I nearly drooled on myself when I found this one, partly because it’s a very rare record to begin with, but also because I found it in its original SEALED condition, old ‘70’s price tag and all. Craziest part was, I only paid $6 for it. Came home and looked the shit up on various online markets, and NO-ONE had a copy for sale, in any condition. This was one of those moments where I had stumbled upon something truly exceptional; however, I’m too much of an appreciator to have kept the vinyl sealed forever, and so eventually the cellophane was torn open, ‘cause I had to hear this masterpiece. I know many collectors out there would frown upon me having devalued the record by unwrapping it, but I much prefer to actually HEAR the music I buy than to marvel at its pristine shape and outward appearance. I was not disappointed either; this is one of the greatest recordings of the soul era, with arrangements by Jerry Peters, Michael Viner and Harvey Mason that manage to highlight the family group’s vocal aesthetics while still keeping the break-beat rhythms hard, fat and funky. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a vocal group LP that accentuated the POCKET as much as this one does. While the first side of the album certainly has its mellow ‘70’s moments, cuts like “We Can Make It If We Try” and “Handle It” positively bump their grooves, with the latter being particularly funky, heavy bass-line and drums authoritatively thudding underneath the exquisite vocals. The ballads sandwiched in between these more rhythmic numbers are equally wonderful; the opening harmonies on “Cry Of A Dreamer” are simply gorgeous, and the slow-burn romantic plea of “I’ll Never Let You Go” gets at the core of love-driven feeling and emotion quite effectively.
Breathe, and then B-Side that shit up, ‘cause the Sylvers and their producers have more tricks up their sleeve, beginning with the orchestral arrangement of “Stay Away From Me,” a song and message at odds with the sweetness and naiveté of the album’s earlier numbers. “I Don’t Need To Prove Myself” follows, yet another tune with hard and heavy bass-lines and breaks that veers wildly between headier, sample-worthy moments and xylophone-led verses. “Let It Be Me” sounds more like something off of the Philadelphia International label, complete with choral sitar effects, a cinematic string section and a spoken-word vocal intro. “Love Me, Love Me Not” starts out with a crazy break, more xylophone and vibes over some spaced-out drums and percussion. The group bursts in with a very tricky series of vocal acrobatics, the bizarre, zig-zagging riff of the melody line wandering this way and that. “I Remember” rides a guitar line that stoned-out LA producers like Madlib would loop all day long, and although there is a loveliness to the vocal bridge, the guitar on the verses is full of darkness, a chromatic, minor-key pattern full of doubt and conflict. Finally, the album reaches its conclusion with a heavenly rendition of McCartney’s “Yesterday,” a common choice for a cover to be sure, yet absolutely appropriate and in continuity with the sound found throughout the rest of this visionary LP. It’s not likely you’ll see this floating around your favorite local crate-digging spot, but then again, I happened upon it by accident myself, so never say never.
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