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SOUL, FUNK and JAZZ FUSION - Exception CD Remasters
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"...Dream Until Dawn..."
Robinsongs
is a subsidiary label of Cherry Red Records who have picked up on the gaps in
late Seventies and Eighties Jazz Fusion and Soul Funk albums. And this is a
clever CD reissue....
UK
released July 2014 – "H/Sign Of The Times" by BOB JAMES on Robinsongs CDMRED627
(Barcode 5013929162730) features two LPs on 1CD Remaster and plays out as
follows (75:38 minutes):
1.
Snowbird Fantasy
2.
Shepherd's Song
3.
Brighton By The Sea
4.
The Walkman
5.
Thoroughbred
6.
Reunited
Tracks
1 to 6 are the album "H" - released 1980 in the USA on Tappan Zee JC
36422
7.
Hypnotique
8.
The Steamin' Feelin'
9.
Enchanted Forest
10.
Unicorn
11.
Sign Of The Times
12.
Love Power
Tracks
7 to 12 are the album "Sign Of The Times" - released 1981 in the USA
on Tappan Zee FC 37495
The
12-page booklet gives us informative and detailed liner notes by LOIS WILSON
(of the Mojo magazine) and ALAN WILSON at Western Star in Bristol has done the
remaster. It's incredibly clean and has sweet muscular audio - reflecting the
top quality production values at the time of recording and the great session
men like Hiram Bullock, Steve Khan, Bruce Dunlap and Eric Gale all on Guitars,
Liberty DeVito on Drums and of course James himself on all manner of keyboards.
Side
One of "H" opens with the cheesy "Snowbird Fantasy"
(complete with tweeting birdies) but things improve immeasurably with a one two
of sweet and funky - the traditional air "Shepherd's Song" done in a
moving and truly beautiful keyboard fashion (I'm always putting this instrumental
on compilations that make for peaceful listening) followed by "Brighton By
The Sea" (written by long time Saxophonist sidekick Grover Washington Jr)
providing superb slow Jazz Funk. "The Walkman" is hardly memorable
but a cover of the Peaches & Herbs 1979 smoocher "Reunited" ends
the album on a Soulful fusion tip.
For
me the best of the two albums here is the "Sign Of The Times" set -
not least because three of its six Funky Fusion tracks are written by that
Boogie genius ROD TEMPERTON of "Thriller" and HEATWAVE fame (his
three are "Hypnotique", "The Steamin' Feelin'" and
"Sign of The Times"). Bob James penned the other three with
"Love Power" (lyrics above) impressing the most featuring Grover
Washington Jr, Eric Gale and percussionist Airto. And I've loved the stepper
groove and girly backing vocals of the title track "Sign Of The
Times" - great stuff.
This
is a rather cool little CD reissue of two forgotten BOB JAMES albums that
deserve to be noticed again. It's not all genius of course but the goodies like
the gorgeous "Shepherd's Song" are worth having...
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