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Paul Laurence – Haven’t You Heard (Expanded Edition)

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SKU: FTG-236 Category:
Artist Paul Laurence
Nº of Discs 1
Release Date 01-11-1985
Label Funkytowngrooves USA
Format CD

Description

Paul Laurence’s 1985 Debut Album – Expanded and available on CD for the 1st Time Ever.

Re-Mastered From The Original Master Tapes.

As a result of creating hits for others, Paul was given the chance to cut his own album in 1985, “Haven’t You Heard”. He enlisted Lillo as a background vocalist & got to work with the keyboards.

The overall tone of the album not only reflected Paul’s excellent musicianship & mastery of the technology, the songs’ lyrics revealed a mindset to tell stories that were positive, uplifting and with a conscious. The single “Strung Out (Freebase)” was self-explanatory – a warning of the dangers of crack cocaine addiction (Paul wasn’t the only one who covered this territory – the late Isaac Hayes did so as well with 1986’s “Ike’s Rap/Hey Girl”).

“She’s Not A Sleaze” featured Paul, Freddie & Lillo trading lead vocals about a girl who may dress in tight clothes & likes to tease – but she’s really a good girl (thank you, Lillo!). “You Hooked Me” is one of the album’s few ballads – this one with Paul in a very mellow mood.

The uptempo “Good & Plenty” describes a love that is just like the candy. “Racism (Sucks!!)” gets right to the point – an issue that will sadly remain one of society’s greatest ills. “Haven’t You Heard” – another slow jam with just Paul on vocals & piano, keeping the song simple yet sweet. The mid-tempo “There Ain’t Nothin’ (Like Your Lovin’)” has a nice guitar lilt that accents the song quite nicely. “I’m Sensitive”, which closed out the original album release, deals with a man’s insecurities about love & a fear of being meek in a relationship.

While “Haven’t You Heard” quickly became a fan favorite among those who followed Freddie, Lillo, Melba, Me’lisa & Kashif (who had his own record deal w/Arista), the album barely even charted whereas “She’s Not A Sleaze”, “Strung Out” & “You Hooked Me” peaked in the mid/upper-50’s on the R&B singles listings.

Being that Hush Productions controlled the marketing & promotion of their releases, Huggins & company knew that the money-makers were their singers and were satisfied with keeping Paul behind the scenes. A sad scenerio – especially since Paul’s own work was good enough to earn priority status alongside the hits he created for his colleagues.

Tracklist

1) Strung Out
2) She’s Not A Sleaze (feat. Lillo Thomas, Freddie Jackson)
3) You Hooked Me
4) Good And Plenty
5) Racism!!!
6) Haven’t You Heard
7) There Ain’t Nothin’ (like Your Lovin’)
8) I’m Sensitive

Bonus Tracks

9) Strung Out (International Version)
10) She’s Not A Sleaze (Extended mix)
11) Strung Out (Extended Dance Mix)
12) You Hooked Me (12″)

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