Level 42 Running In The Family

After several hit albums in the U.K., Level 42 finally found American success with the 1986 album World Machine and its hit single, "Something About You." When 1987's follow-up release Running in the Family also scored on this side of the Atlantic, it seemed Level 42 was here to stay. But 1988's Staring at the Sun was an artistic catastrophe and a commercial failure, and Level 42 would never again reach the artistic and commercial peak of its two U.S. successes. Guaranteed was a considerably better album than Staring at the Sun – not that the band could do much worse – but it went virtually unnoticed in America.

Level 42 was steadily perfecting and evolving their dance/pop, funk, and rock mix during the '80s, and when they hit the big time, the label began reissuing their earlier, less successful material. It's hard to understand why this didn't do as well as later albums like World Machine, Running in the Family, and Staring at the Sun, although the obvious reason would be that no singles ever broke that compared with the ones from those releases. But it was just as well produced, the songs were almost as cutely performed, and the arrangements are very similar.

A slick 3-CD gatefold package that walks you through a legendary back catalogue from the iconic 80s funk pop group Level 42. Featuring tracks such as Lessons In Love, Running In The Family, Something About You, Leaving Me Now, The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up) and many more. Level 42 are an English band formed on the Isle of Wight in 1979. They had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s. Their most successful single in the UK was "Lessons in Love", which reached number three on the UK Singles Chart, and number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, upon its release in 1986. The earlier single, "Something About You", was their most successful single in the United States, reaching number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. After much success as a live and studio band in the 1980s, Level 42's commercial profile diminished during the early 1990s following a series of personnel changes and musical shifts. After disbanding in 1994, the band reformed in 2001.

Recorded on the final night of their tour at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2003, this special 16 track live package from the Jazz-funk legends Level 42 is packed with classics. The band are at their brilliant best performing hits including 'Lessons in Love' and 'Something About You' that have underlined the reasons why the group have always been at the very top level of modern day music.