The happy-go-lucky title and cover of this album give absolutely no indication as to the sound of the music within, which, while not lacking in its own sort of enthusiasm, is some gritty, bass-heavy, tough-ass funk. The production of this LP is wonderfully murky, a distillation of Riot-era Sly and older soul sounds, filtered through a hallucinatory mix, somewhat surprising when considering Maxayn and Andre Lewis were some pretty religious folks. Still, they must’ve been takin’ acid for Jesus or something, ‘cause this is blurry-eyed, psychedelic groove at its finest. Maxayn is a soul shouter extraordinaire, channeling older masters like Aretha Franklin and Etta James while fully updating her sound to fit more progressive musical trends. The mastermind of this project, however, is Andre Lewis, who plays almost all of the instruments throughout, sounding particularly powerful and innovative in his use of keyboards. This cat is doin’ some Bernie Worrell shit before Bernie was doin’ it, and there are VERY few other cats you can say that about from this time period (’74). Yet Maxayn gets her due here also, for while Andre may have been the musical powerhouse of this operation, Maxayn straight testifies on the best cuts, including the title track and the ridiculously funky “Trying For Days,” a righteous anthem that transcends its recording date by containing a message that is ever-relevant (“it was hard for us then…and it’s hard for us now…’cause we’ve been trying for days…and I know we gon’ make it”). Unh! Tell ‘em Maxayn! All you heads out there, don’t sleep on this…shit is BUMPIN’.
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