Stanley Clarke. An enormous talent whose style is distinctive, classy as well as being very diverse. I love his jazzy output, his soulful output and his rock output. Some shrunk away from the Virtu album back in 1999 but I loved it! Lol. Anyway, this effort from 1982 is well worth your attention and thanks to the lovely people at Wounded Bird it is available at a reasonable price on CD. If you prefer downloads then iTunes also has it! With 5 tracks on here that I particularly love, for me the best medium has to be CD. This album features a powerfully soulful vocal track at the very top end, "Straight To The Top", and Stanley himself provides all vocals, and some fella called Carlos Santana on guitar! This midtempo groove almost - almost has a Northern beat to it and the vocals, especially the harmonies, sound like a Gerald Alston-led Manhattans! A great, buoyant, tune to get the spirits soaring.
The instrumental "Let Me Know You" is quite sexy with it's subtle strings, Fender Rhodes and THAT guitar sound. Brilliant. The killer for me, though is the drop-dead ballad "You Are The One For Me"...if you were won over by quality ballads from the early 80s period such as Rodney Franklin's "Love Is The Answer", Ramsey Lewis' "Midnight Rendezvous" or George Duke's "Stat Awhile" then this track is really for you! Rating as one of the man's best songs, I cannot recommend it enough. More upbeat and jogging along chunkily is "I Just Want To Be Your Brother", and the David Lasley-supported "The Force Of Love" pelts along with a finger-clicking pace along with brassy flourishes and quirky 80s synth stabs. Very of it's time, and some neat drum rolls from Leon 'Ndugu' Chancler and Michael Sembello on guitar make it a memorable track. Classy soulful jazz from 1982.
I bet you're sat there thinking that this doddery old goat has finally lost the plot? Well, in some respects that's perfectly true but as far as the old choonage goes strap yourself in and get ready for one hell of an album crammed with Jam & Lewis magic. Pia - a big star as you know - was dying to work with the Flyte Tyme gang and so commissioned them to work on this album for her. What they produced is nothing short of 80s soul heaven BUT Pia was not at all impressed and requested that the album be scrapped. So, in America, this was the case. However the album was afforded a UK release and thank God for it. If you love the best material of Cherelle, Alexander O'Neal and the SOS Band, then this album is a real must-have. One side of the album was as dodgy as hell with some questionable dance material, but the second side...well, that's a different matter entirely.
I get a feeling every time I hear this that Jam and Lewis were creating something they really and truly loved. I think this album rates as some of their best ever ballad works. Starting with the goosebump-making "Pia's Interlude" - a very short but sweet intro to the delicious and uber-quiet storm cut, "I Really Like You, Not Him". This is serious soul heaven and I defy and doubters to listen to this and not be swept up and away by it. The track ends in such a haunting and "wow!" fashion that today I have to sit here with eyes closed, soaking it all in. Beautiful. If I have to close my eyes to a song then I know it's something really special. It doesn't end here though. "Silence" is amazing and would, in hindsight, have benefited from the use of real - and not synth - strings. Dreamy and atmospheric is all I can say about this. "Since I've Been Loving You" is as good as any Cherelle ballad from the time, and the KILLER "Pia's Theme" is a longer version of the intro and based on "Silence". Instrumental and haunting, this song will blow you away. This acts as a prelude to a really spine-tingling track called "It's Always The Same". My God! 21 years on and I am reduced to a gibbering wreck at the sheer beauty of this song. Please cast doubts aside and grab a hold of this - especially on CD if you can find it. Lovers of Jam and Lewis' quiet storm cuts need to own this.
Stanley Clarke. An enormous talent whose style is distinctive, classy as well as being very diverse. I love his jazzy output, his soulful output and his rock output. Some shrunk away from the Virtu album back in 1999 but I loved it! Lol. Anyway, this effort from 1982 is well worth your attention and thanks to the lovely people at Wounded Bird it is available at a reasonable price on CD. If you prefer downloads then iTunes also has it! With 5 tracks on here that I particularly love, for me the best medium has to be CD. This album features a powerfully soulful vocal track at the very top end, "Straight To The Top", and Stanley himself provides all vocals, and some fella called Carlos Santana on guitar! This midtempo groove almost - almost has a Northern beat to it and the vocals, especially the harmonies, sound like a Gerald Alston-led Manhattans! A great, buoyant, tune to get the spirits soaring. 
