Take A Bite

見事なまでのR&B／ジャズ／ソウルのクロスオーヴァー・サウンドを聴かせるマリーナ・ショウの、コロムビア・レーベルからの最終リリースとなった1979年発表のサード・アルバム『Take A Bite』。A面相当の前半6曲にはダイアナ・ロスの「Touch Me In The Morning」やグラディス・ナイトの「Love Dancin'」、そしてアイザック・へイズ作曲の「I Thank You」など人気曲のカヴァーを交えたダンサブルなディスコ・ナンバーをメドレーで配したユニークな構成となっている。プロデューサーには、ディスコ人気隆盛期を支えたミーコ・メナルドやトニー・ボンジョーヴィの名が並ぶほか、アレンジャーとしても携わったハロルド・ウィーラーも参加している。ボーナス・トラックには、「Love Dancin'」「Touch Me In The Morning」の2曲の12インチ・シングル・ミックスを追加収録。

Like Dee Dee Bridgewater, Marlena Shaw started out as a jazz singer but made a long detour into R&B before returning to her straightahead jazz roots. Take a Bite was among the albums that Shaw recorded during her R&B period, and this 1979 LP is her most disco-friendly release. 1979, of course, was the perfect time for her to be disco-friendly -- that was the year that gave us classics like Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive," Donna Summer's "Bad Girls" and Chic's "Good Times." Many of the soul and disco enthusiasts who bought this record didn't associate Shaw with Count Basie, but the jazz world did -- and not surprisingly, myopic jazz snobs believed that Shaw had committed heresy, treason and blasphemy by embracing disco. Some of them probably thought that an exorcism was in order. But truth be told, Take a Bite is nothing for the former Basie vocalist to be ashamed of. This LP shouldn't be judged by jazz standards because it doesn't pretend to be jazz; it is, however, an enjoyable disco/soul outing. Shaw takes dead aim at the dance floor with "Suite Seventeen," an extended disco medley that takes up all of Side 1. "It Was a Very Good Year" is the medley's main song, although "Suite Seventeen" also includes everything from Diana Ross' "Touch Me in the Morning" to Sam & Dave's "I Thank You"." A gem that was defined by Frank Sinatra, "It Was a Very Good Year" started out as a traditional pop ballad but works surprisingly well as uptempo disco. Side 2, meanwhile, makes some dance-floor moves but also contains a gospel-drenched soul ballad titled "I'll Be Your Friend." Take a Bite isn't among Shaw's essential albums, but it's a decent record that fans of late '70s disco will appreciate. ~ Alex Henderson