Shalamar

The Howard Hewett/Jody Daniels/Jeffrey Daniels edition of Shalamar was in excellent form on Big Fun, Friends and The Look, but if one had to pinpoint the group's best release ever, the hands-down winner would have to be its fourth album, Three for Love. With Leon Sylvers III producing and members of Shalamar and Lakeside contributing to the writing, all of the pieces fell into place quite nicely. Shalamar enjoyed major hits with the irresistible "Make That Move" and the sentimental ballad "This Is for the Lover in You," and every bit as strong are the funky "Pop Along Kid" and the dreamy "Somewhere There's a Love." A non-musical point: when The Right Stuff reissued Three For Love on CD in 1997, the liner notes stated "copyright 1978," but in fact, the album wasn't released until late 1980; there's no way Three for Love could have even been recorded in 1978 because Hewett had yet to join Shalamar.

With its third album, Big Fun, Shalamar unveiled its best-known and most successful lineup. Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniels were still on board, but Gerald Brown had been replaced by the charismatic Howard Hewett. Both creatively and commercially, this album would take Shalamar to new heights and establish the trio as one of the best soul-pop units of 1979-1983. The single that made Hewett famous and really sent Shalamar into orbit was "Second Time Around," but the classic Hewett/Watley/Daniels lineup also excels on everything from the insistent "Right in the Socket" to the playfully funky "Take Me to the River" (not the 1974 Al Green classic) and the smooth, Philadelphia soul-type ballad "Let's Find the Time for Love." Definitely one of Shalamar's essential releases.

Shalamar broke onto the disco scene in 1977, but 2019 marks the 40th Anniversary of the classic line-up formation of Howard Hewett, Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel, who set the UK charts alight throughout the early 80’s with hits like ‘Dead Giveaway’ and ‘There It Is.’ From their debut discofied Motown medley, ‘Uptown Festival,’ Shalamar became constant hit-makers on both the US R&B charts and the UK pop charts, scoring with the dance-floor classics ‘Take That To The Bank,’ ‘The Second Time Around’ and ‘Make That Move.’ While promoting A Night To Remember’ on ‘Top of the Pops’ in 1982, Jeffrey Daniel introduced UK audiences to the moon walk and started a body popping craze across the country. Their top ten album ‘Friends’ subsequently spent over a year on the chart and achieved platinum sales. Shalamar’s current line-up of Howard, Jeffrey and Carolyn Griffey still tour regularly in the UK and have closed every year since 2010 with a sell-out show at London’s 02 Arena. This ‘Gold’ 3CD collection, features all 24 of Shalamar’s US and UK top 40 chart singles, all of which are included here in for the first time in their full-length versions and 12” disco mixes on this 41-track set.

Shalamar - Friends (1982) {2CD 2013 Remastered & Expanded - Big Break Records CDBBRXD0200}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 850 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 289 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 118 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1982, 2013 Sanctuary Records / Big Break Records / Cherry Red Records | CDBBRXD0200
Soul / Funk / Contemporary R&B / Post Disco

Shalamar’s Friends was one of the biggest and most celebrated classic soul albums of the 1980s. BBR is proud to present the first ever deluxe edition of the album. Shalamar was formed in 1977 by Dick Griffey, the booking agent for the legendary R&B TV show Soul Train, and British music producer, Simon Soussan. Initially they used faceless session musicians but when their first single, ‘Uptown Medley’ (R&B #10 / Pop #25) found chart success Griffey created a permanent group.

Uptown Festival was Shalamar’s first album, but Disco Gardens was Shalamar’s first worthwhile album. To say that there was a world of difference between the two might be an understatement.