Something To Love

Album review

Producer Bobby Martin once said of L.T.D. that "they play well, they write well, their vocals are moving, and they have a special energy." He couldn't have been more correct. What they'd begun with their delicious mix of classic funk and heart-wrenching soul on 1976's breakthrough Love to the World LP, they furthered just a year later on Something to Love. Their sonic dexterity was well-appreciated, as the album shot to number one on the charts. L.T.D. again included a little something for everyone across this fantastic, elastic set. The opening "Age of the Showdown" is an eclectic and completely cohesive mix of funky bass and intricate guitar loops, dance rhythms and pop ethic, married to Jeffrey Osborne's remarkable vocals, which themselves swing from blistering funk inflections to bluesy call outs and on to sweet R&B breaks without missing a beat. Elsewhere, the chart-topping "(Every Time I Turn Around) Back in Love Again" is a sweet slab of funk given a run for its money by "Material Things," which revolves around John T. McGhee's outstanding basslines, while "We Party Hearty" weighs in with vibrant horns. And, of course, Something to Love wouldn't be worth its salt without a gorgeous Osborne ballad, captured here on "(Won't Cha) Stay With Me." The album stumbles only on "You Come First at Last" and "Make Someone Smile, Today!," as organist Billy Osborne steps behind the mike to handle the vocals. He's got a good voice, to be sure, but when slivered next to his brother Jeffrey, it's quickly apparent why he's the lead vocalist here. And despite that one glitch, this is still an outstanding effort and smooth blend, no matter how you cut it. Something to Love would mark some of L.T.D.'s last great funk material as they began to swing slowly into the waters of mellow R&B.

© Amy Hanson /TiVo