Customer Reviews

Take It Off

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

 

 

Even before this album came out Chic were at the head of the class as one of the funkiest band of the disco era.But by 1981 that era in which immortal classics like C'est Chic,Risqué and Real People was over.So what did Chic do with 'Take It Off'.They turned down the strings,threw on the bass and turned up the funk on "Stage Fright","Baby Doll","Burn Hard" and the self explanatory instrumental "So Fine"-one of the most smoothy funky four song rides you'll likely ever take.The production is stripped down so that only the understated early 80's keyboards can be heard for light orchestration;what stands out is the rhythm of Bernard and Niles.After that.......nothing changes at all,except the funk gets much rawer of the awesome bass groove of "Flashback",then back onto "Telling Lies" and the somewhat spikier rhythm of "Your Love Is Cancelled"."Would You Be My Baby" and "Just Out Of Reach" are...well mellower funk but still uptempo enough to boogie to wheras the title track is a non stop monster funk plowing down everything in it's path.So on 'Take It Off' you learn that Chic can more then hold it's own after their most commercially successful era was over.That is because this album not only contains no ballads to infringe on the groove but great songs,witty lyrics and Chic's great musicianship.And no top of that no filler songs.So if your just getting into Chic's albums for the first time 'Take It Off' might be one of the best first places to go.And for the diehard fan it is essenitial.

Those of us who have followed Chic from its inception know that the group had a time escaping the label of "disco band" during the time that people started declaring that DISCO was DEAD.

In general, you find that people's opinion of the group becomes less favorable the farther away you get from their core hits (as if they were supposed to come up with a "Good Times" or "Le Freak" type hit every year). "Take It Off" was the follow-up to "Real People" and signaled pretty much a 180 degree turn stylistically and musically. Whereas "Real People" was, to me, an attempt to bring their formula into the eighties, "Take It Off" takes off in a new direction.

I remember listening to this on vinyl and being amazed that the music was much more jazzy-fusion than before. The title cut and "Your Love Is Cancelled" were perfect examples of this. My favorite was "So Fine" - a breezy jazz tune with a tight harmony during the vocal chorus.

"Baby Doll" is a hot number with a blistering sax solo.

Some of the songs ("Your Love Is Cancelled", "Take It Off", and "Just Out Of Reach") feature male vocals from Edwards and Rodgers - something you didn't often hear.

This is some of Chic's best work, but is often misunderstood or - worse, ignored! They obviously gave their more commercial work to other artists, such as Diana Ross.

For the Chic collector, this CD will help round out your collection. So get it while you can!

This lp was released in late 1981. By that time, a slew of Chic-sounding groups had created a subgenre of R&B/dance music, while radio and clubs were shifting their appetites from string-filled swirls to grittier dance-funk and new wave hybrids. Since Chic was a band founded on a rhythm section, the guitar-bass-drum triumvirate was easily transferred to funk sounds. Electronic keyboards were featured more prominently, and horn sections that previously peppered tracks like "I Want Your Love" were used percussively and more extensively.

The change of approach sounded unlike most other Chic output to date, but the 1981 album worked as a strong, cohesive project. In fact, there were loads of radio-friendly tracks on the album. The unfortunate thing was that their label seemed to miss the opportunity to lead off with a viable single and then lost interest in the album quickly. "Stage Fright" was the single, and although it had the identifiable Chic scratch guitar and was an indisputably funky jam, the lyric was a poor choice for radio play. In fact, it barely broke into the R&B Top 40 and didn't appear at all on the dance charts. No follow-up single was attempted.

Given that Chic had a strong following in clubs and R&B radio even when Top 40 radio was courting New Romantic Brit sounds and greasier Rick James/Gap Band fare, it seems a shame that the lead single wasn't something dancier (even the flipside of "Stage Fright" was the jazzy instrumental "So Fine" rather than a barnstormer, perversely insuring that club play would be slim with the 12" release). A better release from a club-play perspective would have been the Chippendale's inspired title cut whose syncopation rivaled "Serpentine Fire." It had a great tongue-in-cheek humor and killer break that might have hooked black radio listeners as well. The other out&out dancer on the album, "Burn Hard," citing the Jane Fonda fitness craze, was reserved for flipside of the 12" "Soup For One" releases in Europe later that year.

The other option available to label execs was the great R&B flavor on the album, which was admittedly a riskier direction for a group associated with dance crossovers. Still, tracks like "Just Out Of Reach," "Would You Be My Baby," and "Flashback" would have been stone smashes on black radio if released by any other act. "Just Out Of Reach" has that Chic-patented romantic longing with a fantastic melancholy sax solo; "Would You Be My Baby" is a hooky pop nugget, and "Flashback" is a gritty soul serenade that startles the typical Chic fan. "Baby Doll" is an even sweatier soul instrumental that updates a Booker T type groove. Meanwhile, Chic has fun with putting their spin on Rick James ("Your Love Is Cancelled"). In the end, a great album and lost opportunity for Chic singles.

A very interesting title. This seem to be another attempt of CHIC to escape from the "disco group" tag. As proved by their album "Real People". Previously released. The result of this production is a good mix of pop, jazz and soft rock songs. "Stage Fright" is perhaps the only song that most people will remember. I'm rating this album with five well deserved stars.