Customer Reviews

Camouflage

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

 

 

Critics and reviewers who have given this obscure and once out of print Rufus & Chaka Khan title only 4 stars or less are correct about one thing; There were no major or memorable standout tracks from Camouflage. Even I did not know this '81 title existed until I came across it as a used record at a music store a couple of years ago. It occurred to me while listening to this newly remastered Japanese import cd the other night that the first three high energy R&B funk tracks almost play like a musical suite set on auto pilot(Better Together, Jigsaw, Secret Friend).By the fourth track Music Man (The D.J. Song)you would hope for something of a slower tempo to cool things down.This of course happens on the fifth track True Love as a slow dance ballad. As the mastering or recording engineer I would have swapped these last two tracks around mentioned to play out a much smoother sequence...Is this good or bad? I dunno cause the music, and the vocals contain that old skool infectious toe tappin' funk I miss from the late 70's and early 80's (before rap and hip hop would dominate the airwaves and music video channels) !

Infectious grooves, thumpin' bass, catchy melodic hooks and Khan's unique and soulful vocals are what saves this project from complete oblivion. The title Camouflage almost plays up to it's prophetic name for it truly was hidden due to lack of proper promotion, airplay and sales back in 1981. But listen carefully and Camouflage serves as a prelude to Rufus & Khan's double live album masterpiece Stompin' At The Savoy's single Ain't Nobody. It also serves as a precursor to Chaka's solo smash from 1984 I Feel For You album. Khan's vocals at times sound a bit polished or "studio" controlled on Camouflage but one can still feel the artistic vibe and energy.Ditto with the performance by Rufus !

This may be a biased 5 stars I am giving Camouflage, but it is because I am an old skool R&B/Funk fan and this is Rufus and Chaka's official last full length studio album collaboration together. It's almost historical...True, die hard fans of either Rufus & Chaka or old R&B/funk or both in general will treasure this. The new cd quality of this twenty-some year recording is phenomenal and still maintains that "warm" musical sound almost memorable of the vinyl version (minus the pops, ticks and clicks of the record). While the cd paper slip case cover and inside plastic cd protector and inner picture jacket of the band are excellent replicas of the original vinyl version, you will not want to just slip this between other plastic jeweled boxed cd's in your collection.You'll have a very tough time finding it. Some will not care too much for this cardboard approach to the cd's packaging;it only serves as a nostalgic feel...But the forgiveness or reward is found in the material or music !

It's telling that this is the only Rufus cd not to be released in the US. This was clearly a band at the end of its road. The songs are pedestrian at best and though the band generates some heat on a few cuts, "Music Man", "Better Together" and "Highlight" are as close as this set gets to the old Rufus we knew and loved. Chaka is her usual powerhouse self, especially on "Losers in Love". You can hear the desperation in her vocals, clearly she is singing from experience on this one.
The band is good but sound a little too polished, not unlike Earth, Wind and Fire and Kool and the Gang began to sound around the same time. The 80's and early 90's were not kind to funk bands who seemed to be afflicted with "solo-itis". Everybody wanted their cake, and lots of them fell apart during those years. Rufus would go on to release an amazing live cd, but this set would be the end for my favorite band.

A few of my friends-all Rufus&Chaka Khan fans-have been patiently awaiting the arrival of this rare gem and now "the wait is over." If you are true die-hard fans of this group, then this CD is a must have for your collection. Just listening to the tracks have taken me back to my high school years. "Quandary" is by far my favorite track, but can't help but tap my feet to the upbeat "Lilah" and "Highlight." And even though this was to be the very last full studio collaboration for the group(a sad day in itself)those of us who remember the times and the music can be grateful that we once again have the chance to embrace and relive one of the greatest R&B/funk groups there ever was.

If you are a true rufus+chaka-fan you need to buy this. The cd is packed like a mini-lp with a carton wrap instead of a plastic box. The wrap is too big for a cd-cabinet so you'll have to promote it visibly on your cd-player.

The Quincy-influence and Swedien-mix which brought us Masterjam in '79 is still alive on this one. They tried to crossover to jazzier tunes in stead of the raw Rufus-sound of earlier productions. If you're not crazy about Chaka you shouldn't buy this one. If you are it's a jewel. Secret friend (bad timbales by Paulinho in the middle), Jigsaw (with a smashing bass-riff) and True Love (if you wanna hear Chaka sing with her heart listen to this one) are my favourites. Quandary has a nice touch. The single was not my choice, but did allright in the US. Alltogether this is a must have for R+C fans.

It was the music with which I grew up with and now at 44 I feel like 20 again when playing this music in my car-stereo. Try to not get funky with Secret Friend blasting out your system. Like I said before the production is smooth (trust Bruce Swedien) but never too dreary. Jerry Hey gives his best on horn-production and Wolinski wrote some bad tunes. Sure it was a must-do for them but like professionals they did great.

With Khan's solo career in full swing, she was contractually obligated to record an additional album with Rufus, the R&B group that served as a launching pad to her incredible, rollercoster career.

With "What Cha' Gonna Do For Me" album delivering a #1 single and achieving gold status that same year, Khan was very hesitant about going back into the studio with Rufus to record "Camouflage". The results were a mixed bag. Chaka shines on songs like "True Love" (featuring Angela Winbush on background vocals) and "Quandry". However, she sounds like she's going through the motions on "Music Man" and "Sharing The Love". The album is further weighed down by Tony Madien assuming the lead on "Lilah" and "Secret Friend".

