Title: Blam!
Artiste: The Brothers Johnson
Genre: Funk/R&B
Familiarity: I know “Stomp” and “Cuba” (wasn't that one of theirs? Oh no, that was the Gibson Brothers. Just that one, then.)
1. Ain't we funkin' now: Fun-ky! The disco/r&B music of the seventies was, in the main, from what I could hear, pretty simple but always cheerful and made you want to dance. There are no great innovations here that I can remark on, but it's bouncy and makes you want to strut your groove thang. I also think part of the melody was snaffled by Lipps Inc. for their later hit “Funkytown”... It is a little repetitive I have to say. Good brass and use of guitars.
2. So won't you stay: Nice little ballad; interesting that it comes so early in the album. Very soul with that seventies organ that was so identified with the genre of the time. Kind of sounds like something Benson, O'Neill or Vandross would put out in later years. Lovely sax solo, really fits in well.
3. Blam!: And again the Brothers J lead the way, as I heard that brass fanfare opening “Street life” by The Crusaders. Touches of James Brown too. Kind of restrained; not a ballad in any way but more toned down than the opener.
4. Rocket countdown/Blastoff: Just an intro I guess to the next track.
5. Ride-o-rocket: Meh, it's okay. Bit weak and flaccid. If track four was the launch, then this kind of wobbled and went way off course. Meh, I say. And again, meh.
6. Mista Cool: This is quite funky and lives up to its name. Instrumental? It would seem so, which is something I've not, I think, heard on any of the few r&B albums I've listened to. Actually there's one of the guys now but he's just singing the title, so I'd still kind of qualify this as mostly an instrumental. And it is. Cool, that is.
7. It's you girl: This is sweet and soulful; nice beat and some really great vocals on it.
8. Streetwave: Another funky instrumental. Get down with your bad self! (And other stereotypical comments which show I know nothing about this genre).
End result: One thing I really liked about this album was that it was short. I don't mean I couldn't wait for it to end or anything, but a reasonable length allows me to get through the album in a decent time, make my decision and head on to the next. It's these twenty-track albums that can be very draining. For what it was, this was a good album, though I wouldn't suddenly want to hear all their other material. I wonder if it's considered their best? It was certainly very entertaining.
So, Love or Hate? I wouldn't really have a problem giving this a
Love.