Description
Widely and rightly regarded as one of the best ever soul and funk bands, the now legendary Average White Band toreup the rule book and conquered the US, UK amp International charts with a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980. AWBrsquos repertoire has been a source of inspiration and influence for many RampB acts and they are one of the most sampled bands in history, remaining relevant today, continuing to reach new generations of younger audiences. Snoop Dogg, Fatboy Slim, Ice Cube, Puff Daddy, TLC, Rick Ross, will.i.am and Mark Ronson amongst countless others, have all borrowed sections of their grooves. After the success of 1979rsquos lsquoFeel No Fretrsquo, the band went into the studio record their next album and in 1980, lsquoShinersquo was released with the worldwide Chart and Club hit lsquoLetrsquos Go lsquoRound Againrsquo, reaching 14 in the UK Albums Chart. However, there was a backstory behind the albumrsquos release, which Alan Gorrie and Hamish Stuart have annotated in the LP notes. To celebrate the 40th Anniversary of lsquoShinersquo, AWB past and present have reconfigured the album as they had originally intended, bringing in the four tracks that they had to lsquoleaversquo behind when they changed record labels. In addition, due to separate behind the scenes situations, two further tracks were unable to be included on the album and remained unreleased until this century. lsquoOn The Strip ndash The Sunset Sessionsrsquo is what lsquoShinersquo could have been a slightly longer 2LP set, heralding in the new decade.nbspThe album includes the singles lsquoLetrsquos Go lsquoRound Againrsquo and lsquoFor You, For Loversquo, as well as lsquoWhatcharsquo Gonna Do For Mersquo, which later become synonymous with Chaka Khan, who recorded it the following year, having sung on an earlytake for AWB, when they were recording the album. lsquoMiss Sunrsquo makes it longawaited inclusion on the album for which it had been recorded until fate dealt another hand, with permission being withheld then appearing as the lead track on Boz Scaggsrsquo lsquoHitsrsquo LP reaching 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. 40 years on, Average White Band still lsquoshinersquo brightly and remain highly influential for todayrsquos groovemerchants and EDM DJs.