Much to Khan's delight, the album virtually went unnoticed. Maybe this is the reason MCA failed to reissue "Camouflage" on CD domestically. My final verdict is while this CD is far from being an essential part of your Chaka Khan collection, it is well worth checking out. You won't be too dissappointed.

As the very last contractually-obligated album by Rufus and Chaka Khan, "Camouflage" is top-heavy with somewhat routine pulsating dance tracks such as "Secret Friend," "Jigsaw" and "Music Man." On the scintillating "Better Together" (the best of these uptempo tracks), Khan effectively trades verses with long-time collaborator Tony Maiden amid thumping basslines and searing electric guitars. While "Camouflage" does not rank with group's greatest work ("Rags to Rufus," "Rufusized," "Ask Rufus"), it is still a worthy collector's item. As with almost any Rufus album, "Camouflage" owes as much to rock as it does to soul music. For example, the quirky pop-rock of "Lilah" or "Quandary" (both songs are cautionary portraits of unfaithful lovers--a recurring theme in Chaka Khan's best songs) could just have easily been approximated by the likes of Steely Dan. Elsewhere, Khan lights a fire under the spunky pop-funk of the aptly-named "Highlight," and later lends some of her characteristic energy to send otherwise nondescript ballads (e.g., "True Love", "Sharing the Love") soaring into the stratosphere! But one of the most tell-tale signs of the group's lackadaisical interest in "Camouflage" is the presence of other backup singers (R&B singer Angela Winbush among them)--Khan had previously insisted on doing her own backup singing for virtually all other Rufus albums. Overall, it seems that the group could not wait to deliver this album and get on with their lives and, to be blunt, this is probably what left so many fans cold and unresponsive to this album. Khan's luscious and limber voice, coupled with her ability to hang with the guys (a sexy tomboy persona) and considerable song-writing and arranging skills with a crack band at her disposal made for a unique and irreplaceable niche in pop, rock and soul. But with "Camouflage" the group goes out with a whimper instead of a "bang!" And yet in spite of this, "Camouflage" still manages to cohere as a nice bookend to one of the very best pop/rock-soul associations of the 1970's.

Without any musical prejiduce intended there's little doubt that,artistic merrit aside the fate of Rufus and Chaka apart from eachother was very unbalanced commercially:Chaka became a huge solo star,Rufus stiffed without her. Spending much of the late 70's and early 80's on less then friendly terms due to these differences Chaka confessed in her biography Chaka! Through the Fire that she wasn't even in the studio with the band during this recording. That history makes itself felt load and clear on the back cover from this;you can see it clearly among the Amazon image photos:Chaka is the only one smiling while the male members of the group where some of the most unhappy expressions I've ever seen on any album cover art. All this comes as such a surprise when you really dig into the music of this album. You'd think with all the internal strife within the band this would be a low energy effort. But every party involved gives it there all on every level. The album actually has a pretty comfortable set of session people musically:this album is a self produced effort but between the efforts of Greg Phillinganes,Paulinho Da Costa,engeineer Bruce Swedien and...well the talents within Rufus itself this album is actually a lot more varied and experimental than the Quincy Jones produced outing Masterjam was a few years before this. The first four songs are a really nice uptempo treat with the bands own funk/pop/rock sound all out on "Better Together" and "Secret Friend".On another note "Jigsaw" POUNDS the funk right out of the pocket as Bobby Watson and John Robinson hold the whole thing right down with the rhythm section! Hawk's keyboards similarly bring "Music Man (The DJ Song)" to life. Chaka's huge showcases vocally here are the ballads such as "True Love","Sharing Your Love" and "Losers In Love"-yeah the theme all seems somewhat similar but fact is these well crafted smooth grooves only get better with repeated listenings,especially if you hear them in CD quality as opposed to the scratchy old vinyl copy of this I used to have.There are two songs here that really take a lot of chances. The rhythmic and vocal varriations,from jazzy to funky to...well near reggae on "Quandary" are a potent reminder of the great sense of musical juxtaposition in funk and R&B that sort of got lost after the disco era;it actually something that would'nt have sounded out of place during the Ask Rufus and is an easy creative highlite. "Lilah" is an uptempo variation of the same sort of groove and Tony actually gets a chance to sing the main lead on the song which is alternately very poppy with this polyrhythmic jazz-funk break. "Highlight" closes the album on this great,slow churning rhythm funk note where guitar riffing of many different kinds share the harmonic space with Chaka leaping up and around them as if she's actually recording with the musicians,even if in rare case she isn't. Even though one music critic apparently described this recording as "drek" that it is not! Over repeated listenings this album will reveal itself to be the potent part of Rufus & Chaka's music catalog that it is.

I love this album(showing my age). I have been searching high and low to get this on CD and finally have it. Chaka at her best.

And sadly, it's not well known. Talk about R&B, this LP/CD is pure 100% R&B.

Well, Chaka was an established solo star at this point, and the only reason she returned to Rufus later in 1981 was to fulfill her contractual obligation with the group. Chaka went through the 'motions' and good material was recorded for this album. 'Better Together' & 'Losers In Love' are great Chaka songs, while a few of the other tracks aren't as impressive. This album is FINALLY available on CD as an expensive Japanese Import (with NO BONUS TRACKS), and that's a shame, but getting a CD-R copy isn't hard these days!! In addition to Chaka Khan, Angela Winbush provides great background vocals. My verdict - ESSENTIAL for Chakaholics!!!
Peace, SD
(Chakasworld)