Back in 2004 this superb album was given a reissue on CD, and is still available today. This is a painstakingly remastered slice of top-drawer early 80s soul. No ripping from vinyl here and no shortcuts. Many will know this album for the excellent and popular jogger "On The Beat" which seems to have been on every Capitol compilation since I can remember when! This set is very much dance floor in orientation, as we would expect from the late, great Jacques Fred Petrus. Not unlike his other brainchild, Change, this group served up some hot, hot sides in the 80s and we have other numbers such as the sparky and summery "Time For Love" which is still an amazing stepper which still gets the feet moving on the most discerning dance floors. This song has a healthy element of Chic in the guitar work, and the catchy hook is drizzled with tight harmonies and the soaring vocals of Ike Floyd. "Starlette" is another choice groove which owes a lot to the superb sounds of the Chic Organisation than anything else.
Comparisons, some unnecessary, were made at the time about this, but all I can say is I love BB&Q and Chic and the sound is very much as fresh today as it was in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The tempo is mostly raised above toe-tapping level bar the worthy ballad, "Lovin's What We Should Do" which, again, is very Chic in essence. Although this only a seven track album (and track 7 is not a track that I would entertain) this is a showpiece of the genius and creativity of Jacques Fred Petrus and Mauro Malavasi from their base at Fondprint Studies in Bologna, Italy. From the loss of Jacques Fred Petrus in 1987 it would take 4 years to deliver any more worthwhile soulful dance from Italy in the shape of Arthur Miles. Following this song came nothing. This CD is testament to all concerned here. You can snap up this superb CD for under £5.
Barry Towler
The Vibe Scribe
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