Children Of The Ghetto

A far-reaching 36 track anthology that wraps up (almost) everything one could need to know about the Real Thing, beginning with the nine UK hit singles they scored during their stint with Pye during the late 1970s. Necessarily absent, therefore, are the group's early singles for EMI and Bell, but the appearance of "Watch Out Carolina" and "I Want you Back" is a definite plus -- soon after signing with Pye, the Real Thing came to the attention of the then-red hot David Essex, appearing on several of his period records and stage shows. He repaid them by writing and producing their debut single, available here for the first time in 25 years. From there, Children Of the Ghetto takes a measured journey through all four of the band's albums, generally designed to showcase the vibrant consistency of the Chris and Eddie Amoo songwriting team. Although Real Thing's best remembered numbers tended to be covers (including their ill-starred collaboration with producer Biddu, "Let's Go Disco"), the brothers were responsible for much of the best of Real Thing's output, with eight of their debut's ten tracks restating that disc's long-standing claim to be their finest hour. From 1978's Four From Eight, however, the courageously lengthy (11+ minutes) "Liverpool Medley" readily disputes that belief, while the inclusion of five tracks from the band's disappointing final LP, 1979's Can you Feel the Force, ensures that Children Of the Ghetto at least remains even-handed. Both sides of the group's final sequence of singles, too, make their CD debut and deservedly so. While only "She's A Groovy Freak" charted, both "I Believe In You" and a remake of Johnny Bristol's classic "Love Takes Tears" are well worth hearing. Among the most commonly quoted of Real Thing's achievements is their status as the best-selling Black British band of the late 1970s, a ranking readily documented by the various Real Thing greatest hits collections that have appeared over the years. In displaying also the group's self-contained versatility, and often-heroic bucking of their pop-tinged reputation, Children Of the Ghetto's greatest accomplishment lies in proving that they were so much more than that. ~ Amy Hanson|