129 Beat Street (JA Man Special 1975-1978) - Junior Byles

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...In The Middle With You”, which went to No. 1 in the USA charts. ALBUMS Stealers Wheel Ferguslie Park Right Or Wrong But the band suffered from many changes in line up, and ongoing contractual difficulties with their management, who wanted them to take on a coast-to-coast tour of America, a task that Gerry had little taste for. Many in the music business believe that Stealer’s Wheel could have gone on to achieve greatness, but it was not to be, and from 1975 to 1978, Gerry was hardly heard from, until in 1978 he released his solo album “City To City”, that included the famous “Baker Street”. On a personal level, I will always remember this song, as at that particular time in my life I was in the last throes of my alcoholic drinking days, (I was to finally stop drinking in 1979) and the lyrics spoke... Read review

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Advantages: Wow, too many too list
Disadvantages: Some of the guest artists

...largely to the commercial side, which in my eyes is a good thing. The production throughout the album is second to none, with grounding beats and melodic hooks in nearly every track. Lyrically and performance wise Ja is at his peak here, it seems his years in the business have gained him the experience to make a truly outstanding album. With six albums in as many years, a lot of artists would run out of subject matter, and the songs would become tired. In short, most artists should have retired by now, but Ja is better than ever here. "This R.U.L.E. album is real special, because when you make records, you're telling stories. Things you've been through, and sh*t you've seen. Whatever. It's always a story that you're telling to the public, that listeners never know if it's real or not. They never really know if it's authentic or not... Read review

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Advantages: Great talent, great songs, great mixutre
Disadvantages: An aquired taste

...really bringing out the tune. There is also a good bass line and the drum loop provides a decent beat. Again, it's produced so well it's hard to pick one thing out from another as it blend together so well to make a really great tune as a back drop to Ja and Ashanti's great lyrics. This was the first proper hip-hop duet and has proved to be a formula that works really well, combining Ja's gruff vocals - both rapping and singing on this record, and Ashanti's smooth, sweet, floaty vocals. This makes for a really great love song, even if the lyrics aren't always the most original (the lyrics for "I'm Real" are similar in places). Ja and Ashanti have done many collaborations but this takes their love song formula to the next level: "That's what I felt was gonna make the record really special and different. I kind of flirted... Read review

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