Party

Description

Mastered by Mark Wilder (Sony) at Battery Studios, New York - From the original Master Tapes !!!! This was the last major release from Bloodstone and with it saw a change in style, Tight production comes courtesy of McKinley Jackson and the album is a mix of foot slamming groovers, mid tempo tappers and the trade mark Bloodstone ballads, the album sits perfectly alongside other mid 80s releases and all the boogie lovers will appreciate the fantastic production and the distinct vocal style that bloodstone bring to the table. Bloodstone was a key group in creating the shift from the R&B and soul group concepts of the '50s and '60s to the funk and black rock ideas of the '70s and afterward. The group began in Kansas City, while the original members were in high school, as an a cappella doo wop group, the Sinceres, around 1962. They evolved with the decade, and by 1968 were ensconced in Las Vegas, playing lounges like many other soul minor leaguers (Sonny Charles & the Checkmates, most notoriously). From there, they went to Los Angeles and did the unexpected: They learned to play instruments and became a band (like the Clash and Steely Dan, they never did settle on a permanent drummer). In fact, Bloodstone was a very good funk-soul group using the Hendrix-derived licks of Charles Love and Willis Draffen against multiple percussion ideas to underpin a vocal blend that still owed its soul to gospel and doo wop. (If this makes you think of the Isley Brothers of "That Lady," you're on the right track.)