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Philip Bailey
Continuation - ***OUT OF PRINT***
Out of Stock
Release Date:
March 2010
Nº of Discs:
1
Catalogue Nº
FTG 208
Label:
FTG Records USA
Tracklisting
| 1. I Know | |
| 2. Trapped | |
| 3. It's Our Time | |
| 4. Desire | |
| 5. I'm Waitin' for Your Love | |
| 6. Vaya (Go With Love) | |
| 7. The Good Guys Supposed to Get The Girls | |
| 8. Your Boyfriend's Back |
Item Description
Out Of Stock
Mastered by Mark Wilder (Sony) at Battery Studios, New York - From the original Master Tapes !!!!
One Man, No Band
I first heard the amazing falsetto vocals of Philip Bailey full throttle on the Earth, Wind & Fire remake of the Bread classic "Make It With You" from EWF's third album "Last Days In Time". Then on EWF's next album Philip Bciley was featured on the title track "Keep Your Head To The Sky". It was then that he became one of my favorite male vocalists. I was hooked forever, and it was a wrap. Later, Mr. Bailey continued to dazzle us as the lead vocalist on such classics as "Devotion", "Reasons" (both the live and studio versions), "Fantasy", "I'll write a song for you" and "Imagination" just to name a few. Philip Bailey had that doo-wop style voice. That Little Anthony/ Early Curtis Mayfield vulnerability that could at times be as sweet as the funk needed to be- and as nasty and edgy as the late 70's and early 80's demanded. His falsetto was as good if not stronger than the lead singers of vocal groups like The Stylistics or Blue Magic. His deeper range was often mistakenly assumed to be that of Maurice White's- but, no. That was Phillip too.
When word got out that Philip Bailey was working on a solo project, I had mixed emotions. I was excited but concerned. Excited that one of my favorite vocalists was to have the spotlight all to himself, but concerned about the future of the baddest band in the land possibly breaking up. Nobody wanted Philip Bailey to leave Earth Wind & Fire. Later I was to find out that I was not alone in this feeling. It was an odd time, as all our bands: L.T.D, The Commodores, even production duos like Mtume & Lucas were breaking up. We were emotionally invested in these bands. In them we often saw a reflection of our own families. And as fans we protested. And so did radio. Neither really gave this album a fair chance. The only Continuation we wanted? Philip Bailey with EWF.
Philip Bailey's debut solo album "Continuation" was released in 1981. Disco had peaked, The Funk Band Era was closing and music production was changing from full bands to one man band keyboard driven emulated sounds. "Continuation" had 8 songs produced by Master Producer, keyboardist, singer, songwriter and one man funk band himself- George Duke. The first single "I Know"- which also came with an expensive (at the time) music video - was an edgy new-wave influenced song. An obvious attempt at pop crossover that did not work as the song stalled at #10 R&B and did not chart pop at all. The ballad "Trapped"- the second song on the album-is arguably the finest performance of Philip Bailey's career and probably should have been the first single. Lack of promotion and resistance at retail stalled this great song at # 43 R&B. That song and the back-to-back stellar performances on the 3rd track- "It's Our Time" (a duet with Deniece Williams) alone are worth the price of this CD.
"Vaya (Go with love)" is another standout. This song combines the most familiar traits of Duke and Bailey, who really were a very good (if not great at times) collaboration. The other four tunes- "Desire", "I'm Waiting For Your Love", "The Good Guys Supposed To Get The Girls" and "Your Boyfriend's Back" were productions that reflect the musical transition of the era- that odd rock/new-wave/soul mixture that had its moment, but Philip's vocals were so amazing he made even the most average of material sound great.
If Only Epic had released "Trapped" first and then the monster duet "It's Our Time" with Deniece Williams- then our hero would have fared better. This album would have been hailed as a last gasp of true soul music of the time and an icon of the coming electronic age musical transition. It would have been accepted better as an update but (dare I say it?) a "Continuation" of the familiar sound and feel we had with Phillip Bailey as a member of EWF.
Instead it's unfairly overlooked.
To hear Philip Bailey, vocally at the top of his game is great and to hear the brilliant treasures on this overlooked project reminds us of what a truly great dynamic vocalist sounds like at his best. And don't be fooled, Epic/Columbia knew what it had and were going to get it right the next time, so they hired another master production gun who at that time was as hot as any performer on earth: Phil Collins. But that's another CD........enjoy THIS one.
George Littlejohn of PMG (PURPOSE MUSIC GROUP) Home of DJ Spinna, Tortured Soul, Angela Johnson, Shae Fiol, Maya Azucena, Monet, Anthony David and Elisabeth Withers.
