A quartet of recent releases from SoulMusic Records in association with Cherry Red turn the spotlight onto overlooked classics of 1980s R&B.

Isaac Hayes' Love Attack (1988) put the hot buttered soul man squarely into Big '80s territory with thumping drum machines and gleaming synthesizers.  It was the Stax legend's second album for Columbia Records and built on the sound of his label debut U-Turn on which he'd played almost every instrument on the record.  For Love Attack, he was joined by Bill Mueller on guitar, Gerald Jackson on synthesizer and Ronnie Garrett on bass, but otherwise handled the primarily-electronic instrumentation himself.  The lush horns and strings of Hayes' earlier triumphs were gone, but he made sure the sounds on Love Attack were diverse, with rap (the slow jam "Let Me Be Your Everything"), rock (a searing solo on "Showdown"), synth-funk (the amusing title track) and of course, balladry ("Eye of the Storm").  Hayes revisited "I Stand Accused," which he'd previously recorded on 1970's The Isaac Hayes Movement, and in the tradition of his reinventions of pop songs by Jimmy Webb and Burt Bacharach, brought his deep, resonant tones to a subdued interpretation of Billy Joel's "She's Got a Way."  (A tinkling, acoustic piano played by Hayes even appears on the track.)  Hayes also tipped his hat to the timeless sound of Philadelphia soul with a smolderingly sensual cover of Major Harris' 1975 chart-topper "Love Won't Let Me Wait," written by Bobby Eli and Vinnie Barrett.  Hayes' cover was overshadowed by Luther Vandross' recording (amazingly released the same month by the same Columbia family of labels) but the power of Eli and Barrett's soulful standard shines through nonetheless.

Love Attack turned out to be Hayes' second and final Columbia release.  Perhaps stung by its weak commercial performance, he retreated from recording until 1995 and the Virgin Records release Branded.  Embracing then-contemporary sonics while remaining true to his lineage as a first-class "love man" (not to mention a progenitor of rap), Love Attack is a chapter of his career worth rediscovering.  SoulMusic's reissue adds five bonus tracks including the non-LP B-side "Curious" and four single mixes of "Showdown."  Donald Cleveland has newly remastered from the original master tapes, and Charles Waring has provided new liner notes.

The late Curtis Hairston didn't live long enough to fulfill his tremendous musical promise, but happily, the SoulMusic team has kept his memory alive with the reissue of his 1986 self-titled Atlantic LP.  The artist scored an early string of successes on both sides of the Atlantic such as 1983's "I Want You All (Tonight)" and 1985's "I Want Your Lovin' (Just a Little Bit)," not to mention "On the Shelf," "Dreamer" and more with The BB&Q Band.  On the heels of The BB&Q Band's Genie arrived Curtis Hairston.  Produced by Greg Radford and Kae Williams, Jr., the long-played featured Hairston's tenor vocals on a variety of smooth and primarily uptempo modern-R&B cuts.  Nona Hendryx of Labelle fame co-wrote four tracks, and songwriting credits were also shared by Radford and Hairston himself.  A cadre of A-list musicians and singers contributed, too, including Inner Life's Jocelyn Brown on background vocals, Change's Mike "Dino" Campbell on guitar, and multi-instrumentalist/producer Amir Bayyan.

Sadly, a follow-up to Hairston's solid solo LP debut never happened.  He appeared as a background vocalist on a handful of releases before succumbing to kidney failure in 1996 at just age 34.  SoulMusic's new reissue of Curtis Hairston features remastering by Donald Cleveland from the original masters and liner notes by Justin Kantor as well as five bonus tracks, all from Atlantic 12-inch singles released in conjunction with the album.

