![]() ![]() At least one number had a dose of the funk about it, though, hinting at Rick James, and, ‘Pull my strings’, became a second top ten R&B hit for Lakeside. Less immediate than its predecessor, ‘Rough rider’ (1979), was in retrospect too hastily recorded to follow up on the success of, ‘All the way live’, and there was no obvious contender for a chart entry. That the group were listening carefully across the R & B spectrum is indicated further in the ballad, ‘Give In To Love’, which to these ears owes a large debt to Barry White. Close vocal harmonies are also a feature of ‘One Minute After Midnight’, which acted as a first statement of intent from a self-contained group that did not really conform to what became known as the Solar sound. Groups such as the Ohio Players were adaptable to dance and ballad numbers and this made eminent sense when they were performing live, even if funk fans wanted only the grittier songs. That said, the band were fully capable of a more soulful output and, ‘Hold On Tight’, is a lovely mid-tempo number that borrows from the Earth, Wind and Fire sound prevalent at the time. They debuted with ‘All The Way Live’ (1978) and it was the heavy funk bass line meets space invaders sounds, couple with chanted harmonies that first attracted attention, and on the title track this resulted in an immediate impact, the single climbing all the way into the top five of the R&B chart. Thankfully, Solar records did and the name was reduced further to simply Lakeside. Unfortunately for the band, they were signed at the same time as the Dynamic Superiors who comfortably fitted into the expanded Motown sound of the 1970s and Motown simply did not know what to do with the Ohio band. That name was truncated to Lakeside Express when they signed to Motown in 1975. The group were founded back in 1968 and were called the Ohio Lakeside Express which was quite a mouthful. ![]() In the case of Dayton, Ohio, band Lakeside, however, that groove had a tougher funk-tinged edge and it is their sound between 19 that is the focus of this mini retrospective of the band’s output over a three year period. (It's absolutely insane that Solar never released a double-live Lakeside set.) Shot of Love was the first Lakeside release to boast one of its famous thematic covers this one depicted the funksters as Robin Hood-type archers, whereas on future covers, they'd be everything from pirates (Fantastic Voyage) to jockeys (Keep on Moving Straight Ahead) to genies (Your Wish Is My Command).The Sound of Solar records was a Los Angeles based company co-founded by Dick Griffey and Leon Sylvers (more of the latter in a future review) that came about during the end of the disco era, combining elements of that genre with soulful collective harmonies. A product of Ohio's rich funk scene, Lakeside was so live-oriented that it seemed to hold back a bit in the studio. Enjoyable certainly, but not outstanding. Fueling the success of this album (which first came out on Solar and was reissued on CD by The Right Stuff in 1997) was the gutsy funk smoker "It's All the Way Live," and almost as strong are the infectious title song and the classy soul ballads "Given in to Love" and "Visions of My Mind." But as much as Shot has going for it, the album on the whole isn't outstanding. In 1977, Lakeside came out with an album that didn't go very far, and it was Shot of Love that made the band well known. Shot of Love has often been called Lakeside's debut album, but in fact, it was Lakeside's second.
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