You turned me out, you turn me on, you turn me loose, and you turn me wrong....
Eight songs. In this day of overstuffed CDs of half-filler (especially in the R&B department), it was refreshing to go back to an album that cut most of the chaff. In this case it’s the Gap Band, with their fourth album Gap Band IV (of course) running light on songs but heavy on the funk. In fact, until the end, this is a non-stop party machine, with three of the biggest soul songs that year. Kicking off the “Early In The Morning”, the mood is of course, more funk than substance, but the rebound track is so infectious you forget Charlie Wilson was dumped in the first place, with all the cowbell I’ll ever need. Things settle down for a seemingly reserve-time plea to sty together in the ballad “Season’s No Reason To Change”, and further back possibly to the meeting in “Lonely Like Me”, where Charlie picks up a girl to sooth his (somewhat) broken heart. “Outstanding” was the third and least pop-oriented tracks at the time, but seems to have the most lasting effect (sampled R. Kelly’s “Summer Bunnies”). “Stay With Me” is a classic pop song with a killer hook, and inexplicably denied a chance to be a single in its own right. Then comes the anchor of this whole set, the too-bodacious-for-words “You Dropped A Bomb On Me”. If you haven’t heard this song already, you weren’t at any party in the mid-eighties worth going to. Another ballad follows, “I Can’t Get Over You”, which is pretty in its instrumental start and Alpert-like feel. If it would’ve ended there, I would’ve been quite satisfied. However, the strange, annoying “Talkin’ Back” was tacked on in I guess what normally would’ve been a hidden track put 5 minutes behind the last, here it just proceeds to just seem like a goofy afterthought, going on like some sort of ignorant “12 Days Of Christmas” (while shouting “Reaganomics!” over and over . Take that out of the equation, and you have one of the most entertaining R&B albums of the early eighties.
Best Cuts: “Early In The Morning”, “Season’s No Reason To Change”, “Outstanding”, “Stay With Me”, “You Dropped A Bomb On Me”
Weakest Link: “Talkin’ Back”
"Early In The Morning" hit #24 pop, #1 R&B, #13 dance club play, & #55 in the UK.
"You Dropped A Bomb On Me" made #31 pop, #2 R&B, and #39 dance club play.
"Outstanding" made #51 pop, #1 R&B, and #24 dance club play.
Listen: "Early In The Morning (Extended Remix)" [click link to listen]
Buy: You can pick up Gap Band IV at websites like here and here.
and here's the clips...man do I love this "Early In The Morning" video.
and even better - the cheesy "You Dropped A Bomb On Me"
and this is the best I could get for "Outstanding"...
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