Customer Reviews

Fever

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

 

 

This is a great record-nice to see it on cd. It has some funky moments (Lets Keep It Together & title track) as well as some beautiful ballads (Stay Still..and Karmen, a song written for his mother). Although I think Friends & Strangers and Flame are a little stronger, there's enough quality material here (that isn't on the greatest hits) to warrant having it. Especially if you're a fan of this style and era of music. There's nothing quite like it.

To be 16 when this scorching funk / fusion piece of genious hit the streets was definitely something to behold.The trifecta of Freinds & Strangers, Fever and Flame forever surplanted Ronnie Laws in the hearts and minds of us who were fortunate enough to come through that very exciting era.

Being the younger brother of another jazz legend probably had about the effect one expect on Ronnie Laws. He was after all a member of a growing and very musical family looking to carve out a name for himself. Starting in EWF before releasing his largely hard funk oriented debut Pressure Sensitive Ronnie was in a position to put one one killer second album. Many artists,instrumentalists in particular can sometimes fall all to easily into a "sophomore slump" syndrome of trying to recycle ideas and being somewhat creatively conservative. In this case it would seem Ronnie Laws just went with the flow and let the creative juices wiggle and wobble wherever they chose to. On the other hand the level of control and musical discipline both Ronnie and producer Wayne Henderson seemed to share showed up all over this set.

Brimming with spacious and ambitions arrangements as well as grooves,this album distinguishes itself from what came before in many ways due to energy level and crispness sound. "Let's Keep It Together",'Strugglin'" and the dancefloor minded Crusaders like funk of "All This Time" really showcase this slickness to a great degree. But it's a clean studio sort of slickness,not a heavy production gloss-make no mistake on that. On the title song (yes,a Peggy Lee remake) the funk is very high octane as it on "Captain Midnight". On "Stay (And Let Me Love You)","Karmen" and the Charles Stepney like "Night Breeze" he works his way through cinematic slow groove swells that,as with the other cuts mentioned have that dripping,echoed electric guitar sound that sounds so excellent and dreamy in this sort of jazz funk.

The closing "From Ronnie With Love" is an altogether different matter. With this heavy rhythmic assault,mildly psychedelic jazz funk sound and Ronnie's surprisingly wailing and atonal sax solo it's probably the most atypical and avant garde piece of music the man ever recorded. Not to mention his most obviously jazzy. Following this album Ronnie would gradually alter his sound and turn far more to the sophistifunk side of music as the 70's drew to a close. It was quite far away from the heavy jazz-funk of this and his debut album-full of instrumental drive and creativity. No matter how you cut it all of Ronnie Laws music in the 70's showed a considerable and healthy level of creative growth. And this album,along with his quality debut showcased him at the absolute funkiest level of that growth process.

I would give this album 5 stars just off of track two alone.
Another baby boomer musician has convinced me that I was born in the wrong decade. I am a twenty something (b.1980) who is not all that crazy about the music of her own generation. For my taste, things began going downhill around '93 and '94. Ronnie took me on a journey back to 1976, to a room with plush carpet, and velvet walls.

All the music on this CD is amazing, but I admit to being partial, I am a Laws fan since childhood. As I said track two is hot.
The intro will have you turning on your AC as you cruise to it in your car. Try not to squirm in your seat to that funky bass & the sexy sounds, your passenger look at you out of their peripheral, and think something is wrong.
Go a head, click and sample track two . . .the intro to the song is the part they snipped out for your listening pleasure. The twentysomethings were GETTIN DOWN back in '76.
Alright, sample track 2 right now if you haven't already.

Ronnie Laws Fever is a good disc from a great musician. It's available at a good price these days. Get a copy and get familiar with Ronnie Laws...Fever. Four stars!!

This is a very good album to have if u luv all types of different styles from soul-jazz, funk, fusion, rock, disco, contemporary jazz, acid jazz, Latin, you name it. It sure is a must. This is my very first album I've introduced by Ronnie Laws (Hubert's brother who plays the flute, piccolo, piano, and sax) The rest has a few ballads that'll take u in the mood whether u're in the feel of a lil slow jam from Twista's "Slow Jamz to anything from Barry White, Marvin Gaye, Luther (RIP), Grover Washington, Teena Marie, The Temptations, Stephanie Mills, Gladys Knights, Patti Labelle, David Sanborn, Ray Charles, among others. 'nuff said. An absolute must.

the album adds very interesting approches to your moods working around the house...yard etc..not his best. friend and strangers i think is