Customer Reviews

Larger Than Life [Vinyl]

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

 

 

Larger Than Life is the only cohesive, intelligent album to come out of the dreck of 80's dance-pop. That is due in part to the skillful production of Andre Cymone, but it is mostly a testament to the fabulousity of Jody Watley. From the ruins of Shalamar, Miss Watley rose to a fame as a solo artist that far exceeded her previous success as 1/3 of her former group. None of her contemporaries (i.e. Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul, Pebbles, Taylor Dayne, etc.) could touch Miss Watley for sheer diva attitude. Down to earth in real life, Watley was very convincing as the imperious diva on vinyl.

While Miss Jackson was just playing around with "What Have You Done For Me Lately", Watley was dead serious when she took it a step further and asked "What'cha Gonna Do For Me". The majestic introduction of "Lifestyle" does little to prepare you for the pulsating, wildly infectious beat that overtakes you seconds later. "Friends" was one of the first pairings of a singer and a rapper, and it is no less a rapper than Rakim, the godfather of east coast rap. Though today a pairing such as this is common, when I first heard Jody's sultry croon meshed with Rakim's blistering flow, it was a revelation. Jody gets down and funky on the midtempo "For Love's Sake", its slow groove caressing her surprisingly soulful vocal. "Once You Leave" (. . . you can't come back!) finds Jody once again artfully dismissing a wayward lover. All of this just served as a prelude for the true masterpiece in this collection: throwing down the gauntlet on the mind-blowing "Real Love" (i.e. "Gotta have the real thing!"). The unrelenting beat, the easy-to-learn chorus and a whole heap of Jody Watley attitude were the makings of a classic. It didn't hurt that the stunningly beautiful Watley came up with a video as compelling as the song. While she has grown substantially as a musician and vocalist, Jody has not managed to recapture the magic of this CD. However, she did manage to cap the decade of greed with a genre-defining moment in pop history.

Given how Andre Cymone's production really gave her debut album a real kick, including her single "Looking For A New Love," it's no surprise then that she had Cymone produce and help with songwriting on the entirety of her sophomore effort, Larger Than Life, which shifted the danceable R&B, funky bass, and heavy instrumentation that made her big into new jack gear. And her debut single, the bass-heavy "Real Love" with its heavy synth riffs, is an example of that, and is merely not "Looking For A New Love Part II."

Yet, fate has cruel a way of repeating itself. "Real Love" was another #2 pop hit, but an R&B chart-topper. The culprit this time was fellow dancemeister Paula Abdul with "Forever Your Girl." There was no way "Real Love" could've failed to top. Still, another outstanding Watley song. And like "Looking For A New Love," there is an extended version of the single, with the repeated "ohh ohh ahh" refrain, brisk horns, and some excerpts from "New Love" included.

She gets help from Eric B & Rakim on "Friends," on how some people pretend to be friends, and how it's hard to find friends due to jealousy, envy, and the fact that friends often won't tell what they're thinking. As she sings, "Friends will let you down, friends won't be around. You need them most of all friends. Friends are hard to find, friends yours and mine." This #9 danceable pop hit, featuring some old school scratching, really tells it like it is.

Then comes the #4 ballad "Everything" and she doesn't do too bad a job here, on the only song not written by Watley and Cymone. The other ballad she does here, "Only You," has brief keyboards bursts akin to Spandau Ballet's "True" and either ballad would've done great as a single despite her lack of range. No, she's still got a smoky and sexy ambience whenever she sings ballads, and that's good too.

Examples of the energetic higher gear of dance include "What'cha Gonna Do For Me" with its overlapping drum machines, synths, and the shouted "what! what!" before the title is sung. However, the mid-paced ballad "Precious Love" stalled at #87 and given the other songs here, isn't a singleworthy candidate. Why not "Lifestyle," which starts with some slow Giorgio Moroder-like synths before boom!, going into high gear dance with those catchy drums and synths combo? It's a party in full swing, this song. Or why not the equally vivacious "Once You Leave"? "Come Into My Life" with its initial pounding percussion beats and funky bass instrumentation is yet another single candidate.

There are a few filler tracks in the midsection, but it comes back to life beginning with "Something New." Yet the album is more polished and skilled than her debut, and Larger Than Life shows an artist and producer tightening things and ratcheting the dance rhythms to a higher gear while still in the non-techno zone.

