Sing could each have been chosen for a single release; No Show is as close to a ballad as the group gets around this time and it's a dang good one, at that. The bonus track, Stop!, is a driving instrumental in search of lyrics and a melody but it's catchy enough that I'm glad it's included here.

---

AS ONE (1982)
7 tracks, 36 minutes

Press of the time:

• Rolling Stone (★★★): "slick but substantial R&B-fueled pop"
• Billboard: "their best bid yet to make a substantial splash"
• Stereo Review: "one of the best dance records in many months"
• CashBox: "a best bet"
• Smash Hits (9 out of 10): "What more can you ask for?"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #29
• Billboard R&B: #5
• CashBox: #36
• Rolling Stone: #24

Tracks: Street Kids is just an okay opener, but that's followed by Big Fun (#21 pop, #6 R&B) - which is indeed big fun with great horn licks and falsetto vocals. We're later treated to two entirely different but equally fantastic dance tunes with silly lyrics: Hi De Hi Hi De Ho and, my favorite cut on the album, Let's Go Dancin' (Ooh La La La) (#30 pop, #7 R&B). There's a nice variety here with some balladry, a little pseudo-reggae, funk-lite, some disco strings, the familiar Celebration and Too Hot grooves, and "I find its uncomplicated optimism heart-warming and irresistibly danceable."

---

IN THE HEART (1983)
9 tracks, 35 minutes

Press of the time:

• Stereo Review: "a disappointment"
• CashBox: "takes them even further into the pop territory"
• Rolling Stone (★★★½): "state-of-the-art soul, brimming with optimism"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #29
• Billboard R&B: #5
• CashBox: #30
• Rolling Stone: #50

Tracks: Joanna (#2 pop, #1 R&B, #2 AC) and Tonight (#13 pop, #7 R&B) were the big singles while Straight Ahead (#103 pop) didn't quite make the Hot 100. Regardless of chart success, those three are the cream of the crop here. Definitely my least favorite of the six albums included in this set.

In the late fall/early winter of 1983, I was briefly interested in a girl named JoAnn. She was a couple of years younger than me and, in her father's opinion, too young to go on a "car date" so that relationship never got off the ground. Other than the similar names, the girl and the song have nothing to do with each other. However, I'm always reminded of JoAnn when I hear this tune. The trombone solo, the sappy lyrics, the constant eight note electric piano motif - it all works for me.

The dance-rock sound of Tonight certainly laid the groundwork for the next album...

---

EMERGENCY (1984)
7 tracks, 36 minutes

Press of the time:

• Stereo Review: "can always be counted on to deliver easy-to-listen-to r-&-b dance music"
• Billboard: "the group continues to develop"
• CashBox: "one of the strongest song-for-song B/C collections of the year"
• Robert Christgau (B-): "anonymity is their signature"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #13
• Billboard R&B: #3
• CashBox: #19
• Rolling Stone: #17

Tracks: This double-platinum album became the group's all-time biggest seller on the strength of four hit singles:

	Pop	R&B	Dance	AC
Misled	10	3	9
Fresh	9	1	1	5
Cherish	2	1		1
Emergency	18	7	41

For those keeping track, the above four singles make up over 57% of the whole album; they're all great and I can't imagine 1985 without them. They're also the first four track on the album. So what about the remaining three tracks? Surrender is a danceable attempt at Minneapolis funk, Bad Woman is a poor man's Careless Whisper, and You Are The One is a prayer set to a manic-synth-Latin-syncopated accompaniment. Still, 5 out of 7 ain't bad.

---

Previously revisited for the blog:
The Dance Collection (1990)