Even more troublingly, the song “Row Your Love” has been inexplicably omitted from Some Things Never Change.
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The brief, uncredited liner notes for The Streetwise Recordings assert that “this collection includes the two full albums A Special Style and Some Things Never Change plus a cappella and piano versions previously only available on vinyl.” Indeed, the piano-and-vocal mix of “Give a Little Love” which originally appeared on single SW-2237 is present on the new CD, but the a cappella mix is absent. Both Streetwise albums were primarily recorded in Boston, with additional recording in New York. Co-produced by Gordon “Mega Bucks” Worthy, it too balances balladry with busy tracks aimed at the dance floor like “Let’s Go Rockin’ Tonight” and “O Sha Ma.” Though the production hasn’t aged well, the quartet of Thompkins, Love, Johnson and Murrell sounds strong. Starr returned as producer and arranger of the follow-up album, Special Style. “The Girl in Yellow” is notable for a nearly note-for-note “lift” from Neil Sedaka and Roger Atkins’ “Workin’ on a Groovy Thing,” cut by The 5 th Dimension and others!
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Other tracks attempt to update The Stylistics’ sound to an up-tempo eighties groove with sound effects, synthesizers and sequencers a-plenty. “Hooked on Your Lovin’” is also a moderately catchy, melodic track, and Thompkins’ falsetto is as velvety as ever.
Some tracks, including the title song, “Just the Two of Us” and “Give a Little Love,” have a pronounced Philly soul vibe, albeit with modern electronics replacing Bell’s lush orchestras. Starr, known for discovering New Edition and founding New Kids on the Block, produced and arranged the LP in addition to writing most tracks with Michael Jonzun. The Stylistics’ Streetwise debut Some Things Never Change was supervised by one of the pioneers of the dance remix, Arthur Baker. Though this CD brings more of the Stylistics’ catalogue to CD, the two-albums-on-one-CD package is oddly incomplete.
The two albums recorded by The Stylistics at Streetwise, Some Things Never Change (1984) and A Special Style (1985) have just been released on CD for the very first time by Phase One Music and Streetwise Records as The Streetwise Recordings. Following that return to the City of Brotherly Love, The Stylistics soldiered on, signing to Maurice Starr’s Streetwise Records label. Top-tier producers like Van McCoy and Teddy Randazzo attempted to recapture The Stylistics’ glory days, and the group (sans Dunn and Smith, who departed in 1980, and with new member Raymond Johnson) even reunited with Bell, among other producers, for a three-album stint at Philadelphia International Records between 19.
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Bell instinctively knew how to deploy Russell Thompkins Jr.’s soaring falsetto with the group harmonies of Airrion Love, James Smith, Herb Murrell and James Dunn.ġ974’s Let’s Put It All Together, with its strong title track from Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore and George David Weiss (the trio responsible for “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”) continued the group’s winning streak, but subsequent efforts kept yielding diminishing returns. Of the group’s hits, only the 1970 single “You’re a Big Girl Now” had been produced without him.
When Thom Bell turned his attentions in 1973 to The Spinners, however, the group found itself somewhat adrift.
Every single Bell produced for the group hit the Top 10 R&B chart, and many also went Top 10 pop. With Thom Bell as the producer, arranger and composer, and Linda Creed as lyricist, the group defined the sweetest strains of Philly soul. Jazz blues rar.“You Are Everything.” “You Make Me Feel Brand New.” “Betcha By Golly Wow.” The songs of Philadelphia’s Stylistics are still prominent in the fabric of American music, largely thanks to a three-album run between 19 on the Avco label.
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