News

Today, we’re taking a look at two upcoming titles in a soul and R&B vein from Omnivore Recordings!

This Friday, May 3, our friends at Omnivore have a treat for fans of Earth, Wind & Fire.  The visionary founder and leader of EWF, the late Maurice White (1941-2016), only released one proper solo album in his lifetime (1985’s Maurice White).  Working on the R&B and Dance chart-topper “System of Survival” for EWF’s album Touch the World, White inaugurated a friendship and collaboration with producer-songwriter Preston Glass.  They continued to work together for almost three decades, producing 40 songs together.  In 2019, three years after White’s passing, Glass issued a dozen of their collaborative tracks as Manifestation.

Omnivore is bringing Manifestation to CD for the very first time, and to sweeten the pot, they’re adding six previously unreleased tracks.  This release (also available digitally) is released in cooperation with Platinum Garage Recordings and SoulMusic Records. Michael Graves has newly remastered the audio, and SoulMusic Records founder David Nathan, a friend of White’s, has provided the new liner notes.

But that’s not all the label has coming up for R&B fans.  On May 31, Omnivore will release Get Up & Boogie: The Worldwide Singles from the groundbreaking Eurodisco group Silver Convention.  Their sparkling 1975 single “Fly, Robin, Fly” charted in more than a dozen countries, reaching the top spot on the US Billboard Hot 100, Disco, and Soul surveys.  The third single spun off from their debut album Save Me, “Fly, Robin, Fly” nabbed a Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance and made it clear that The Munich Sound – soon to be recognized the world over as Eurodisco – was here to stay.  Despite enduring several personnel changes from the lineup that recorded Save Me, Silver Convention remained global chart fixtures through 1981, mostly with the songwriting-production team of Sylvester Levay and Michael Kunze spearheading their releases.  Seventeen of those sought-after 45s from around the world, originally issued on various labels and often featuring exclusive mixes and edits unique to each country, are being collected for the very first time on Get Up & Boogie: The Worldwide Singles.  The anthology also showcases the development of Silver Convention’s sound, which incorporated soul, R&B, and pop as well as disco and dance.

Among the many highlights on this floor-filling collection are “Get Up and Boogie (That’s Right)” (a U.S. No. 2 hit kept from the top spot by Wings’ “Silly Love Songs”), the infectious “San Francisco Hustle,” the sensual “No, No, Joe” (a moderate U.S. hit), Munich-meets-Philly collaborations “Spend the Night with Me” and “Get It Up” (arranged and conducted by The Monster Orchestra’s John Davis and featuring Don Renaldo’s Horns and Strings), and the non-LP side “Cafe au Lait.”  Most of these international mixes and edits are new to CD, and this set also doubles as a Silver Convention “greatest hits” or “best-of” package.  All of these rare singles have been restored and remastered by the Grammy-winning Osiris Studio, while TSD’s Joe Marchese has provided new liner notes.  Get Up & Boogie: The Worldwide Singles will be available on CD as well as digitally.

You’ll find pre-order links and track listings for both upcoming Omnivore releases below!

Maurice White, Manifestation (Omnivore OV-543, 2024) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Sweet Surrender
2. Panic Button
3. Storybook Love
4. Laid Back Aphrodisiac
5. I Couldn’t Be Me Without You
6. Breakin’ In A Brand New Heart (Interlude)
7. True Love Is Forever
8. Wiggle (Long Version)
9. To The Top
10. Young Hearts
11. You’re Supposed To Say You Love Me
12. Before The Day You Were Born
13. Keep Your Faith In Love
14. Can’t Fight This Feelin’
15. Crazy ‘Bout
16. Rekindle The Flame
17. Spiritual High
18. Sincerely

Tracks 13-18 previously unreleased

Silver Convention, Get Up & Boogie: The Worldwide Singles (Omnivore OV-547, 2024) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Save Me (Single Edit) (Midland International JB-10212, 1975; U.S. 7″)
2. Fly, Robin, Fly (Stereo Single Long Version Edit) (Midland International JH-10339, 1975; U.S. 7″)
3. Tiger Baby (Single Radio Edit) (Magnet MAG 69, 1976; U.K. promotional 7″)
4. San Francisco Hustle (Single Version) (Jupiter Records 6.13194 AC, 1981; German 7″)
5. (There’s) Always Another Girl (Magnet MAG 95; 1977; U.K. 7″)
6. Fancy Party (Single Version) (Papillon PAPL 915; 1977; Holland 7″)
7. I Like It (Special Disco Edit) (Magnet MAG 43, 1975; U.K. 7″)
8. Get Up and Boogie (That’s Right) (Single Version) (Midland International MB-10571, 1976; U.S. 7″)
9. No, No, Joe (Single Version) (Midland International JH-10723; 1976; U.S. 7″)
10. Dancing in the Aisles (Take Me Higher) (Single Version) (Midland International JH-10849, 1976; U.S. 7″)
11. Everybody’s Talking ‘Bout Love (Single Version) (Magnet MAG 81, 1976; U.K. 7″)
12. Summernights (Polydor 2814 067; 1977; France promo 7″)
13. Telegram (Single Version) (Midsong International JH-10972; 1977; U.S. 7″)
14. Hotshot (Single Version) (Midsong International JH-11062, 1977; U.S. 7″)
15. Spend the Night with Me (Promo Single Short Version) (Midsong International MCA-40896; 1978; U.S. promotional 7″)
16. Cafe Au Lait (Jupiter Records 100 241; 1979; German 7″)
17. Get It Up (Jupiter Records 6.13194 AC; 1981; German 7″)