The Eight Minutes: "An American Family"

Fantastic family band soul on the always-excellent Perception label.  Unlike a lot of other artists on the Perception/Today roster who were based in NYC, The Eight Minutes hail from Chicago, which must have been the absolute epicenter of kid-driven family soul acts in the early ‘70’s.  The Five Stairsteps, Brighter Side Of Darkness, The Imaginations, The Next Movement, etc…the list goes on.  The group shines on this LP, and in terms of funkiness and groove, this is a lot closer to The Sylvers than the lighter novelty sound of some of their contemporaries.  The great Patrick Adams wrote a few of the songs, although he didn’t produce the record.  From the heartbroken opener of “Next Time He’ll Be Good” through to the hypnotic, percussive workout “Take My Love Don’t Set Me Free” that ends the LP, every song hums with Windy City soul, pocket, and melody.