AFTER a long hiatus and a label change, Steve Arrington is
back in the land of the recorded living! The ex-front man for
Slave marks his
switch from Atlantic/Cotillion to Manhattan with what most critics feel
is his best and, even more importantly, his most commercial effort yet
"jam Packed".
As his official Geffen Records' bio states, "John White sings with the authority and control of some of R&B's finest vocalists ..." and after listening to the gentleman's debut LP, "Night People", it would be tough to disagree.
With "Love Or Physical", a splendid new album for Capitol Records, that perennial love duo Nick Ashford & Valerie Simpson are definitely back in gear. After a couple of years absence, during which time the couple (who have been married now for over fourteen years) gave birth to a daughter, Asia, Nick and Val are feeling great about their new product, especially since the first single, I'll Be There For You" is giving them one of their biggest U.S. hits in years.
When B&S last spoke to Lanier & Co back in February of last
year (was it really that long ago?!), the group were hoping that their
third single for Willie Mitchell's Waylo label would be the one. While
"Dancing In The Night" can't really be regarded as a hit in terms of
the small U.K. market (having peaked outside of the Top 75 at No.78) it
has at least brought them to the attention of a major label in EMI.
Hopefully the single is selling sufficiently well to convince EMI to go
with a follow-up, and maybe their now-completed album as well.
IF predictions were my line, Motown's newest signing Stacy Lattisaw
could, in time, become a serious threat to the likes of Teena Marie and
Janet Jackson. She was, to all intents and purposes, quite a surprising
addition to the Motown family because prior to this, very little had
been heard about the nineteen year old singer.
IN THE music industry it seems that new forms of music are competiting against old. Take Hip Hop for example. R&B artists dis hip hoppers, jazz vocalists poke fun at rhymes and drum machines. Nobody seems to like each other .. .or do they?