But as memorable as her contributions were -- as much as fans adored her -- 1980's Golden Touch proved that she wasn't indispensable. Rose Royce still had a gem of a lead singer in falsetto Kenny Copeland and Dickey's female replacement Richee Benson proved that she was no slouch either. Benson doesn't sound anything like her predecessor, as Dickey's vocals had a girlish sweetness and that isn't the case with the husky-voiced Benson.
But the new replacement is charismatic in her own way, and she proves herself to be a deserving addition to the band on the dreamy title song as well as the lovely ballad "And You Wish For Yesterday."
Copeland, meanwhile, has some memorable spots on the medium-tempo "Love Is in the Air," the Stylistics-like "Would You Please Be Mine," and the funky "I Wanna Make It With You" (not to be confused with the Bread hit).
And all of the singers contribute to "Funkin' Around," a very fun slice of Parliament-influenced p-funk. Golden Touch isn't among Rose Royce's essential albums, but it's a solid, respectable effort that illustrates the band's ability to carry on without Dickey.
The result of the whole "disco sucks" fiasco basically kept any uptempo R&B styles off of radio. I've heard it called by some "the freeze out". Interestingly enough this was when most bands tended to be at a certain creative height. For Royce Royce it was somewhat sad because they lost their original lead singer Gwen Dickey prior to this release.
In the end they chose Richee Benson as a successor,because they knew they could never replace the apparently fame seeking Dickey. Benson is possessed of a more husky,typical female funk vocalist type of singing style. Luckily she also has a somewhat more jazzy approach to her singing. And that worked out fine because the band themselves were facing some of the biggest changes of their ever changing career.
As with their previous album and their second this album opens with a ballad "And You Wish For Yesterday". Honestly I've always had the unfortunate habit of skipping over the slow numbers on funk albums. Which is sometimes a mistake because,for example what would EWF's That's the Way of the World be without the stratospheric "Reasons"?
However songs such as the title song "Love Is In The Air" and "Would You Please Be Mind" are the main reason for the four stars. None of these ballads has much character lyrically or musically beyond what the band had done. And NONE hold a CANDLE frankly to "I'm Going Down","I'm Wishing On A Star" and "Love Don't Live Here Anymore".
All the same the uptempo numbers capture the transition much better. A good example is the boogie style of "I Wanna Make It You". The more synthesized style of boogie funk suits Rose Royce pretty well actually. "Funkin' Around",a witty story about smoking a joint in an airplane reflects producer Norman Whitfield's ever present love of the P-Funk sound,even as George Clinton's musical empire was crumbling at this point.
"You're A Winner" of course not only sounds the most like the bands earlier funk but blends some of that boogie style in with the classic rhythmic crunch a well.
The album closes with the surprisingly retro (for 1980) funky soul of "Help Yourself",sounding somewhat more like 1970 than 1980.
The album closes with the surprisingly retro (for 1980) funky soul of "Help Yourself",sounding somewhat more like 1970 than 1980.
Side one
1. And You Wish For Yesterday - 3:45
2. I Wanna Make It With You - 3:35
3. Funkin' Around - 4:45
4. Golden Touch - 3:47
Side two
1. Love Is In The Air - 3:34
2. You're A Winner - 4:26
3. Would You Please Be Mine - 3:47
4. Help Yourself - 4:01
Line-up/Musicians
Bass – Lequeint Jobe , Mark Kenoly
Congas – Terral Santiel
Drums – Henry Garner
Guitar – Earnest Reed, Jr. , Lafayette Stone, Melvin Watson, Walter McKinney
Horns – Chris Powell, Kenneth Scott, LaMorris Payne
Keyboards – Michael Nash, Walter Downing
Lead Vocals – Kenneth Copeland , Richee Benson
Percussion – Jack Ashford, Terral Santiel
Saxophone – Michael Moore
Trumpet – Freddie Dunn, Kenneth Copeland
Vocals – Henry Garner, Lequeint Jobe , Michael Moore
Congas – Terral Santiel
Drums – Henry Garner
Guitar – Earnest Reed, Jr. , Lafayette Stone, Melvin Watson, Walter McKinney
Horns – Chris Powell, Kenneth Scott, LaMorris Payne
Keyboards – Michael Nash, Walter Downing
Lead Vocals – Kenneth Copeland , Richee Benson
Percussion – Jack Ashford, Terral Santiel
Saxophone – Michael Moore
Trumpet – Freddie Dunn, Kenneth Copeland
Vocals – Henry Garner, Lequeint Jobe , Michael Moore
Companies, etc.
- Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Warner Bros. Records Inc.
- Copyright © – Warner Bros. Records Inc.
- Record Company – Whitfield Records Corp.
- Manufactured By – Warner Bros. Records Inc.
- Distributed By – Warner Bros. Records Inc.
- Made By – WEA Musik GmbH
Credits
- Arranged By – Norman Whitfield, Rose Royce
- Producer – Norman Whitfield
Notes
Release: 1980
Format: LP
Genre: Soul / Funk
Label: Warner Bros. Records
Catalog# WB 56881
Vinyl: VG
Cover: VG
Prijs: 10,00
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