Search - Sheila, B. Devotion :: King of the World

A strange combo

Zachary Guzman | 06/13/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is the album that I had been curious about for a long time. The original cd of this album has been out of print for a while and hard to find. If it is found, a fortune would have to be paid for it, but now, I finally have this album on cd. Was it worth the wait? Yes, especially if you're into Chic the way I am. Unfortunately, it's Sheila who performs the lead vocals and I have the feeling the beautiful Parisian didn't understand a lot of the lyrics she was singing. She's in tune, for the most part, but she's just not very soulful. On the other hand, when it comes to the intrumentation, you won't find a tighter group of players. Chic frontmen Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers head the very talented group of musicians on this album and rock out a bit more than usual. There's still tracks on here that have more of the traditional Chic sound. "Your love is good" is probably one of the best examples. I have the sneaking suspicion this song was originally intended for Diana Ross's "diana" album, which came out the same year. It's sounds very similar to Ross's "Tenderness." The most intriguing song on here would have to be "Spacer", which was a hit in Europe. The beat is more rock than soul and Sheila's offbeat vocal delivery works best on this track. Nile Rodgers aggressive guitar work on "Charge plates and credit cards" is a lot of fun and really propels the song. And of course, all throughout the tracks we have Bernard Edwards very fluid bass playing and Tony Thompson's solid drumming.

Pick this cd up. The transfer sounds great and if you're a Chic fan, this will keep you happy."

Out at last!!!!

A. Griffiths | London | 07/27/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Wow, is this finally out again on CD? Thank god for that, that means no more scouring eBay for over-priced rare original releases. So what's it like, you're asking? Well, don't get your hopes up.



If there are any other CHIC-produced disco anthems as good as "Spacer", chances are you already have them. "Spacer" is in a league of it's own, though, an ultra-smooth disco work-out, made unforgettable by it's being unusually gentler than other disco songs of the period. But what a rhythm...it grabs you right after the twinkling intro finishes and never lets up for it's full 6 minutes. The song had drifted in and out of being "cool" over the decades since it first came out, but now I think it can safely be logged as one of disco's finest. Some people don't like the vocal performance be Sheila herself, in fact I've seen reviews on CHIC-related topics that refer to her rather meanly as the "disco robot". Well, I think she has a lot of charm and don't forget she is singing in a second language. Her pronunciation of "I'm so lucky!" gets me every time - plus she was simply stunning as well, one of France's most beguiling singing stars of the 1970's.



Well, that's enough about "Spacer", what about the rest of it? Well I'm afraid that's the problem because the rest of this CD is bland, bland, bland! There are really only two other good tracks: "Mayday", is the funniest, a chugging dance workout that seems to be about impotence, and is full of the funniest puns I have ever heard in music lyrics "You can't raise your landing gear"...arf arf! It also has a great guitar solo, but what's this..."Mayday" only just scrapes over 3 minutes in length? What a waste. The same problem comes with the other good track, "King of the World". This track makes good use of its racing driver theme, with some very clever rhyming and a good catchy tune, but as the second biggest draw on the album (it was the follow-up single to "Spacer"), it is a let down at just over four minutes.

The rest of the 5 songs are extremely formulaic CHIC disco-by-numbers with really weak tunes and hackneyed lyrics. I like Sheila's voice, but it would take a skilled vocalist indeed to turn the repeating of "Don't go, I love you so.." thirty times over into something exciting.



It's also extremely short, and without bonus tracks you are looking at barely half an hours worth of music. If I had paid big-bucks for this on eBay I would be kicking myself, but at a proper price like this, it's worth buying for the perfection of "Spacer", and the other two good songs. The rest are sadly instantly disposable."