Frankie Beverly began his recording career in his native Philadelphia, but it wasn't until he took his band Raw Soul to San Francisco that the group began to pick up steam.  With the support of Marvin Gaye, Raw Soul became Maze, one of the biggest proponents of the "quiet storm" sound.  Late last year, Cherry Red's Robinsongs label reissued the final two albums by Maze featuring Frankie Beverly - Silky Soul and Back to Basics - as one 2-CD set with bonus tracks.

Gaye reportedly came up with the name of Maze, and he employed the smooth-soul band as his opening act.  With the superstar's imprimatur, Maze was able to earn a deal with Capitol Records.  (As Raw Soul, the band's only previous major label releases were on the RCA-affiliated Gregar label in the early 1970s.)  1977's Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly was the group's Capitol debut, and five more studio LPs would follow through 1985's Can't Stop the Love.  All were certified Gold, and every one crossed over from R&B to the Billboard Pop chart, as well.

After a decade, though, the mellow, slow-jam soul men of Maze were ready for a change.  The group shifted to Warner Bros. Records in 1989 at the top of their game.  Every one of their six Capitol studio LPs had gone Gold, as had one of their two live albums for the label.  Maze made its Warner debut with Silky Soul, produced and entirely composed by singer-keyboardist Beverly in an urban contemporary style.  Like its studio predecessor Can't Stop the Love, Silky Soul (named for the album's tribute track to Marvin Gaye) topped the R&B chart.  It even bested Can't Stop's Pop placing, cracking the Top 40 at No. 37, and yielded a No. 1 R&B single with "Can't Get Over You."  The single release of "Silky Soul" did almost as well, making No. 5.  Blending smooth grooves with funkier workouts, Silky Soul also included a stirring tribute to Nelson Mandela ("Mandela") and two more hit singles, "Love's on the Run" (No. 13) and "Songs of Love" (No. 37).  Robinsongs has added three bonus selections from singles: a single remix of "Love's on the Run," the radio edit of "Mandela," and the extended B-side version of "Africa."  (Note that this track listing reflects the original LP; the CD issue added the track "Midnight" and closed with a shorter version of "Africa."  Oddly, the liner notes refer to these tracks as included.)

Maze followed Silky Soul with the appropriately-titled Back to Basics in 1993.  It would become the band's final Warner Bros. album and also its final album to date.  Basics featured the blend of quiet storm and rhythmic R&B that fans expected, and was also entirely produced and composed by Frankie other than the track "What Goes Up," co-written by Frankie and Anthony Beverly.  But it failed to match the success of its predecessor despite the strength of singles "Laid Back Girl" (No. 15 R&B), "The Morning After" (No. 19) and "What Goes Up" (No. 32) all of which received radio support.  That said, Back to Basics still managed a strong No. 3 peak on the R&B Albums chart and matched Silky Soul's No. 37 Pop placement.  Robinsongs has added three bonus tracks culled from the various mixes issued around the time of the album's release: the single edit of "Laid Back Girl" plus the Radio Edit and Smooth Mix of "What Goes Up."

Maze remains a popular touring act today despite the band's retirement from the studio.  This two-for-one release from Robinsongs includes a full-color booklet with liner notes by Charles Waring and credits for both albums; there are no remastering credits.  You can order at the links below!

Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly, Silky Soul/Back to Basics (Robinsongs WROBIN4CDD, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1: Silky Soul (Warner Bros. LP 9-25802-1, 1989)

1. Silky Soul
2. Can't Get Over You
3. Just Us
4. Somebody Else's Arms
5. Love's on the Run
6. Change Our Ways
7. Songs of Love
8. Mandela
9. Love's on the Run (Remix) (Warner Bros. PRO-A 3983, 1989)
10. Mandela (Radio Edit) (Warner Bros. PRO-A 3983, 1989)
11. Africa (Extended Version) (Warner Bros. 7-22895, 1989)

CD 2: Back to Basics (Warner Bros. LP 45297-2, 1993)

1. Nobody Knows What You Feel Inside
2. Love Is
3. The Morning After
4. Laid Back Girl
5. What Goes Up
6. In Time
7. All Night Long
8. Don't Wanna Lose Your Love
9. Twilight
10. Laid Back Girl (Edit) (Warner Bros. PRO-A 6367, 1993)
11. What Goes Up (Radio Edit) (Warner Bros. PRO-A 6786, 1993)
12. What Goes Up (Smooth Mix) (Warner Bros. PRO-A 6786, 1993)