説明
Salsoulが誇るポスト・ディスコ最高の秘宝、エレクトロ・ファンクの金字塔アルバムが待望の復刻
MtumeやGary Bartz NTU Troopの主力メンバーであり、D-Trainの重要人物でもあるHubert Eaves IIIらが結成したUSのエレクトロ・ファンク／スタジオ・プロジェクト、The Strangersが1983年に名門Salsoulから放ったポスト・ディスコの傑作アルバム。
トップクラスのプロダクションで構築された本作は、サックス奏者Gary Bartzを迎えたドープなエレクトロ・ファンク「Wanna Take Your Body」で幕を開け、Prince以降のパンク・ファンク感を漂わせる「Let Me Take You Home」、熱いグルーヴが燃え上がる「Show Me How You Like It」と続く。
B面も完成度が高く、滑らかなヴォーカルとメロディが胸を打つ「Love Rescue」、Paradise Garageの定番でありLondon DJsやUK Soulシーンを魅了した名曲「Step Out Of My Dream」、爽快なスロウ・ジャム「It's Too Late」、ヴォコーダーをフィーチャーしたプロト・アシッド調の「Stimulation」まで極上のトラックを収録。
Abbey RoadスタジオにてSimon FrancisとCicely Balstonがマスタリングおよびカッティングを担当し、オランダのRecord Industryでプレスされた高品質なヴァイナル仕様での復刻。
A1. Wanna Take Your Body
A2. Let Me Take You Home
A3. Show Me How You Like It
B1. Love Rescue
B2. Step Out Of My Dream
B3. It's Too Late
B4. Stimulation
A surefire Salsoul classic and comfortably one of the label's finest moments, the self-titled LP from The Strangers was originally released in that golden year of 1983 and is one of the greatest albums of the post-disco era. It’s one of Be With's favourite ever LPs and it's a complete honour to be giving it our reissue treatment.
Still strangely overlooked but not for much longer, The Strangers contains flawless tracks with truly top tier production and includes the eternal Paradise Garage favourite "Step Out of My Dream"
Are they Strangers to us? Well, no, they shouldn't be. The Strangers were a US electronic-funk studio concept group comprising Edward "Tree" Moore, Howard King and Hubert Eaves III, all key members of Mtume and Gary Bartz NTU Troop and, in the case of Eaves, one half of D-Train.
Now I KNOW you're gonna dig this!
We kick off with the dope electro-funk of "Wanna Take Your Body" which features Gary Bartz on sax (!) and becomes more sensational and irresistible the longer it plays. The wonky super-bomb "Let Me Take You Home" has a punk-funk, post-Prince feel, driving and delicate all at the same time while "Show Me How You Like It" is pure FUNK, the groove just pure fire.
Side B is perfection. It kicks off with the NTS favourite "Love Rescue", a track so slick it positively SLAPS out the gate and, while it bangs throughout, the vocals and melodies elevate this to the status of EMOTIONAL POP.
Next up, "Step Out Of My Dream" swaggers forth, the undisputed masterpiece that was huge with the London DJs and UK Soul fraternity; it's not hard to see why. It's a gliding, smooth, soulful piece of once-in-a-lifetime magic.
The breezy "It's Too Late" is a perfect slow jam before this remarkable set is rounded out with the sickest proto-acid synth-drizzled jam, "Stimulation"; a perfect slab of 80s funk and a strutting vocoder-laced funk workout.
Meticulously remastered and cut by both Simon Francis and Cicely Balston at Abbey Road respectively, it has been pressed to the highest possibly quality at Record Industry in Holland.
