Search - Sister Sledge :: All American Girls

Typical 80s; huge fun

Olukayode Balogun | Leeds, England | 11/18/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Maybe it was the relatively disappointing response to 1980's Love Somebody Today (which I reviewed recently and bought at the same time as this), maybe Bernard and Nile were busy, or maybe the girls just fancied a change but whatever it was, in 1981, it led them to them turn to Narada Michael Walden for their next album. At that time, Walden had already had worked with people like Weather Report, Jaco Pastorius, Jeff Beck and Carlos Santana, and had had some success in his own right and as a producer with teenage pop star Stacy Lattisaw. His sound definitely gave the sisters more freedom to move around and express themselves vocally. He also presented them with the opportunity to co-write and co-produce - something I doubt the Chic guys would ever have gone for.



The end result was bright and breezy, with lots of rhythm guitar licks, horns and synthesized strings working alongside the real thing. Walden took inspiration from the Chic sound and is even quoted as saying he wanted his music to be "a melding of Chic's rhythm and vocal trademarks with those of Earth, Wind & Fire's [Phoenix] Horns". He did a great job and tunes like "Next Time You'll Know", "Happy Feeling" and "Don't You Make Me Lose It" could easily have been produced by Chic though in fairness to Walden, they do offer just that little bit extra. The rock-edged "He's Just A Runaway" is the one tune I could've happily done without but my favourite all these years has always been "If You Really Want Me", with its crazy sax solo. All in all though, this is a great album, typical 80s and huge fun to sing along to. I'm glad they decided to reissue it - and with the original album cover this time - as my vinyl copy was getting a bit worn. If you're a lover of the 80s sound like I am, this is definitely worth checking out.



Some trivia if anyone's interested: Walden played drums, percussion and keys on this album but included in his 'The Brothers Sledge Band' were Randy Jackson, now of "American Idol" fame, who played some excellent bass, provided "Inspiration" and even co-wrote the down and funky "Ooh, You Caught My Heart" and alto saxophone player Marc Russo, who was part of The See America Horns here but went on to become a member of one of my favourite bands of all time, Yellowjackets."

Love them, but beware of one track

DC | 12/21/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Okay, the thing about the original release of this album is that "He's Just A Runaway" was a Rock-Dance song. When it was released as the second single, after the title track, the sisters reworked it into a Reggae version in hopes of not alienating their Black/R&B audience. The Reggae version became the tribute to Bob Marley.



So the album is supposed to be the original Rock version, but the track listing on this page says it's the Bob Marley version.



Reviewers here mention the Rock version. So there is confusion here. Although both versions have merit it is unclear which you are getting on this CD."

A break from Chic on this one.

Winslow | 11/23/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A really fine album that didn't get the much needed attention that it should have especially on R&B radio. I think the single, "All American Girls" was the pop hit that did decent on the charts but aside from that this album produced no other top 10 hit cuts which is a major shame.



I think I read somewhere in which they performed "He's Just a Runaway" with its rock/new wave flavor in front of a black audience and they didn't applaud when the song came to an end. Just silence. They later issued a remake of the song with different arrangements and a more soulful appeal and it did chart well on the soul charts. Some blacks at the time felt the song "All American Girls" didn't take into account the racism and economic injustice that impacted the African-American community. I asume this is why it didn't do well on the soul charts in that it didn't "connect" to black disc jokeys and black audiences. The marketers probably didn't know how to promote the album.



I like how on the first side of the record, there is no pause between each song. Really cool idea for a black album. Not too many black records did this.



However,the fine standout songs are: Next Time You'll Know, If You Really Love Me(the jam--should have been an R&B single), Don't Let me Lose It, He's Just a Runaway, Happy Feeling and Music Makes Me Feel Good.



I strongly suggest that you purchase this newly discovered album from 1981. I strongly suggest.



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