The Salsoul Albums Clamshell Box

A four-disc boxed set from the Robinsongs label, this bundles Skyys first seven (of ten) albums and adds a half-dozen mostly contemporaneous 12" and 7" mixes. Several anthologies have attempted to tell the New York bands story with one or two discs. This is by far the closest their catalog has gotten to comprehensive treatment despite stopping short of the 1986-1992 material recorded for Capitol and Atlantic. Assembled and produced by low-profile funk legend Randy Muller (Brass Construction, B.T. Express), Skyy smoothly navigated the transition from latter-day disco to the post-disco era with funk and pop appeal always in the mix. Their sound was just as much defined by the sweet and seductive vocals of sisters Denise, Delores, and Bonny Dunning, and the full-throated growls of Solomon Roberts, Jr., also the bands co-producer. Although they didnt make a certifiable classic album, Skyy reached gold status with 1981s Skyy Line, featuring the man-stealing anthem "Call Me" (a number one R&B hit that also went Top 40 pop), the free-spirited "Lets Celebrate," and the Rose Royce-level ballad "When You Touch Me." Almost all of the other Salsoul LPs were good for one or two indispensable singles like the sultry "First Time Around" and grade-A boogie gems such as "High," "Heres to You," and "Show Me the Way." The bonus track that most warrants repeat play is easily the Larry Levan remix of "First Time Around," essentially a demonstration record for the Syndrum, what with its laser sound effect-like zaps ricocheting all across the track. Thorough liner notes trace and contextualize the bands history with sourced quotes from Muller and the Dunnings. ~ Andy Kellman