★★★★★
Get On Down continues to establish itself as the premier label for top-shelf reissues with another classic release from iconic Ohio funk band Slave. Released amidst the group's most prolific era, 1979's Just A Touch Of Love features the lush arrangements and intense rhythms that are the band's signature...
- www.forcedexposure.com
2011-01-31
★★★★★
Hailing from that hotbed of Midwest funk, Dayton, Ohio - home also to fellow funk practitioners Roger Troutman & Zapp and Ohio Players - Slave emerged in 1977 on the Cotillion label with an impressive self-titled album that included the US R&B chart topper Slide. The nine-member aggregation, led by trumpeter Steve Washington, initially served up an earthy brand of funk that was dominated by sinewy bass lines, greasy horn arrangements, wild guitar solos and chanted vocals...
- www.recordcollectormag.com
2010-12-21
★★★★★
Each side kicks off with a small bang and proceeds pleasantly enough, but Mark L. Adams's half of the band spells it like the beer for a reason--not enough body to make you rub your belly after the brew has gone down.
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-07-17
★★★★★
While pioneering funk groups like Funkadelic and the Commodores, manned by veteran musicians, clearly evolved out of existing black-music formats, the younger ones often resemble third-generation rock groups in concept and spirit. Unless you prefer Kansas to the J.B.'s, this is not a compliment; profound thoughts like "Now will always be forever" might well grace the back of a Starcastle album...
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-07-10
★★★★★
For those as can take their funk straight, this is the brawny beast in all its callipygean glory, complete with jokes (could use more) and slow one (could use fewer). The "Snap Shot"/"Funken Town" twelve-inch does boil it down conveniently to kickoff and touchdown, but the ball keeps moving throughout. Leading ground-gainer: Mark L. Adams, who in real life plays . . . (starts with B, ends with S, and ain't bongos).
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-07-10
★★★★★
"No no no," an A&R man to remain nameless exclaimed to Steve Washington last year. "Not funk. Funk's not the future. It's disco, disco." Whereupon Washington, unaware that by the time his album appeared the same a&r man would either have declared disco dead or been declared dead himself, bought some string programs, taught the boys to sing those backups high, and made room for Starleana Young. Sure there's still a fair amount of thump and wah-wah-wah...
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-07-10
★★★★★
If pop best-ofs showcase hooks, funk best-ofs showcase beats--cowbell grace note here, JB-plus guitar there--and side one is Slave's movingest ever. But assuming Mark Adams's bass and ignoring the disco hook of "Just a Touch of Love," what makes side two listenable is two tracks from their movingest album ever, Show Time, which also contributes "Wait for Me" to side one. One of these LPs you could probably use.
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-07-10
★★★★★
In 1977, Slave's self-titled debut album (which boasted the number one R&B; smash "Slide") earned the Dayton outfit a reputation for playing sweaty, aggressive, in-your-face funk. But when Slave provided its fourth album, Just a Touch of Love, in 1979, it was clear that the Midwesterners were determined to soften their approach...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-28
★★★★★
As funky as they were, Slave had a distinctive smoothness to their music. Here on their second album, the self-contained ten-member band assembled an engaging mix of songs. This collection featured two releases. The first was "The Party Song." Arranged around a swinging funk track and chanting vocals in unison, group leader Steve Washington invokes a jazzy trumpet interlude. The single peaked on the Billboard R&B; charts at number 22 after an unjust ten weeks...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-28
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