Jody Watley was one of the most popular singers in the late 80s. "Larger Than Life" was her sophomore solo album, and it was just as good, if not better, than her debut album. Watley was at her best with funky, R&B dance grooves. This album had a number of killer grooves, including "Real Love", "Whatcha Gonna Do For Me", "Lifestyle", and "Once You Leave". Her pairing with rappers Eric B and Rakim set the standard for R&B singer/rapper pairings (ie. Beyonce and Jay-Z on "Crazy In Love") and her ballad, "Everything" was the sole ballad hit in Watley's career.

Unlike many other 80s artists, Watley's music has aged well. If you are interested in checking out her catalogue, I recommend trying this first.

Jody Watley's 2nd release is in my oppinion, her most powerful and consistant albums, solidifiying her as the grand diva extrodinaire. "Larger than Life" has Jody in true form, singin' about the things we all dream of, Love, Money and Hapiness. Things we are not gonna give up for any man tryin' to play us. This cd is perfect for strong black females and gay men if that makes any sense. You can play the cd from start to finish and relate to every song in some way. The production value is suberb, it's recorded loud so you can blast out every emotion as you drive along the coast while the sun is setting, hopefully getting ready for a romantic interlude with a hot man. My fave tracks are Real Luv, Friendz, Everything, What u Gonna Do 4 Me, Come N2 My World, Something New, hey practically the whole cd! Just like Jody says, "gotta have the real thing" and "Larger Than Life" is it.

After a huge blitz of success with her self-titled 1987 debut album, Jody Watley had much to live up to with her next album. This one is arguably just as good, spawning huge hits with "Real Love", "Friends", and "Everything". The latter is a beautiful, slightly uptempo ballad and the other two are two of the most bouncy, perky examples of dance pop in the 80s. "Friends" also contains one of the best instances ever of the often-risky practice of collaborating vocally with rappers, featuring a brilliant solo by legendary MC Rakim (of Eric B & Rakim fame).

I have this on tape as well as CD, it is one of my picks for long drives. I can listen to it from beginning to end and like each song and not skip over any of them which is rare for me. Most of the songs are upbeat, catchy and fun to listen to, but there are some slower songs that are equally as good. My personal favorites are L.O.V.E.R., What'cha Gonna Do For Me, Lifestyle, and Come Into My Life though I really enjoy all of them. While I don't have all of Jody's recordings, this is my favorite of the ones I do have and would recommend this highly for anyone wanting to sample Jody's music. It's great!

Length:: 0:54 Mins

A great Cd..i still have this as a cassette...ahh..brings back memories. Jody was the bomb in those days. She still is..get this you won't be disappointed..."listen up"...!

Jody has sustained an impressive career and this CD in some ways solidified her reputation as a solo artist. From soul train, Shalamar, Solo Artist to underground club & drum and bass. She is the epitome of a pop/soul star without the overexposure. She is and always will be one of my favorite dance artist. She & Shalamar ROCKED THE EIGHTIES! Glad to know she is still making hits: last August 2008 MAKEOVER.

Jody Watley entered the music scene as a solo act in 1987, making her debut one of the most recognized & loved for it's time. Her combination of high fashion, cool vocals, & funky pop tunes made her quite the sensation.

She continued in 1989 with her followup LP "Larger Than Life". Here, there is a bit more emphasis on the "new jack" sound in which popular R&B was currently residing. Jody manages to infuse it her typical "high fashion" style, delivering odes to independence, "real love" (no pun intended), & just being who you are.

Musically, again helmed by Andre Cymone, the "new jack" sound as stated permeates the record. So along with the more dance oriented cuts (i.e.-"Come Into My Life"), cuts such as "L.O.V.E.R." & "Friends" exude a hip hop attitude. Bouncy beats & some skittering synths, & uses of some interesting sampling all work quite well together. The latter song, which features guest raps by Eric B. & Rakim, was the first of it's kind. Why some tried to credit Mariah Carey with this, Jody was the first mainstream R&B female artist to feature a hip hop act on a cut.

Vocally, Jody's smoky & enthralling voice continues to get better. She manages to steer ballads such as the cool "Everything". Alternating between sassy spoken word & soulful phrasing, as on the lead single "Real Love" Jody sounds very fresh & enthused.

Once again, the look of the record was VERY ahead of it's time. You can see where Jody Watley's high fashion execution in her music & look would be felt & used by acts such as En Vogue, Destiny's Child, Amerie, Brandy, Aaliyah, the list goes on. I really saw the inspiration in Amerie's "1 Thing" video, which to me recalled elements of the "Real Love" video.

I highly recommend the "Larger Than Life". It is definitely more than just a nostalgia piece. For those who can appreciate older musical textures, this record has held up well. Only maybe a small percentage of the tracks really don't go anywhere, but work within the context of the record well. This is one of my favorite Jody Watley albums & hopefully it'll become yours as well.