......The Tracks Of My Tears continues. I have taken the liberty of playing around with the sequence of my original article (and posting two Rufus tracks so close together) because today a certain lady is 60 years old.
Happy Birthday Chaka Khan.
I
was struggling to pick just one Rufus track here. Their albums are littered
with tracks that readily induce my tears, but especially those from the album
“Ask Rufus”. What an album this is. I’m sorry, but they just don’t make them
like this anymore. Chaka was in a more restrained mood on this album, and the
better for it in my opinion. But though her voice is of course a sweet and
wondrous instrument, it wasn’t all about Chaka. All the members of Rufus
deserve the plaudits, their musicianship was superb, and their arrangements
were lush and complex, and by this album they appeared to be operating on a
higher plane, music as art. Sweetly complemented by Chaka Khan they made a
unique contribution to the world of soul music. “Better Days” from “Ask Rufus”
contains the line ”I don’t know why, but I want to cry…” so in the end it picks
itself really. (NOTE: the sound dynamics
on this may not be too good, I really must get another copy of the album – or
were all the pressings like this?)*
To
be continued…..
* I had a comment or two on the original post that seems to suggest all the vinyl pressings may have been a bit "muddy".
If you don't own it already you really must buy "Ask Rufus".
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1 comment:
In spite of the "muddy" sound production of this album, it is definitely Rufus' best and probably most spiritual album. It was on constant rotation on my turntable for months. I suggest you get a copy on CD. The sound quality is much improved.
Ben
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