CB - de Buenos Aires
Nossa homenagem aos nossos irmãos, no feriado em que se comemora a Consciência da Raça Negra, se faz através da postagem de um grande grupo vocal dos anos 70:
THE STYLISTICS.
The Stylistics foi um dos mais conhecidos grupos de soul e rhythm & blues da Philadelphia na década de 1970. O grupo foi formado em 1968, e constituído por Russell Thompkins, Jr., Herbie Murrell, Airrion Love James Smith, e James Dunn. Seu primeiro sucesso nos USA foi em 1971 com "You're a Big Girl Now".
Após assinarem contrato com a gravadora Avco Records, The Stylistics começaram a trabalhar com o produtor Thom Bell, que já havia produzido um catálogo com The Delfonics. Bell aproveitou a experiência e as técnicas já aprovadas com The Delfonics, e o esquema funcionou perfeitamente com os Stylics, devido principalmente ao falsetto de Thompkins. Seus "hits", derivados de três álbuns, a partir deste período incluíram "You Make Me Feel Brand New", combinado com Love, "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)" e "You Are Everything".
"You Make Me Feel Brand New" foi o maior sucesso do grupo, premiadíssimo com discos de ouro, platina,etc.
The Stylistics produziam um som suave, agradável que lhes abriu caminho fácil para audiências mais adultas, que se apaixonaram por temas como You Make Me Feel Brand New", e "You'll Never Get To Heaven (If You Break My Heart)").
Este sucesso comercial não ficou confinado apenas aos USA, com a banda fazendo grande sucesso em toda a Europa.
O grupo se dividiu com a saída de Thom Bell, em 1974, e a divisão provocou devastador insucesso comercial para o grupo. Em 1980, James Dunn saíu do grupo devido a problemas de saúde, e James Smith também saiu pouco tempo depois.
O grupo continuou, recrutando novos membros Raymond Johnson, e lançando o álbum Some Things Never Change, em 1985.
Johnson partiu pouco depois, deixando os Stylistics com uma nova formação de trio, com Love, Murrell, and Thompkins A partir daí começaram a se suceder ininterruptas substituições, descaracterizando definitivamente o som original dos fabulosos
Stylistics. Mas nem por isso os Stylistics deixaram de fazer sucesso senão vejamos: em 2006, "I Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)", foi usado como base para um anúncio da campanha da empresa Gatsby no lançamento do novo produto "Moving Borracha". A campanha foi muito bem sucedida, devido em grande parte à
cativante natureza da melodia e eles apareceram com sucesso até na TV do Japão.
E, para confirmar que o grupo sempre teve prestígio, sua canção, "People Make a World Go Round", foi usada por Spike Lee na trilha sonora do seu filme, Crooklyn, feito em 1994.
Como sempre faço,( a bem da verdade, por preguiça e falta de tempo) , mantenho no texto original em inglês uma série de dados adicionais, para gáudio dos fãs mais ardorosos dos Stylistics.
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THE STYLISTICS
The Stylistics was one of the best-known Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s. They formed in 1968, and comprised lead Russell Thompkins, Jr., Herbie Murrell, Airrion Love (second lead on "You Make Me Feel Brand New"), James Smith, and James Dunn.
They had their first U.S. hit in 1971 with "You're a Big Girl Now".
Signing to Avco Records, The Stylistics began working with producer Thom Bell, who had already produced a catalogue of hits for The Delfonics, and songwriter Linda Creed. Bell imported the sweet soul techniques he had perfected with The Delfonics,
and his arrangements worked perfectly with Thompkins' falsetto. The bittersweet lyrics from Creed were a key factor in creating hugely memorable music.
Their hits — distilled from three albums — from this period included "Betcha by Golly Wow!", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up To Make Up", "You Make Me Feel Brand New" featuring a double lead with Love, "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)" and "You Are Everything". "You Make Me Feel Brand New" was the group's biggest U.S. hit, holding at #2 for two weeks in the spring of 1974, and was one of five U.S. gold singles the Stylistics collected. The Stylistics' smooth sound also found an easier path onto adult contemporary airwaves than other soul artists, and the group made Billboard magazine's Easy Listening singles chart twelve times from 1971 to 1976, with three entries ("Betcha by Golly Wow!," "You Make Me Feel Brand New," and "You'll Never Get To Heaven (If You Break My Heart)") reaching the Top 10. This commercial success was not confined only to the U.S., with the band also having big hits with this material throughout Europe.
