Review Summary: The classic sound of the group in its embryonic stage; short on classics, but entertaining as a whole.
After the mixed, directionless bag that was
The Need Of Love, the guys decided the only way to continue making music
and a decent living was to tighten up the songwriting, polish the arrangements and create accessible, commercial, but actually authentic funk, soul and R&B music. In a nutshell, this is the arrival of the band as many know and admire it, even though the actual commercial breakthrough would come the following year.
Right from the opening track, the difference in arrangement techniques is profoundly visible. The brass section is as prominent as it was, no doubt, but the drums now opt for a restrained and slicker approach, losing the force of earlier records. The guitars get even more subdued than before and stand out only during small solo spots or some riffs here and there. Finally, thanks to the arrival of Philip Bailey, the lead vocals are now handled mainly by his sweet falsetto, while the others aid him with their majestic and powerful harmonies. All in all, the band has trimmed down every edge their sound had the previous year, resulting in a sound that was ready to flood the radio waves for years to come…
Thankfully, it all works; such an approach could result in pathetically watered down material and bury the band alongside the hundreds of their unsuccessful contemporaries once and for all. Thanks to the solid songwriting, however, the band could easily become a public sensation, while the members’ sincere goal at sounding sweet on the ballads and utterly euphoric on the up-tempo numbers provided the actual songs an enduring charm that didn’t wane after the second listen.
Thus, if you crave for groove and energy, look no further than the opening
Time Is On Your Side and
Power. The former is an excellent mid-tempo funky shuffle with an infectious vocal melody on top of the loud and crisp saxophones, while the latter is basically a more polished rewrite of
Bad Tune from the debut, but it is made extremely enjoyable thanks to the frenetic rhythm section and a series of ferocious brass section soloing. On the other hand, if ballads is your cup of tea, lend an ear to the shimmering
They Don’t See, the tender and relaxing
Make It With You or the sorrowful
Mom which closes the record and is my vote for best song, as it is the best example of what the album is all about (let’s face it, there are only three “rockers” here and one of them isn’t that good).
Summing up, this is their most consistent effort up to this point; the experimentation is dropped and the pop attitude they showcased on the previous album is more prominent than ever before. Thus, all of the songs are well-crafted and the album never becomes tedious, in spite of the fact that half of them are nothing more than very good, but not exceptional funk/soul numbers. All in all, an enjoyable listen from start to finish, even if there are no classics here; just a bunch of excellent ones.
