Staying Power

THE COLOSSUS of Rides returns here with an album of soft soul-to-soul type smoochies. Exactly who this album is aimed at is a bit of a mystery to me – as a wanna-be lothario myself I found the lyrical content risible.

Barry White has become a caricature of himself, and methinks that South Park’s Chef owes more to Barry’s brand of conjugal crooning than Trey, Matt or indeed Isaac, might admit.

However, I can also imagine hordes of thirty-something Bridget Jones clones curling up on the sofa with a Marlboro Light and a bottle of Chilean Chardonnay and imagining that someday their prince will come and say stuff like this for real. “Bhabay, I got stayin’ pow-ah, Ah ain’t goin’ nowhaya, Tahk to me, Any tahm is the right tahm to share yo’ love with me, Ah’m here to stay . . .” Do women really dig this stuff? What’s wrong with, ‘Yer hair’s only gorgeous?’

Plusses include an impeccable production job that suggests Soul II Soul crossed with Quincy Jones with a little bit of Nile Rodgers to dust over the top. The inclusion of War’s ‘Low Rider’ is another bonus – the song is made for Bazza’s speakeasy sandpaper tones. Collaborators include Chaka Khan and oor’ Lisa Stansfield, with Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs recruited to remix ‘Thank You’.

Huey Criminal it was who swore that Barry White had saved his life. While I couldn’t necessarily agree, my ex-wife would love this.