The group split with Thom Bell in 1974, and the split proved commercially devastating to the group's success in the U.S.
Just as with The Delfonics, The Stylistics were to some extent a vehicle for Bell's own creativity. They struggled hard to find producers who could come up with the right material, and partnerships with Hugo & Luigi and Van McCoy were notably
less successful. They left Avco for H&L Records and the Stylistics' popularity rapidly declined in the U.S. However, just as that success began to wane, their popularity in Europe, and especially the United Kingdom, increased. Indeed, the lighter 'pop' sound fashioned by Van McCoy and Hugo and Luigi gave the band a UK Number one in 1975 with "I Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)". Further successes with "Na Na is the Saddest Word", "Funky Weekend" and "Can't Help Falling in Love" consolidated the band's European popularity.
Notwithstanding this, the Stylistics began to struggle with what many saw as increasingly weak material after 1976. Although the singles and albums came out as before, chart success vanished. This decline also coincided with the rise of New
Wave in Europe around this time. It was also stated by Russell Thompkins Jr. (in the re-issue sleevenotes for the 1976 album Fabulous) that the band began to feel that the music they were recording was becoming increasingly dated, and not in keeping
with the emerging disco sound of the late 1970s.
In 1980, James Dunn departed due to health problems, and James Smith left shortly thereafter. The group continued, recruiting new member Raymond Johnson, and releasing the album Some Things Never Change, in 1985. Johnson departed shortly
afterward, leaving the group a trio. Love, Murrell, and Thompkins continued to tour until 2000, when original lead Russell Thompkins, Jr. left. Love and Murrell brought in two new members, Harold "Eban" Brown, formerly of the Delfonics, as lead
(who sounds amazingly like a young Russell Thompkins), and tenor Van Fields. The present group is featured live on the DVD's "
The Stylistics Live at the Convention Center" (2006), as well as along with other artists of the 1970s on the DVD "The Big Show."
In 2004, Russell Thompkins, Jr. started a new group, the New Stylistics, with the returning Raymond Johnson, James Ranton, and Jonathan Buckson. They are featured on the DVD "Old School Soul Party Live!," which was part of the PBS "My Music" series.
In 2006, their hit single "I Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)" was used as a base for an advertisement campaign for Gatsby's new product launch "Moving Rubber". The campaign was highly successful due in no small part to the catchy nature of the
tune and they appeared with SMAP in a guest appearance on Japan TV.
Their song, "People Make the World Go Round", was used by Spike Lee in the soundtrack for his movie, Crooklyn, made in 1994.
Personnel
* Russell Thompkins Jr - born 21 March 1951 in Philadelphia. (1968-2000)
* James Dunn - born 4 February 1950, in Philadelphia. (1968-80)
* Herbie Murrell - born 27 April 1947 in Lane, South Carolina. (1968-present)
* James Smith - born 16 June 1950, in New York. (1968-80)
* Airrion Love - born 8 August 1949, in Philadelphia. (1968-present)
* Raymond Johnson (1980-86)
* Harold "Eban" Brown (2000-present)
* Van Fields (2000-present)
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Comentários: ACABAMOS SAINDO NO LUCRO ! Este álbum que está sendo postado em substituição ao FABULOUS, que misteriosamente pediu - sem mais aquela, um password para abrir o RAR, dá de goleada em termos de repertório.
É só conferir.
Só peço desculpas aos amigos que baixaram o Fabulous e dependem do password. (Eu vou continuar procurando a palavra mágica, mas enquanto isso, vamos de
THE STYLISTICS-IN FASHION...1978
TRACKS / FAIXAS:
1 THERE'LL NEVER BE ANOTHER YOU
2 FIRST IMPRESSIONS
3 YOU'RE THE BEST THING IN MY LIFE
4 LOOKING AT LOVE AGAIN
5 I CAN'T STOP LIVIN'
6 I JUST CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU
7 YOUR LOVES TOO GOOD TO BE FORGOTTEN
8 SMOOTH
9 CALIFORNIA SUN
10 SAIL AWAY
DOWNLOAD : AQUI
