Thriller!

This long out-of-print Cold Blood album (previously only available on CD as a Japanese import) is the most often requested by fans. On it, Lydia Pense and other members of Cold Blood cover Stevie Wonder's "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life," the Band's "Sleeping," Boz Scaggs' "I'll Be Long Gone" and Bill Withers' "Kissing My Love." When originally released in 1973,

Cold Blood: Rod Ellicott (bass guitar); Max Haskett, Michael Sasaki, Raul Matute, Peter Welker, Skip Mesquite, Lydia Pense, Gaylord Birch.

Personnel: Skip Mesquite (vocals, flute, tenor saxophone, wind, background vocals); Max Haskett (vocals, trumpet, background vocals); Holly Tigard, The Pointer Sisters (vocals, background vocals); Lydia Pense (vocals); Michael Sasaki (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Paul Cannon, Larry Fields (guitar); Mel Martin (flute, saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Bob Ferreira (flute, tenor saxophone, wind); Bill Atwood (flute, trumpet, flugelhorn); Bennie Maupin (bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, wind); Michael Andreas (saxophone, tenor saxophone); Peter Welker (trumpet, flugelhorn); John Mewborn (trumpet, valve trombone); Rigby Powell (trumpet); Pat O'Hara (trombone); John Newborn (horns); Raul Matute (keyboards); Gaylord Birch (drums).

Additional personnel: The Pointer Sisters.

Audio Mixer: David Rubinson.

Recording information: Funky Features, San Francisco, CA; Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, CA.

Arrangers: Cold Blood; John Mewborn; Adam's Dad.

Thriller! -- Cold Blood's fourth LP -- is a continuation on the brass-intensive funky R&B that drove their previous efforts. In contrast to those discs, however, there is very little in the way of original material here, the singular exception being Max Haskett's rollicking "Live Your Dream," which features the Pointer Sisters on backing vocals. This was not the first collaborative effort between the two either, as the vocal trio had also made a few notable contributions to the Sisyphus album. One of the primary distinctions between Cold Blood and their Bay Area contemporaries the Tower of Power is lead vocalist Lydia Pense. She has developed from simply belting out the blues -- ? la Janis Joplin -- to becoming an increasingly sensitive lyrical interpreter without diminishing her prowess or guttural growl. One prime example is her ease and agility on the cover of Stevie Wonder's "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" -- which likewise includes some of the finest and most tasteful contributions from the horn section. The same can also be said of their cover of the Band's "Sleeping" -- retaining much of the same charm as the original. Cold Blood contrasts the mellow with a few loud funkified fusion numbers, such as the lead track, "Baby I Love You," and "Kissing My Love" -- which hearkens directly back to the double-jointed rhythms found in the band's eponymously titled debut album. Another highlight is Raul Matute's Hammond-organ on the classic blues "Feel So Bad" -- which is similar to Ray Charles' original reading. ~ Lindsay Planer

Genre:

• CD Pop / Rock

Labels:

• Collectables Records

Music Categories:

• CD R&B: Funk

Product Groupings:

• Collectables Records - Audio CDs