An expanded, double-CD release of In the Purest Form/Massterpiece collects the fourth and fifth Cotillion Records albums from the band Mass Production, from 1979 and 1980, respectively.  Though the large musical unit had been recording for Cotillion since 1976, its biggest hit came with the disco classic "Firecracker," a No. 4 R&B hit which kicks off In the Purest Form.  (It barely missed the Top 40 of the Hot 100, making No. 43.)  The Norfolk, Virginia-based nine-person band incorporated horns, guitars and keyboards into its lithe, funk/soul sound, and various configurations of bandmates also wrote its own compositions.  On the strength of "Firecracker," In the Purest Form - produced with the band's longtime collaborator Ed Ellerbe and featuring both vocal and instrumental tracks - also became Mass Production's best-charting LP, reaching No. 10 R&B and No. 43 on the Billboard 200.

Mass Production followed the album up with Massterpiece, featuring another selection of songs (both vocal and instrumental) by the quartet of members Ricardo "Ricky" Williams, Tyrone Williams, Gregory McCoy and James "Otiste" Drumgole.  Their bandmates Agnes "Tiny" Kelly and Larry "Rockstar" Marshall, guitarist Lecoy "Coy" Bryant, bassist Kevin Douglas, and percussionist Emmanuel Eugene Redding all returned for Massterpiece.  Like its predecessor, the LP took in funky, uptempo dancers and smooth yet soulful grooves with impeccable, jazz-inflected musicianship.  It reached No. 24 R&B but performed substantially worse than Purest Form on the Billboard 200, only making No. 133.

Both albums boast bonus singles, with seven tracks appended to In the Purest Form and a further four on Massterpiece.  Donald Cleveland has elegantly remastered from the original tapes, though the 12-inch single versions of "Firecracker" and "Love You" on Disc One have been restored from vinyl.  Kevin Goins has penned the comprehensive and essential liner notes detailing this period of the band's history.

The final title in our SoulMusic quartet is also from Mass Production.  Though the immediate follow-up to Massterpiece, Turn Up the Music, isn't part of this series at present, it picks up with a two-fer boasting In a City Groove (1982) and '83 (1983).  Both albums continued to build on the then-contemporary, synth-driven sound introduced by the band on Turn Up the Music though In a City Groove also featured the arranging skills of concertmaster Gene Orloff.  Songwriter Ricardo Williams concentrated on writing songs as a vocal showcase for his bandmates while Orloff crafted the string and horn embellishments.  Tracks ranged from punk-infused funk to outright balladry, but the resulting album stalled at No. 46 R&B.  The band, and the brass at Cotillion, realized that a new direction was needed.  That Prince-influenced synth-pop direction manifested itself on '83, with its memorable cover of a robotic assembly line.  Though '83 largely emulated the pop/R&B sounds of the day, Mass Production-style, it did find room for a guest solo by legendary flautist Herbie Mann on "Sun Dancer" as well as Agnes' ballad showcase on "Chasing Rainbows."

In a City Groove/'83 adds six single versions (both 7-inch and 12-inch) to the former's tunestack, and three (the 7- and 12-inch versions of "Time Bomb" and the 12-inch of "Sun Dancer") to the latter.  The 12-inch "Sun Dancer" was mastered from vinyl as no master tape could be located.  Kevin Goins and Donald Cleveland once again handled liner notes and mastering, respectively.

All four of these recent releases from Cherry Red and SoulMusic Records are available now for order at the links below!

Isaac Hayes, Love Attack (Columbia FC 40941, 1988 - reissued SoulMusic/Cherry Red SMCR 5138, 2016) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Love Attack
2. Let Me Be Your Everything
3. Showdown
4. Eye of the Storm
5. Accused Rap
6. I Stand Accused '88
7. She's Got a Way
8. Foreplay Rap
9. Love Won't Let Me Wait
10. Curious (Columbia single 38-08116, 1988)
11. Showdown (7-Inch Version) (Columbia single 38-07978, 1988)
12. Showdown (12-Inch Radio Mix) (Columbia 12-inch single 44-07866, 1988)
13. Showdown (12-Inch Extended Mix) (Columbia 12-inch single 44-07866, 1988)
14. Showdown (Instrumental 12-Inch Dub) (Columbia 12-inch single 44-07866, 1988)

