Customer Reviews

Nightcruising

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

 

 

In the late 70s to mid-70s, The Bar-Kays found their hit-making groove and "Nightcrusing" doesn't disappoint. The lead single "Hit and Run" and "Traffic Jammer" are great examples of mixing the new wave-inspired keyboard riffs with slick funk; these two are arguably among my favorite songs by the band. Both songs by themselves are nearly worth purchasing the long-time-coming album.

If you can keep in mind this was an early '80s album and stomach some of the period sounds, "Nightcruising" is above in that remark. "Touch Tone" is definitely a punk rock-inspired tune that sounds familiar to similar such songs that came out that period. The title track and "Freaky Behavior" sound like something inspired by Rick James (whose punk-funk style was dominant), which is not surprising given The Bar-Kays' history of mimicking the hot styles of the period.

For a hardcore funk band, The Bar-Kays are better than expected on the ballads. "Feels Like I'm Falling in Love" is more of the sound expected from the band and "Unforgettable Dream" reminds me of The Commodores' "Easy" with its Southern-drenched chords and Larry Dodson's singing. Overall, if you're a fan of The Bar-Kays' brand of funk then is worth buying.

this was probably the last barkays album i really dug before they got more synth out. now they still had jams after this album, however they were still bringing the goods here."feels like i'm falling in love" was my cut which i always kinda sorta felt owed a nod to the crusaders "street life". the br kays and there producer Allen E.Jones were known for taken current hits and adding there own spin to them a pre sampling,looping if you will,however unlike alot of these non playing turkeys today who are more K-tel toy store record players who just turn knobs the bar kays can play.

this album is still cool.

Bar Kays have been around for some time and this is the music I grew up listening and bopping to. I had been after the track "Unforgettable Dream" for ages and was glad to stumble on this classic cd. If you consider this is over 20 years old then perhaps you begin to get an idea of the quality of yesteryear artists whose music is still en vogue some 20yrs after their "time". Buy it and see what I mean. You wont be disappointed.

First of all let me start by saying that I grew up in Barbados in the eighties where our radio was not governed by PD's and labels pushing what they want you to listen to so being able to get the original albums of any artist in CD or mp3 form is a godsend because many of the "Best Of" albums would not contain some of the tracks that were on heavy rotation in Barbados or that became club and house party classics. Case in point on this Night Cruising album, Traffic Jammer was probably one of the biggest songs from that album and because it was not a single or a b-side would not be featured on any compilation. If you are really a funk lover who appreciates great funk (Cameo, Confunkshun, Brass Construction, Ohio Players, Fatback, Pleasure Chocolate Milk, Raydio Shock ...)you know exactly what I mean. Other bangers on this cd are
1. Nightcruising
2. Hit and Run
8. Backseart Driver
5. Touch Tone
6. Unforgettable Dream
3. Feels Like I'm Falling in Love

Traffic being my favourite. Backseat Driver is a wicked funk jazz instrumental. We also got another one of these on Cameo's Knights of the Sound Table album in the song The Sound Table.

I love this album growing up, and it's like having it on vinyl because that's where it's recording source is from! My rating is not for the album itself, but for this CD edition of it. It starts out great for the first few songs, but you know how vinyl can get near the end. A lot of it sound, well, not so good. Thank God Universal Japan has come to their senses and are releasing an official remastered version of this same album in March (not too far from this review!) Vinyl Masterpiece, thanks for making such a crappy version and catching the attention of the real label for their official releases, but I will no longer be buying anything from PTG, or whatever you put out until you can guarantee that your releases are taken from the official master tapes and not vinyl! Also on the way is Starpoint's second and third albums on UNI Japan - I can't wait!

A rough translation to Dutch record label:

Ik hou van dit album opgroeien, en het is alsof ze op vinyl want dat is waar het de opname bron is uit! Mijn beoordeling is niet voor het album zelf, maar voor deze cd-uitgave van. Het begint goed voor de eerste paar nummers, maar je weet hoe vinyl kan krijgen in de buurt van het einde. Veel van het geluid, wel, niet zo goed. Godzijdank Universal Japan is gekomen om hun zintuigen en het vrijgeven van een officiële remastered versie van dit album in maart (niet te ver van deze recensie!) Vinyl Masterpiece, bedankt voor het maken van een dergelijke crappy versie en vangen de aandacht van het echte label voor hun officiële persberichten, maar ik zal niet langer kopen iets van PTG, of wat je uit totdat je kunt garanderen dat uw persberichten zijn overgenomen uit de officiële master tapes en niet vinyl! Ook op de weg Starpoint de tweede en derde albums op UNI Japan - Ik kan niet wachten!

IF YOU KNOW FUNK YOU'VE THIS ALBUM OR YOU NEED TO GO OUT AND GET IT THIS IS THE BEST ALBUM THE BAR-KAYS HAS EVER PUT OUT.1981 WAS THAT YEAR FOR THE NIGHTCRUISING ALBUM.PLEASE CHECK IT OUT!

In the late '70s to mid-'80s, The Bar-Kays found their hit-making groove and "Nightcruising" doesn't disappoint. The lead single "Hit and Run" and "Traffic Jammer" are great examples of mixing the new wave-inspired keyboard riffs with slick funk; these two are arguably among my favorite songs by the band. Both songs by themselves are nearly worth purchasing the long-time-coming album.

If you can keep in mind this was an early '80s album and stomach some of the period sounds, "Nightcruising" is an above average effort. "Touch Tone" is definitely a punk rock-inspired tune that sounds familiar to several such songs that came out that period. The title track and "Freaky Behavior" sound like something inspired by Rick James (whose punk-funk style was dominant), which is not surprising given The Bar-Kays' history of mimicking the hot styles of the period.

For a hardcore funk band, The Bar-Kays are better than expected on the ballads. "Feels Like I'm Falling in Love" is more of the sound expected from the band and "Unforgettable Dream" reminds me of The Commodores' "Easy" with its Southern-drenched chords and Larry Dodson's singing. Overall, if you're a fan of The Bar-Kays' brand of funk then this is worth buying.

I remeber when this first came out in 1981, I liked it, when I got older and was starting to collect some of the music I'd listened to in my younger years. I looked everywhere for this particular album, then just out of curiousity I looked on Amazon.com and found it. It didn't take long for it to be delivered to me. My Granddaughter likes some of the songs too.

Thank you,

Eunice Owens

I was a senior in high school when the Bar Kays' "Nightcruising" first presented. How can you resist those whizzy synths in the lead single, "Hit and Run" or the Rick James-inspired "Freaky Behavior," the second single? You CAN'T. Period. Typical of the early 80's Old School Funk and R&B which was so popular, there is a hefty mix of solid uptempo romps coupled with some nice, mellow Soul ballads, all delivered by the band's lead vocalist, Larry Dobson with Allen Jones handling production. This is one of my all-time favorite albums from "back in da day." How or why this was not released on CD after twenty-six years is as perplexing as it is disappointing, but take heart, Funksters. It seems like more and more of these once "obscure" titles are beginning to show up as of late. Let us continue to hope for more from their excellent body of work from the 80's, namingly the very Prince-inspired, "Dangerous" and "Banging the Wall."