Pleased by Rufus' version of his song, Wonder wrote them their first hit single: the deliberate, funky "Tell Me "Whoever's Thrilling You (Is Killing Me)"), but there's just not a lot "Slip 'N Slide" has some wild-eyed, boogie-woogie camp value,Īnd in a couple places they support Khan with some legitimate,Įntertaining funk (Ciner's "Feel Good") and soul (Allen Toussaint's One You're With/Sit Yourself Down" medley), and Ashford & Simpson (a respectable "Keep ItĬomin'"). ![]() Like Steve Stills (a really miserable "Love The Painful ballad "Haulin' Coal"), leaving her to cover tunes by veterans Gets to her own, but Stockert hogs most of the original material (his Khan'sĭevastating vocal talent is quite apparent on the half-dozen songs she Stockert is terrible - he's like someone of Leon Russell's caliber trying hard to rip off Elton, butįalling back on standard American pop conventions instead. he has a nice guitar tone but no new ideas, just imitating Ray Parker's original solo. Fortunately, Chaka really cuts loose on her features, including a cover of Stevie Wonder's "Maybe Your Baby." Ciner overplays on that one As a performerĪnd composer he's a third-rate Elton John - either "Your Song"-type ballads ("There's No Tellin'") or fakeĬhurchy rave-ups (the piano-led "Slip 'N Slide"). At this point Rufus was mostly Ron Stockert's band he wrote almost all the originals here, and sings a bunch of leads. Belfield left 1974, replaced by BobbyĬiner left 1974, replaced by Tony Maiden. Stella, Weeks, McWilliams, Graziano and Colbert all leftīy 1973, replaced by Dennis Belfield, bass Chaka Khan, vocals Ron Stockert, vocals, keyboards And her fine autobiography is reviewed on ourĬhuck Colbert, ? Paulette McWilliams, vocals Willie Weeks,īass James Stella, vocals. Which is the envy of all the nattering nabobs of online negativity. I saw Khan in concert in 1998, and reviewed the show on our page of concert reviews, Her latest release reverses that trend, and I hope she continues to control her own recordings in the Real peaks and valleys: no one doubts her vocal talent, but since she rarely writes her own material, she's been at the mercy of her Predictably enough, Khan went off on her own in the late 70s, leaving Rufus to languish. In those days, Khan gave herĪll on stage (according to one story, she put so much force into her vocal delivery she once vomited into the crowd) and her unusual phrasing also brought out theĮmotion in slower numbers. ![]() Thankfully, Stockert soon got out of the way, leaving the stage to Khan. Originally founded by refugees from the American Breed (of "Bend Me Shape Me" fame),Īnd then led by soulless popster Ron Stockert, the first couple of Rufus records are mostly unfocusedĪnd unfunky. Multiracial band armed with a batch of compelling tunes and a phenomenal lead singer, Chaka Khan - possibly the most capable ![]() In the early 70s scramble to succeed Sly Stone at the top of the funk genre, Rufus appeared: a
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |