Groove Line Records series of officially licensed disco / funk 12” reissues continues with two incredible cuts from the Nu-Yorican Soul/R&B/Jazz singer-songwriter Angela Bofill – “People Make The World Go ‘Round” and “Under The Moon And Over The Sky.”
“People Make The World Go ‘Round” sees Bofill and her producers at GRP Records (label heads Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen) take Al Bell and Linda Creed’s classic 1972 smash for The Stylistics firmly on to the dance floor. Taken from Bofill’s second LP for GRP, 1979’s Angel Of The Night, Bofill, and pianist/arranger Ray Chew take “People…” into an up-tempo jazz/funk realm, central to which is the propulsive off-beat and dynamic, driving funk bass line. Chew decorates the groove with deft horn, string and keyboard parts that match Bofill’s urgent, forceful interpretation of the lyric, while bright Latin percussion is added to the chorus’s and even more so during the instrumental passage from 1m40s. From there Bofill and her backing singers chime the title refrain over the magnificently named Tinker Barfield’s incessant bass line to the track’s close at just under four and a half minutes.
“Under The Moon And Over The Sky,” the opening track from Bofill’s 1978 debut for GRP, Angie, is an expansive deep jazz composition penned by the singer herself which brings to mind the music of Jon Lucien. Revealing Bofill’s jazz roots this 5m43s track is strongly influenced by her Cuban father’s musical background. Complex percussion and the song’s challenging structure exemplifies Bofill’s song-writing talent. Initially dextrous keyboards and flute drift over the Latin percussion before Bofill delivers her sophisticated, poetic lyric which subtly rises over the arrangement. In the mid-section Bofill shows off another talent, scatting along with the flute and percussion in majestic, shimmering style before bringing the track to a close by revisiting the tile refrain, and leaving the listener breathless.
All Groove Line Records releases are fully licensed and taken from the original master tapes, remastered by Nick Robbins at Sound Mastering, and cut by Matt Colton at Alchemy (Mastering Engineer of the Year 2013). All vinyl is heavy weight 180g manufactured Optimal Media in Germany, one of the world’s finest pressing plants.
Groove Line Records cut no corners when making sure that each and every one of our releases has the highest quality performance possible.
Groove Line Records’ deluxe reissue of “People Make The World Go 'Round & “Under The Moon And Over The Sky” is an essential purchase for any serious Disco, Funk, Soul or Jazz vinyl collector who demands the very best in quality vinyl pressings.