Sylvia Striplin - Give Me Your Love (1981)

Sylvia's fine, she does her thing, her disco thing, like thin and somehow monotone, and it would've sounded good, or suitable at least, but here's the thing: Roy Ayers does his thing too and he does it disco-funk, thudding and twinkling in a way that's beyond Striplin's innocent disco vocals. This makes Give Me Your Love a better record than it might've been without Ayers, but the discrepancy between Striplin's and Ayers' contributions evokes a singer out of their depth, and this may lead to serious nose-scrunching in the more nasal passages of a song like Searchin', however moved the nose-scruncher might be following the double-hit of disco funk goodness that is Give Me Your Love to Will We Ever Pass This Way Again. Recommended?

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Roy Ayers - He's Coming (1971)

1. He's a Superstar 5:35

2. He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother 4:04

3. Ain't Got Time 2:53

4. I Don't Know How to Love Him 4:02

5. He's Coming 6:20

6. We Live in Brooklyn Baby 3:43

7. Sweet Butterfly of Love 1:52

8. Sweet Tears 3:32

9. Fire Weaver 3:40

He's Coming captures Roy Ayers at the absolute top of his game, masterminding jazz-funk grooves as taut as a tightrope. Profoundly inspired by the Broadway musical Jesus Christ Superstar (and including a reading of the soundtrack's "I Don't Know How to Love Him"), the album is a deeply felt exploration of Ayers' spiritual and social beliefs, celebrating the life and rebirth of Jesus with "He's a Superstar" and its follow-up title cut before delivering the equally impassioned political manifesto "Ain't Got Time to Be Tired," a wake-up call for slumbering revolutionaries. Aided by an exemplary backing unit featuring saxophonist Sonny Fortune, bassist John Williams, keyboardist Harry Whitaker, and drummer Billy Cobham, Ayers channels the intensity of his message into his music, creating the most vibrant and textured music of his career to date. The atmospheric "We Live in Brooklyn, Baby" is an absolute masterpiece, a haunting hybrid of jazz, funk, and soul that exemplifies the Ayers aesthetic at its most far-reaching and inventive.
-AMG

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