Customer Reviews

Method to the Madness

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
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By the time "Method To the Madness" was released, band mentor Norman Whitfield had seemingly decided to reinvent The Undisputed Truth, moving them away from psychedelic soul towards a more contemporary disco and funk sound. As on earlier albums Whitefield was again responsible for most of the album's nine tracks - he wrote or co-wrote everything on the LP. he group's patented white afros remained in place, but the change in direction came with a revamped personnel lineup; Tyrone Berkeley, Joe Harris, and Calvin Stevens joined by Taka Boom (Chaka Kahn's younger sister) who replaced Virginia McDonald. Moreover, this time around, judging by tracks like 'Cosmic Contact' and 'Hole In the Wall', Whitfield seemed to have been listening to quite a bit of Sly Stone and George Clinton and The Funkadelic/Parliament empire.

- 'Cosmic Contract' wasn't so much a song as it was a bunch of Clinton-styled synthesizer sound effects and spoken word segments. Very 'Morhership Connection' inspired ... rating: * star
- Thankfully the title track found the group moving into a Sly Stone-styled slice of funk. While the song wasn't particularly original or impressive, like her sister, Boom's shrill voice was well suited to the genre. Great slap bass solo and kudos to Whitfield for fading the song out before it got too repetitive. rating: *** stars
- 'Sunshine' was a pretty, heavily orchestrated old-school styled ballad that seemed very out of place on this set. To my ears it sounded very much like something The Temptations would have covered. rating: *** stars
- Showcasing Boom on lead vocals (she was more than an equal to her male partners), 'You + Me = Love' was an up tempo, disco-tinged number. Perfect dance floor fodder with a pounding hook in the title hook which meant there wasn't a great deal of originality flowing through this one. The extended eleven plus minute dance version went on and on giving the backing band lots of opportunities to showcase their instrumental chops. rating: *** stars
- With all four members sharing lead vocals, 'Hole In the Wall' was an okay number that served to mix soul and funk influences. The George Clinton influences were very apparent on this one, but the real standout was actually the slap bass pattern. rating: *** stars
- With Boom again handling lead vocals, 'Loose' actually sounded a bit like an early Rufus track. The woman certainly had a sultry delivery that bore at least a passing resemblance to her sister's powerful voice. rating: *** stars
- Joe Harris' rough and gnarly voice was one of Motown's forgotten gifts and was perfectly suited for old-school soul numbers like 'Life Ain't So Easy'. With it's social activism lyric, this one was a throwback to Whitfield's early-1970s catalog. Easily one of the best songs on the album. rating: **** stars
- Unlike anything else on the album, 'Take a Vacation from Life (and Visit Your Dreams)' had a cool, almost '60s Brazilian jazzy vibe to it ... very pretty melody with some great acoustic guitar and Boom's restrained vocals made this the album's standout track. rating: ***** stars
- Yeah, it sure sounded like Whitfield borrowed the bass line and parts of the arrangement from Rose Royce's 'Carwash' for 'Down To the Disco' (but then he wrote and produced that song as well). (he also seeming borrowed a bit from The Bee Gees.) As much as disco drives me crazy, I have to admit this one's not half bad. Yeah, it suffers from all the shortcomings of the genre, but Whitfield managed to package it together in a way that made it almost impossible for you to just sit there. Great track. rating: **** stars

The album was tapped for a couple of singles including the group's last big hit:

- 1976: 'You + Me = Love' b/w 'You + Me = Love (instrumental)' (Whitfield catalog number WHI 8231) ('A" side: pop # 48, R&B # 37)
- 1976: 'Let's Go Down To the Disco' b/w 'Loose' (Whitfield catalog number WHI 8295) (R&B # 68)
- 1976: Sunshine' b/w 'Sunshine' (Whitfield catalog number WHI 8362)

12" single
- 1976: 'Let's Go Down To the Disco' b/w 'You + Me = Love' (Whitfield catalog number PRO 651) (R&B # 68)

A bit short on originality, but all told a surprisingly enjoyable late-inning release from this outfit.

"Method To the Madness" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Cosmic Contract (Norman Whitfield) - 3:50
2.) Method To the Madness (Norman Whitfield) - 3:55
3,) Sunshine (Norman Whitfield) - 5:12
4.) You + Me = Love (Norman Whitfield) - 11:10

(side 2)
1.) Hole In the Wall (Norman Whitfield - Rochelle Runnella) - 3:20
2.) Loose (Norman Whitfield - Rochelle Runnella) - 3:21
3.) Life Ain't So Easy (Norman Whitfield) - 3:57
4.) Take a Vacation from Life (and Visit Your Dreams) (Norman Whitfield - John McGhee) - 4:30
5.) Let's Go Down To the Disco (Norman Whitfield) - 9:10

This album was one of Norman Whitfield's prized recordings for the group Undisputed Truth. The tune "You + Me=Love" was a very popular slamming disco track back in the 70's and for whatever reason is not on any of the group's greatest hits collections, which I find to be strange. It was probably their best song next to Smiling Faces. This album needs to be released on cd at some point.

Two words: TAKA BOOM! Enuff said. Taka Boom's lung-busting vocal delivery rescues the rather ho-hum songwriting here and elevates the on-CD-for-the=first-time album into above-average disco/funk/soul. If you know & love Taka Boom, get this one now!