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Edward McGee turned in mostly above-average performances on their first post-Lenny Williams release, but it was the beginning of the end for the group. With funk losing its foothold among R&B audiences, they couldn't keep it together. Hearing this on compact disc (and it's not one of Columbia's better mastering jobs) reveals that McGee was an energetic, exuberant vocalist who held his own on uptempo tunes like "You Ought To Be Havin' Fun" and the title song, but lacked Williams' range or tonal quality on ballads. The group always had a weakness for ponderous message cuts, and "Can't Stand To See The Slaughter" and "While We Went To The Moon" were well-intentioned but clumsy tracks. This was almost The Tower of Power's swan song. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide

Kaya continues what has become an unspoken tradition in the evolution of Bob Marley & the Wailers discography — blending western sounds and motifs with the icons and traditions from the very core of Jamaican society. In fact, the very word "kaya" is synonymous with marijuana in Rastafarian culture. Likewise, the album Kaya could be easily construed as an open love letter or musical paean to the lifestyle that Marley so eagerly embraced and promoted. Themes of commonality and unity pervade this release more so than previous albums. Likewise, the overt political stances that had become somewhat of a moniker for Marley and the Wailers are temporarily replaced by timeless compositions, such as the eternally optimistic "Easy Skanking" and "Is This Love." Marley had not — as some proclaimed — gone soft, however. The light, at times practically giddy, rhythms on "Satisfy My Soul" contrast the darker brooding sonic and lyrical images on "Running Away." The most pressings issues Marley deals with concern ever-increasing spiritual consciousness. Throughout Kaya, humble thanks is offered to, as well as guidance sought from, Jah — evidence that the spirituality that permeates the Wailers music is real and not lip service. Kaya could be considered the oasis before the political and personal eruptions that would inform and influence Marley and the Wailers next studio releases Survival and Uprising. The 2001 "Definitive Remasters" edition of Kaya also includes the non-LP "Smile Jamaica." Although initially issued as the flip side of "Satisfy My Soul," the song was recorded more than a year prior to this album, resulting in a somewhat odd juxtaposition. ~ Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide

A stellar bit of boogie from Con Funk Shun -- produced to perfection by Skip Scarborough, and done in a style that has lots of jazzy elements! The album was recorded well into the group's time on the Mercury label, but it's a real standout from the rest -- thanks to an extremely well-written batch of tunes, and a mode of bass-heavy funk that avoids the cliches of other groups at the time -- and goes for a more laidback style that sounds especially nice on the mellower numbers. Michael Cooper's great on lead vocals -- and titles include "By Your Side", "Early Morning Sunshine", "Curtain Call", "Happy Face", "Juicy", "Lovestruck 1980", and "Honey Wild". © 1996-2009, Dusty Groove America, Inc.

Carlos Garnett made his biggest impact in the late '60s and 1970s, when his intense tenor playing was heard on recordings by Art Blakey, Miles Davis and Norman Connors. Garnett spent a lot of time off the scene in the 1980s but emerged in the '90s in fine form, if a bit more conservative. For this 1996 CD, Garnett is joined by pianist Carlton Holmes, bassist Brad Jones and drummer Shingo Okudaira, playing mostly originals (plus Freddie Hubbard's "Little Sunflower") that are spiritually linked to the music of the John Coltrane Quartet. Fortunately, the musicians do not attempt to sound like their predecessors; Garnett has an original tone of his own, and the improvising has its subtle surprises. Worth checking out. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

Why do I believe that this self-made object's mild kink and coyly matter-of-fact bisexuality are functions of flesh pure and simple? That for her sex really is about pleasure rather than power--or even, except as a side issue, love? Because her sex songs are flavorful where her love songs are all cliche, and because her much-berated fluting little-girl timbre whispers innocence even when she's loosening her new friend's pretty French gown. So in the absence of total personal fulfillment, here's hoping she retains her ability to feign delight, to fool herself as well as everyone else. A- ~ Robert Christeau, RollingStone

Pleasure couldn't have asked for a more appropriate producer when, in late 1976, it employed Wayne Henderson on Joyous. A band that frequently brought jazz overtones to its funk-soul foundation, Pleasure needed someone who held jazz and R&B in equally high regard -- and Henderson easily fit that description. The Texas trombonist first made a name for himself playing hard bop with the Jazz Crusaders, but as the 1970s progressed, he became increasingly R&B-friendly. Henderson was exactly the sort of producer that Pleasure needed, and the band's appreciation of jazz comes through on the up-tempo funk numbers (which include "Dance to the Music," "Let Me Be the One," and the title song) as well as the dreamy quiet storm gem "Sassafras Girl." Pleasure brings this vinyl LP to an appealing close with a jazz-funk instrumental titled "Selim," which isn't typical of Joyous on the whole -- most of the tunes are vocal-oriented. This is a funk-soul record first and foremost, and it is also a classic that underscores Pleasure's risk-taking nature. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide

Though they boasted one of the sweetest voices in soul music with Eugene Record, the Chi-Lites broke away from that format — thankfully, only slightly — for 1971's (For God's Sake) Give More Power to the People. Influenced by the growing social consciousness of soul music during the early '70s (especially Sly & the Family Stone and the solo debut of fellow Chicagoan Curtis Mayfield), Record wrote a pair of songs (the title track and "We Are Neighbors") evoking not only deep frustration but also a plea for hope and unity that challenging times demanded. It certainly didn't hurt that both were monster productions with raw, aggressive synthesizers, intense lead vocals, and some of the strongest, loudest harmonizing ever heard on a soul record. Doubly ironic and doubly fortunate too that (For God's Sake) Give More Power to the People also featured a pair of the Chi-Lites' sweetest soul ballads, "Have You Seen Her?" and "I Want to Pay You Back," plus the excellent strollers "Love Uprising" and "You Got Me Walkin'." The Chi-Lites weren't exactly album artists, but (For God's Sake) Give More Power to the People was a powerful example of early-'70s soul and the best record they ever released. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide

For their Columbia Records debut, the Neville Brothers returned to a classic production and songwriting style more typical of their early years than of their work of the 1980s and '90s, and they named it after the street they grew up on to signal their renewed focus on local concerns. Gone was the wet, murky sound mix of Daniel Lanois, replaced by dry aural clarity and precise instrument placement in a production by the brothers themselves. While retaining the second-line funk rhythms of New Orleans, their music hewed much more to a traditional R&B/soul sound, with little dabbling in world music. The title track, written by Charles, was even an instrumental that wouldn't have sounded out of place on a Meters album, and you could also say that about "Real Funk," co-written by Art. Though the brothers traded off vocals and Cyril turned in an excellent performance on the soulful romantic ballad "Until We Meet Again," co-written by Charles, Aaron's voice had long since become so identifiable beyond the group that his vocals on songs like "Little Piece of Heaven," the standard "If I Had a Hammer," and "Give Me a Reason," and even in occasional asides on other songs, tended to stick out the way Michael Jackson used to on Jackson's albums, rendering him, through no one's fault, a solo artist within a group and hurting the record's overall balance. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide