Customer Reviews

Betty Davis

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This album is incredible. Without a doubt, Mrs. Davis was twenty years ahead of her time. Sure, she married Miles and slept w/Jimi but she wrote and sang too. Her attitude makes feminism hide under the bed. The players are fantastic and the music takes no prisoners. Not for the meek. Oh, and yes, that's Journey's Neil Schon on guitar...

Betty's first album. She wrote most of the songs on this album in London in 1971. She went there to work as a fashion model shortly after the death of Jimi Hendrix and lived there for about 6 months. The track 'Steppin' In Her I Miller Shoes' is a rememberance for Devon Wilson, Jimi's old lady. Gregg Errico on drums and Larry Graham on bass, other musicians include Hershall Kennedy (Little Sister, GCS), Merl Saunders, Doug Rauch and the TowerOfPower horn section. There was a story of Betty's first concert in the Washington DC area in 1973,that nearly ended up in a riot. Another story was that the Commodores recorded some of this material (Walkin Up The Road) as a demo which got them their Motown deal. I hope Betty is ready soon and brings us some new Funk!

taken as vintage groove/funk type music, a few of the cuts on this are A+, early 70's state of the art, cream of the crop. Larry Graham grooves the pee pee out of Anti Love Song and brings the funk to Your Man, My Man... a couple more tracks are uniquely groovy, but then around half the material is sorta forgetable... not that it lacks attitude, Betty Davis wasn't short on attitude anywhere.. and the players sound fine on all the cuts, but the songs themselves aren't all that great... some of the grooves are superlative, extra special, inspired, and some are just kinda cool. if you are a bassist, or a Larry Graham fanatic, Anti Love Song and Your Man, My Man are worth whatever you have to pay for the disc.

I bought this LP in 1973 in a record shop in Roxbury, Boston, and was I glad I did, even though one of the tracks, "In the Meantime" is one of the saddest ballads ever waxed. As others on this page have noted, Betty is an original, way ahead of her time, and to me is as interesting a composer as Abbey Lincoln. That says a lot. The reissue may seem a bit expensive but in this case you more than get what you pays for.

Betty's premiere effort is a mixture of instrumental funk and vocal rawness set to lyrics which were way ahead of their times.
This album was released in summer of 1973 and most of the guest musicians had yet to come into their own spotlight such as the
POINTER SISTERS,SYLVESTER and the members of GRAHAM CENTRAL STATION! Betty sings about I.V. Heroin Overdose in STEPPIN HIGH IN HER I.MILLER SHOES, a 3-way relationship in which she is the other woman who don't give a damn about sharing him as she tells the main lady that he's YOUR MAN,MY MAN or as she tells an ex-lover why she had to let him go in ANTI LOVE SONG or the albums only radio played effort and the one for which the album (and Betty) are most remembered IF I'M IN LUCK I MIGHT GET PICKED UP
which needs no introduction as the title pretty much explains the songs meaning. An album which was a first of it's kind as far as musical style,vocals and lyrics for the time. She reminded me of a black Janis Joplin (with a much funkier sound.)

Betty's premiere effort is a mixture of instrumental funk and vocal rawness set ti lyrics which were way ahead of their times.
This album was released in summer of 1973 and most of the guest musicians had yet to come into their own spotlight such as the
POINTER SISTERS,SYLVESTER and the members of GRAHAM CENTRAL STATION! Betty sings about I.V. Heroin Overdose in STEPPIN HIGH IN HER I.MILLER SHOES, a 3-way relationship in which she is the other woman who don't give a damn about sharing him as she tells the main lady that he's YOUR MAN,MY MAN or as she tells an ex-lover why she had to let him go in ANTI LOVE SONG or the albums only radio played effort and the one for which the album (and Betty) are most remembered IF I'M IN LUCK I MIGHT GET PICKED UP
which needs no introduction as the title pretty much explains the songs meaning. An album which was a first of it's kind as far as musical style,vocals and lyrics for the time. She reminded me of a black Janis Joplin (with a much funkier sound.)

Any fan of Joi, 70's Funk and Rock, would get a kick out of this.

The Wildness, free spiritness and funk/rock/soul is alive and well. Betty Davis was a Funk Queen of the 70's she had style and flash like no one else. A close contender today is an artist name JOI!!! Betty does not perform anymore and rarely seen but a few articles about and with her came out a while ago.

To hear what we youngsters missed, order this cd. To see a great performer bring back Betty's ideas and feel, see and check out anything by JOI.

The songs have a variety of sound and tempo, but all are good, her voice expresses every mood ... a powerful mix of boldness, independence, and vulnerability. "Game Is My Middle Name" is positively scary in how it reveals male/female relations. The music sounds surprisingly modern. It makes you want to strut around, not dance as usual. I bought They Say I'm Different, but this first album is still my favorite. Ms. Davis made me wish I was a Black chick.

Five stars for Graham, Errico, and TOP. Zero stars for the rest. Just because you hung with Miles for awhile does not mean that you are automaticically a genius musician. Besides, the album is very short and way overpriced. A definite Do Not Buy.