LP Review: Chaka Khan
Released: 1982
LP Charts: #5 R&B, #52 pop
Between her solo material and working with Rufus, this was Chaka Khan’s sixth album in three years. Guess that explains the lazy, eponymous route taken with the album title.’
Titular thoughts aside, Chaka Khan finds the singer leaving behind the sounds of the 70s that had brought her so much success. After all, this album was recorded in 1982 and released at the end of the year. It would make most of its hay in 1983, so it was not surprising to find a musician utilizing less horns, less strings and more synths.
Overall, I find the album solid, if not particularly remarkable. No song here is a certified classic, but there is also only one song that I’d consider filler. Ironically, it the filler was “Got to Be There”, which was the album’s big single reaching #5 R&B. Honestly, the smooth ballad feels out of place alongside the other songs, which are all much funkier.
The two songs I would have eyeballed as singles material were “Slow Dancin’” and “Pass It On (Sure Thing)”.
“Slow Dancin’” may have not gotten the green light as a single because it’s a duet featuring Motown superstar Rick James. I don’t know if this is the case here, but oftentimes competing record labels wouldn’t allow their artists to be featured on any single releases.
A real shame cuz “Slow Dancin’” is the best song on the album as it wallowed in the sleaziest funk imaginable. The sloppy guitar and sludgy bass and synths grind along with Khan’s and James’s drawn out vocal deliveries.
Meanwhile, “Pass It On” was written by longtime Khan friends and Rufus members Tony Maiden and Lalomie Washburn. It is a delightfully fun dance-funk number.
As I mentioned already, this album is chock full of other good stuff, though.
The opening “Tearin’ It Up” sets the funky synth table up quite nicely. “Best In The West” is absolute silliness with a fiddle messin’ around alongside the electrified funk. Also, Khan puts on some faux country accents as she sings the verses. “Be Bop Medley” finds Khan funkdafying a slew of classic jazz songs instead of trying to sing them as straight jazz.
“Twisted” is a pretty righteous synth-funk rocker. Wish the guitar was made a little more prominent. The song would have reached its full potential then. As it stands, the song is still highly recommended.
“So Not to Worry” is a ballad that sounds at home with the rest of the album, unlike “Got to Be There”. It’s still somewhat light weight, though. The ending minute is gorgeous interplay of Khan’s voice with a piano that can’t be beat.
ALBUM GRADE: B
No song here breaks any new ground, but it’s incredibly competent. Maybe Khan viewed that as a problem since her next album would be radically different… for better and for worse.
Song Scores
Tearin' It Up: 7/10
Slow Dancin': 8/10
Best In The West: 7/10
Got to Be There: 6/10
Be Bop Medley: 7/10
Twisted: 7.5/10
So Not to Worry: 7/10
Pass It On (A Sure Thing): 7.5/10