Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Brothers Johnson - Out of Control

This month marks the thirtieth anniversary of Out of Control, the sixth studio album from the Brothers Johnson. George and Louis Johnson split back in 1982 to pursue solo careers but they reunited for this one. The 1984 release went to number 91 on the US Billboard Album chart (with a total of eleven weeks on the chart) and number 20 on the US Billboard R&B chart.


Side one begins with the steady bass groove of “You Keep Me Coming Back”. Released as a single, it went to number 102 on the US Billboard Hot 200, number 77 in the UK, number 22 on the US Billboard Dance chart and number 12 on the US Billboard R&B chart.

“Lovers Forever” is up next. In my opinion, I think this one might have actually made a better single than the album opener. It really fits in perfectly with the rest of the R&B dance tunes from that year.

“Do You” keeps the party going with a bouncy mid-tempo tune.

Next up is the duet “Let’s Try Love Again”. I tried to find out who the female lead was on this ballad but had no success finding the right name.

The first half closes out with the mid-tempo “I Came Here to Party”.

Side two begins with the title track “Out of Control”. This one has a pounding beat to it that I imagine would have really rocked the clubs back in the day.

“Save Me” pulls things back a bit with a smooth groove behind in an impassioned plea.

The guys slip in an instrumental track next with “Tokyo”. It has a light, jazz feel to it, complete with a fluttering flute and sweet horns.

The next track is “Dazed”. Sorry for no specific comments; it was the one track I could not locate online to listen to.

The record closes with the ballad “It’s All Over Now”.

The Brothers Johnson‘s Out of Control is apparently also “out of print”. Besides the original vinyl edition in 1984, it was only ever released on CD in 2008 and that was a limited edition in the UK only. I had to go over to YouTube to listen to most of these tracks for the review. Overall, I would have to give this one a mid-range grade; it was okay with a few standout tracks.

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