Cameo - Fresh Takes '2018

Tracks list

Tracklist:

1. Word Up (06:44)
2. Candy (04:45)
3. Back & Forth (05:54)
4. Sparkle (04:23)
5. Keep It Hot (05:12)
6. Skin I'm In (05:09)
7. Why Have I Lost You (06:10)


 moreThat vocalist was Larry Blackmon. In 1974, the ex-Juilliard student and
New York City club-goer instigated a funk band with a membership of 13 called
the New York City Players. Blackmon, Tomi Jenkins, and Nathan Leftenant formed
the group's nucleus. The Casablanca label signed the group to their Chocolate
City offshoot, and shortly after that, the group changed its name to Cameo.
Their excellent debut album, 1977's Cardiac Arrest, was highlighted by four
singles. Three of those hit the Billboard R&B chart: "Rigor Mortis" (number 33),
"Funk Funk" (number 20), and "Post Mortem" (number 70). Although the group was
clearly inspired by elder funk groups like Parliament, Funkadelic, and the Ohio
Players, Cardiac Arrest made Cameo's case for belonging in the same division an
open-and-shut one.

In an attempt to keep the ball rolling, 1978 saw the release of Cameo's second
and third albums. Neither We All Know Who We Are nor Ugly Ego were as solid as
the debut, but the group's singular characteristics were becoming increasingly
evident. The winding, horn-punctuated "It's Serious" (from We All Know Who We
Are) narrowly missed the Top 20 of the R&B chart, while "Insane" (from Ugly Ego)
dipped just inside it, peaking at number 17. The best halves of these two albums
would've made a fine sophomore LP.

1979's Secret Omen, featuring a disco-fied re-visiting of Cardiac Arrest's "Find
My Way" and the magnificently funky and slightly loony "I Just Want to Be" (a
number-three R&B chart hit), was stacked with fine album cuts and brought Cameo
back as a group that excelled in the LP format. "Sparkle" was one of their best
ballads, a sinewy number that hit the Top Ten. Five albums released between 1980
and 1983 (Cameosis, Feel Me, Knights of the Sound Table, Alligator Woman, Style)
brought about a slight dip in quality on the album front. Despite an abundance
of filler on each record, none of those albums were strict disappointments,
delivering hot Top 20 R&B singles like "Shake Your Pants," "We're Goin' Out
Tonight," "Keep It Hot," "Freaky Dancin'" "Just Be Yourself," "Flirt," and
"Style."

One of the most significant ripples in Cameo's time line came during that
period, in 1982, when they packed up and set up shop in Atlanta. Pared down to a
quintet and located in a less hectic city, the group became bigger fish in a
smaller pond. Blackmon even started his own label, Atlanta Artist. The label's
first LP, Style, also marked a significant shift in sound, with synthesizers
taking on a pronounced role. Paydirt was struck with 1984's She's Strange; the
title cut, a late-night slithery smolder, topped the R&B chart and eclipsed the
Top 50 of the pop chart, kicking off a remarkable three-album run that made
Cameo one of the most popular groups of the '80s. Single Life and Word Up!,
released respectively in 1985 and 1986, continued the hot streak. The singles
from those two albums -- "Attack Me With Your Love," "Single Life," "Word Up,"
"Candy," and "Back and Forth" -- held down the Top Five plateau of the R&B
chart. "Word Up" even went to number six on the pop chart, giving them their
biggest bite of the mainstream. The song was everywhere.

What goes up must come down, and that's exactly what happened to Cameo. Despite
the fact that two more singles -- "Skin I'm In" and "I Want It Now" -- scaled up
to number five on the R&B chart, neither Machismo nor Real Men Wear Black
performed well as albums. After 1991's Emotional Violence, the group's profile
was lowered significantly, but they did tour sporadically to the delight of
hardcore fans as well as plenty of misguided people who thought Cameo was all
about "Word Up" and nothing more. Notably, Blackmon spent a few years of the
'90s at Warner Bros., as the vice president of A&R.

Cameo's presence continued to be felt throughout the early 2000s, not only
through extensive sample use and less tangible influences upon younger artists
and producers. Several retrospectives have kept the group's music alive:
Casablanca's 1993 compilation The Best of Cameo is an excellent point of entry.
Mercury's 12" Collection & More, released in 1999, covers the group's best
dancefloor moments. 2002's spectacular Anthology, a double-disc set also
released by Mercury, covers a lot of ground and does the group justice as a
total package. © Andy Kellman



Cameo - Fresh Takes.rar - 273.6 MB

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