Come Into Our World: Expanded Edition

Queens of disco and light R&B, the Emotions are now best remembered for their 1977 hit "Best of My Love." But history has cruelly made one-hit wonders of a group who played their career out over two decades and seldom disappointed the listener. 1979's Come Into Our World, their sixth album to enter the R&B charts, appeared just six months after they were on the top with "Boogie Wonderland," their collaboration with Earth, Wind & Fire. It was a provocative invitation. Still produced by that band's Maurice White (who first worked with them as the Sunbeams in the 1960s and snapped them up in the wake of the Stax label's demise), and backed at various times by further members of Earth, Wind & Fire (Verdine White's bass is unmistakable), the Emotions were churning out up-tempo, feel-good dance classics like there was no tomorrow. White co-wrote three songs, including the LP's only hit, "What's the Name of Your Love?," which combines snappy horns with breathless lyrics and is peppered throughout with very Moroder-esque Euro disco overtones. It is the strongest, if most predictable, track on the album, but a close runner-up emerges in "I Should Be Dancing." Elsewhere, "Layed Back" sports an elastic bass and brass, while a sweet little ballad percolates through "On & On." Indeed, while there is nothing staggeringly remarkable about any of the songs, the album is so absolutely dominated by good feelings and high spirits, by bright arrangements and light harmonies, that it's impossible not to join in the fun. ~ Amy Hanson|