Although the Hues Corporation helped launch disco's earliest strivings with the 1973 smash "Don't Rock the Boat," by the time the end of the decade rolled around, the band was merely playing catch-up with the rest of the pack.
The band was fully locked into the soft disco sound that flooded the market, and it was a sacrifice.
By surrendering so completely to what had become a marketable sound, the band relinquished the excellent harmonies and arrangements of their earlier material. That change stripped the band of much of their strength. This is extremely evident across I Caught Your Act.
The songs are well paced and make all the right noises, but pale in comparison not only to their peers on the scene, but also to the band's own catalog. That said, however, there are some nuggets here as well. The melancholy "I Can't Put My Finger on It" pulls a sweet melody out of its bag, while the title track has energy enough to stand tall on its own.
"Ali Baba's Got the Blues" must be one of the most underestimated and understated songs in the history of popular music.
That feels really bizarre while it is a catchy, punky, campy, groovy disco-pop-R&B-schlager – clearly in the vein of Boney M's stickiest early hits but more arrogant.
It would, in fact, bring the band back into the charts -- barely -- scraping into the R&B charts at number 61 in May 1977. This is not a great album; it's not even necessarily a good album. And certainly in light of the cohesion this band had at the beginning of the decade, its flaws are even more pronounced.
The Hues Corporation are best remembered and much better heard across their early work. Leave this one for any completists out there.
Side A
A1. Telegram Of Love - 3:14
A2. Deep Down - 3:35
A3. I Can’t Put My Finger On It - 3:15
A4. What You Need Is Lovin’ - 3:30
A5. Dancing Together Again - 3:24
Side B
B1. I Caught Your Act - 3:34
B2. Natural Find - 4:03
B3. I Love You A Lot - 3:32
B4. Ali Baba’s Got The Blues - 3:01
B5. You Brought The World To My Door - 3:35
Companies, etc.
- Phonographic Copyright (p) – Warner Bros. Records Inc.
- Copyright (c) – Warner Bros. Records Inc.
- Pressed By – Capitol Records Pressing Plant, Winchester
- Mastered At – Kendun Recorders
Credits
- Arranged By [Vocal Arrangements] – The Hues Corporation
- Arranged By [Vocal Arrangements], Written-By, Producer – Wally Holmes
- Arranged By, Conductor – D'Arneill Pershing
- Art Direction – Lockart
- Coordinator [Album Coordination] – Nola Leone
- Design – Mick Haggerty
- Engineer [Recording, Remix] – Humberto Gatica
- Engineer [Recording] – Grover Helsley
- Executive-Producer – Mike Curb
- Mastered By – John Golden
- Photography By – Ivan Nagy
Notes
Release: 1977
Format: LP
Genre: Soul
Label: Warner Bros. Records
Catalog# BS 3043
Prijs: €5,99
Vinyl: Good
Cover: Good
http://www.ad-vinylrecords.com/product/hues-corporation-the-i-caught-your-act-lp/
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