Shakatak - Invitations (1982)

Shakatak is an English jazz-funk band, who had founded in 1980.

It was the release of "Easier Said Than Done" that gave the band the radio exposure needed for their first top-twenty hit.

This record introduced their instrumental-unison vocal sound to a much wider audience, and the track stayed in the UK Singles Chart for seventeen weeks.

In 1982 they released their third album “Invitations. The album cover may look sort of spooky & mysterious but as the saying goes, you can never judge a book by its cover. This 1982 Polydor/PolyGram release by Shakatak was one of the group's best R&B/Jazz recordings at that time.

 Most of you may remember the songs, "Lose Myself", and "Lonely Afternoon", which features the sultry, sexy vocals of Tracie Ackerman (some thought it was Jill Saward singing on the track, but she is with the group at this time of recording). They are the actual tracks on this album, so you can stop worrying about this album being another fabrication of "Night Birds" replacing the actual song that was supposed to be there. In fact, "Night Birds & "Invitations" did come out the same year in 1982. That's primarily the reason why some Shakatak fans felt confused on what year these two albums came out.

Side A
A1  Invitations    (3:14) 
A2  Lose Myself    (5:20) 
A3  Lonely Afternoon  (Lead Vocals: Tracie Ackerman)   (4:43) 
A4  Steppin' Out    (4:47) 

Side B
B1  Stranger    (5:25) 
B2  Usual Situation    (5:04) 
B3  Sol Fuego    (4:38) 
B4  In Shadows    (2:05) 

Credits
Vocals – Jackie Rawe, Jill Saward, Tracie Ackerman
Bass – George Anderson Jnr
Drums – Roger Odell
Engineer – John Buckley
Guitar – Keith Winter
Keyboards – Nigel Wright, Roger Odell
Lyrics By – R. Odell
Music By – W. Sharpe
Other [Creative Assistance] – Green Ink
Design [Sleeve] – Alwyn Clayden
Photography By – Tony Latham
Producer – Nigel Wright
Executive Producer – Les McCutcheon

Notes
Original sound recording made by Polydor Ltd. (London)
Marketed By – Polydor B.V.
Genre: Jazz-Funk, Soul
© 1981 Polydor Ltd. (London)

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