Clarence Bass

The saving grace behind Everybody Up is the excellent "Don't Say Goodbye". Slow funk, sensual funk jam…backed by the wonderful guitarist/vocalist Sugarfoot and his excellent scat guitar delivery. The surrounding jams for the record boast nice funk, almost a return to form, and Everybody Up would serve as the last Ohio Players album to retain their signature vibe somewhat. The tunes here are still mostly forgettable, you would be buying the album primarily because you are a fan of the group and their history. The guys seem to be dipping into a Cameo bag a bit in 1979, but, the one trait that has always set them apart was Sugarfoot's guitar playing, and solid background ensemble vocals.

As measured by cultural impact and mass popularity, Bruce Springsteen’s 1984-85 World Tour was the apex. Considering its stunning scale, playing multi-night stadium stands, it’s easy to forget that 1984 was a rebirth of sorts, the start of a new era as much as a continuation of what came before it. On the biggest tour of his career, Springsteen was rebuilding the engine while the plane was flying.

We often cite the Reunion tour as a demarcation between the “classic” and “modern” Springsteen eras. Yet this April already marks 23 years since the start of the Reunion tour in Barcelona. Do the math, and the E Street Band’s return in 1999 is inching ever closer to being the midpoint of their overall career—a line to be reached in 2026, at which point it will have been 27 years from the start of Reunion; and Reunion itself was 27 years after the band formed in 1972. Time flies.