Curtis Hairston, Curtis Hairston (Atlantic 81693-1, 1986 - reissued SoulMusic/Cherry Red WSMCR 5137, 2016) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Chillin' Out
2. Let's Make Love Tonight
3. (You're My) Shining Star
4. Hold On (For Me)
5. All We Have is Love
6. Take Charge
7. The Morning After
8. Let Me Change Your Mind
9. Chillin' Out (Vocal/Remix) (Atlantic U.K. 12-inch single A9335 T, 1986)
10. Let's Make Love Tonight (Extended Remix) (Atlantic 12-inch single 0-86682, 1986)
11. (You're My) Shining Star (Vocal/Extended Version) (Atlantic 12-inch single DMD 1017, 1986)
12. Take Charge (Extended Remix) (Atlantic 12-inch single 0-86682, 1986)
13. The Morning After (Extended Remix) (Atlantic U.K. 12-inch single A 9280T, 1986)

Mass Production, In the Purest Form/Massterpiece (SoulMusic/Cherry Red WSMCR 5133D, 2016) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1: In the Purest Form (Cotillion SD 5211, 1979)

1. Firecracker
2. Love You
3. With Pleasure
4. Our Thought (Purity)
5. Can't You See I'm Fired Up
6. Eyeballin'
7. Next Year
8. Strollin'
9. Firecracker (7-Inch Single Version) (Cotillion single 45-42254, 1979)
10. Love You (7-Inch Single Version) (Cotillion single 45-45006, 1979)
11. Our Thought (Purity) (7-Inch Single Version) (Cotillion single 45-42248, 1979)
12. Can't You See I'm Fired Up (12-Inch Single Version) (Cotillion single DSKO 154, 1979)
13. Eyeballin' (12-Inch Single Version) (Cotillion single DSKO 154, 1979)
14. Firecracker (12-Inch Single Version) (Cotillion single DSKO 188, 1979)
15. Love You (12-Inch Single Version) (Cotillion single DSKO 210, 1979)

CD 2: Massterpiece (Cotillion 5218, 1980)

1. Angel
2. Forever
3. Nature Lover
4. Come Back Hot
5. Eknuf (Instrumental)
6. Shante (Instrumental)
7. Gonna Make You Love Me
8. Your Love
9. Please Don't Leave Me
10. Angel (7-Inch Single Version) (Cotillion single 45-45009, 1980)
11. Forever (7-Inch Single Version) (Cotillion single 45-45009, 1980)
12. Shante (7-Inch Single Version) (Cotillion single 45-45018, 1980)
13. Shante (Short Version) (Cotillion single 45-45018, 1980)

Mass Production, In a City Groove/'83 (SoulMusic/Cherry Red WSMCR 5314D, 2016) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1: In a City Groove (Cotillion SD 5233, 1982)

1. Maybe, Maybe
2. Never Ever
3. One More Chance
4. Should Have Known Better
5. Rock
6. Inner City
7. Solid Love
8. Weird
9. Rock (7-Inch Single Version) (Cotillion single 45-47010, 1982)
10. Inner City (7-Inch Single Version) (Cotillion single 45-47004, 1982)
11. Solid Love (7-Inch Single Version) (Cotillion single 45-47004, 1982)
12. Weird (7-Inch Single Version) (Cotillion single 45-47010, 1982)
13. Inner City (12-Inch Single Version) (Cotillion single DMD 323, 1982)
14. Rock (12-Inch Single Version) (Cotillion single DMD 337, 1982)

CD 2: '83 (Cotillion SD 90079-1, 1983)

1. Sun Dancer
2. Time Bomb
3. Victory '83
4. Style
5. Farewell Love
6. Have You Come (Creeping In My Dreams)
7. Chasing Rainbows
8. Don't Stop Believin'
9. Time Bomb (7-Inch Single Version) (Cotillion single DMD 618, 1983)
10. Sun Dancer (12-Inch Single Version) (Cotillion single DMD 636, 1983)
11. Time Bomb (12-Inch Single Version) (Cotillion single DMD 618, 1983)