Average White Band - Feel No Fret

Something really different for me. I don't know anything about Average White Band, and i haven't looked at their wikipedia page at all. All i know is this is a 50 cent "cut" album (meaning the label/distributor said "good god no, please don't send them back. Cut 'em, punch 'em, melt 'em, liquidate 'em, throw 'em like frisbees, we don't care.") That doesn't mean it's going to be bad. It's also unopened. Let's open it and find out...


... not gonna lie, that band photo does not instill confidence.

Let's check the back for some more clues. Way down at the bottom: 1979. That's not a good year at all. Moving up we get random thank yous (not important), produced by the band and a guy (not really meaningful), song titles are too vague to make any judgement. Strings, horns, and synthesizer "arrangements"? That's unnerving. Luther Vandross does backing vocals on the penultimate song on Side B? I don't recognize a single name anywhere? I'm worried. Not worried that it will suck. Terrible music is my bread and butter. I'm worried that it will be the worst combination of soft pop and softer jazz. Like Michael Bolton sings Toto, with special guest Kenny G. Please let me be wrong. Let it be cheesy blue eyed soul, or funk with a tinge of generic rock. Ok enough procrastinating...

... oh thank goodness. It's funk. Sure, it's white guy funk with tinges of disco, but now i can look them up. They're Scottish? I mean, i saw the name Hamish, but he's a guitar player so i just ignored it. We're a dime a truckload in any country, us guitar players, but i totally missed his equally Scottish bandmates.

This has a definite Bee Gees aftertaste, but it's got some real soul hiding in there too. The grooves are fantastic, and the aforementioned synths are actually quite tasteful. This is real 80s dance party on the 32nd floor type stuff. I can dig it.

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