Thomas G, as you know is the Funky Frenchman behind the super Swade and once again takes us into a mighty fine 1980s boogie-tunes, good times groove! The set is a dependable, solid listen from starters orders through to the winning post, and I find that albums like this tend to lean towards the 80s sound. Take the likes of Cool Million, Reeno etc. These guys are are the masters of Yester-Now and far from being 'homage' to some halcyon time they are fresh, Y2K jams yet well founded in the spirit of the groove, where pace, melody and soul were more important than anything else. Take track one for instance. This almost falls into a late 70s Whispers / Solar vibe - think "And The Beat Goes On". Swade adds her vocal prowess and together there is enough magic to sprinkle over any discerning dancefloor. Her talents stretch, too, to the following jam, "Moody Moody". More of a mid-80s Deodato / Kleeer / Reggie Lucas sounding flavour the jolly old slap bass helps drive this song along at a perfect pace. One to get the retired dancing feet in motion."Say You'll Be" throws in some more-ish George Benson-ish guitar, but the lyrical style and delivery is more akin to what British artists were creating at that time, and I have to ay that I MUCH prefer that now as to back then! The heavier beats, synthesised horns, keys and rhythm guitar set the stage for the bouncing semi-instrumental "Feels Like You", complete with Zapp-like talkbox! "Dreaming" also impresses with a U-Nam sort of style. My next fave is the BRILLIANT "Old School Orchestra"...an instrumental track that simply oozes class from every pore. The vibes, the dreamy Fender Rhodes, flute and real drumming create a sublime mix of the jazzy, the soulful and the sophisticated. For me, even with my natural aversion to instrumentals, I would purchase this CD for this song alone. A very well balanced CD of soulful vocals, cheery and buoyant dancers and jazzy instrumentals, this should really be right up your champs elycees!
Barry Towler The Vibe Scribe
