I'm 26 years old & I love this beautiful music, I really thank my mother for it. I've heard & read about leon sylvers & didn't know he was a key figure in the soul/funk movement with Shalamar, Dynasty & the list goes on. I actually have the showcase album on vinyl, I'm looking forward to getting this one.
The Sylvers were ahead of their time. Leon's songwriting was ahead of it's time. Listen to the topics he chose to write about! One of my all time favorite groups of that time. 3 major issues that prevented them from "blowing up"! 1) to many lead singers, the average listener just wants to focus on one lead, maybe two, especially for that age demographic. 2) Leon's lyric's were a little to sophisticated for that demograhic, granted some like myself were receptive, but for that age group, to much thinking. 3) the label did a piss poor job of marketing and promotion, everyone knew the jacksons, you had to be from "streets" to know about the Sylvers!
One of my all time favorites...very 5th Dimension-esque. Love to hear Olympia, Charmaine and James (their voices stand out for me) in the background on this.
I never had this on vinyl, but freezing to see the credits I notice that the producers on this album were Perry Botkin Jr. and Michael Viner, both of who brought us the Incredible Bongo Band albums, for the old-school heads out here. :) Thanks again, and love to you, RememberTheTime09
Same here. I feel cheated being an 80s baby and missing out on enjoying this group and others during the 70s. I already knew that I would've had a thing for the brothers Edmund and Ricky. lol
These some pretty brothers. All while I was growing up listening to the magnificent 70s music, folks would call these type of cats pretty mf'ers. Somewhere in my teens they started calling me that too, and I hated it. I never realized people saw my dad as extremely handsome and my mom as a knockout, hence me and my brother. I hadn't thought about that in 30 years till I saw this video.
Ya HAD to have the words on the album cover, or inside of it...That was part of what made buying it worth every penny! Enjoying and album was something that you got ALL into! Just pouring over every inch of it and playing it fa days!! Can I borrow yo'...Just like the commercial said: "Oh no my BRUTHA! You'd better get your OWN!" =)
after listening to atkeast twenty songs by the silvers ,and twenty by all the others, the silvers were way ahead of thier time,but credit goes out to five stairsteps, Jimmy brisco-and the little beavers who I believe along with Clarence Burk of the stairsteps had the best long with Frankie lymon. but for total talent these six are the best:the stairsteps,silvers, Jackson five, Frankie lymon,twenty first century out of Chicago, the ponderosa twins./are the top six of all time .
1974 special year for teen black love,this crew was on magazine covers,posters record players all over the world,way better than the jacksons.the media pushed them to us
@MamaNuveau I can't wait until their 70s albums especially the first 3 are digitally remastered and issued on CD! I pray this happens. Its so sad that all that wonderful older music is stuck on vinyl and hard to get meanwhile alot of the crap music of the last decade is mass sold on crisps clean cds and such. Those 3 first albums especially sell like crazy so there is definitely a market for a re-issue!
@sylversfan11 True but nothing beats the real thing! Having their music played & showcased like it should be. Plus all the cool photos and info reissues have. *Still crying*!
@RememberTheTime09 You mean Amazon and those folks don't have access to everything, huh? Seems like ALL their stuff would be on CD by now, but then I guess these things take time. My cousin said the Forever Yours is a hard one to find, especially to download into an ipod or computer. He said because of those legal battles, but I thought they settled all of it. Hmmm. Sylvers on CD...In the car, at the crib (an not have to keep clicking replay on HERE, right? =)
@RememberTheTime09 Yes! I could tell that when I clicked on to one of those screens (from Google) where you can order their music. I'm pretty sure it was all on CD...Stuff like "Greatest Hits", you know. But you would be the one to know for SURE what's up with THAT right? =) I'd love to have Forever Yours on CD and New Horizons and a bunch of other of their songs, but I'm liable to be CLOWIN' in the car jammin' and singing all LOUD with Edmund on Forever Yours...I'll be lookin' straight CRAZY!
@MamaNuveau I've only seen one studio album on CD and thats "Concept(1981)". That and Greatest Hits collections which is cool but what about their other 9 albums?! I'm still very hot about this haha! What the hell are the people at Hip-O Select doing(other than catering to Motown acts)?! Don't they know I've seen people spend like a $100 on their old used vinyl first three albums?! These distributors need to WAKE UP!
@MsTexas73 Ah-ha maybe thats why its one of my favs(outside of the Sylvers factor). It does kinda have that 5th Dimension sound...they are also one of my fav groups!
@RememberTheTime09 So, that one silver-looking album where they're wearing white, or silver, I think must be a compilation of their greatest hits, huh. It kinda looks like a Sylver Anniversary (no pun intended) or something...Let me look at it again on here...
@RememberTheTime09 No, but I certainly need to check that out. I haven't even checked for a Sylvers website...(But I WAS all up on the Nile Rodgers one...). Yahoo Board and Facebook Page, sounds nice!
@MamaNuveau Ah,man I know Eddie doesn't get all his propers either! So what if he wasn't flashy like Ruffin he was awesome too! Anyhow I remember when his petition got started and I signed it. This was years ago so it will take a minute for me to remember all the particulars and ideas about it. Bottom line is there is strength in numbers and Hip-O did release his solo work & I'm glad to own the cds! I can't pick a fav song but "Date With The Rain", "Intimate Friends"and "Can I" are just a few!
@sylversfan11 True but I dont think a petition by fans would hurt. The artist doesn't have to be involved...I mean Eddie's gone and they were able to do it and he didn't even write on the albums they re-issued. Plus,whatever royalties,credit and attention it garners than The Sylvers deserve it!
@sylversfan11 Yeah, it seems to be unobtainable...For now, I guess. I guess I was doing some wishful thinking. You're right, cuz if it was on one, my cousin would've found it to put on his ipod when he was searching so hard for it. Maybe our luck will change on that one day soon. =)
@dh1173 He sure did and I agree w/ you about sales. MGM didn't know what they were doing especially with black acts though. They didn't sell like they SHOULD'VE especially "III". Also The Sylvers were just too sophisticated for their ages & the young people they were marketed to. Some if it surely was natural association since they were so young. Anyhow,the albums still sound wonderful & the messages(especially the stuff they wrote) still stand so they did 'their gig' regardless.
@sylversfan11 I am but I don't think I've posted(bad I know) but I will especially if a petition comes about! BTW I find their modesty astounding (usually in a great way)! I wish them the best regardless of what their stance maybe but I stand by having their work reissued.
@MamaNuveau Yeah Leon said that & he was out after that! I think it was a NO WIN situation. Had they left Al Ross earlier and stuck w/ Leon they more than likely would've been blacklisted even earlier!
@RememberTheTime09 That was the one white dude. That's when Foster said he'd be damned if he wasn't going to write on his OWN album. I wish they could've ALL just made that man march to the beat of THEIR drum instead of him practically pimping him the way he did. I wish they'd have split from him when Leon did because they certainly had the talent and someone else would've GLADLY picked them up. He somehow had their hands tied at the time, like he OWNED them. Ole greedy bastard! I hate that!
