LP Review: Bustin' Out of L Seven
Released: 1979
Rick James’s sophomore album was inexplicably a huge hit on the R&B charts. Bustin’ Out of L Seven ain’t good, but nonetheless spent six weeks at #2 on the R&B album charts. Well, wouldn’t be the first time that a big catchy single propped up a mediocre album… except this LP had no monster hit single to propel it up the charts.
I dunno, guess you had to be there.
Maybe folks loved the album art?
Anyhoo, the quasi title track, “Bustin’ Out (On Funk)”, finds James once again aping the P-Funk sound this time complete with a Fred Wesley-style trombone solo. Honestly, I think this track works better as an instrumental than with the vocals, which are somewhat distracting. And lucky for us Motown did release an expanded edition of this album that has an instrumental version of this song!
Vocals or not, “Bustin’ Out” manages to have a good enough time and was a modest success as a single (#8 R&B, #71 pop).
“High On Your Love Suite / One Mo Hit (Of Your Love)” is a busy workout that’s a bit too busy trying to recycle the magic of “You And I” from the previous album. James then tries to recreate another track from his debut (“Dream Maker”) on “Spacey Love”, which also had the harmless “Love Interlude” as its introduction. The results once again don’t match the source material.
Well, the first half of the album was disappointing. What about Side 2?
Well, things thankfully lead off with some more original material with “Cop ‘N’ Blow”. I mean it still takes cues from Bootsy Collins and the Ohio Players, but it sounds fresher than the previous two songs. Also features a decent final two minutes that highlight the percussion.
Well, that brief optimism fades away quickly on “Jefferson Ball”. That song is a travesty and totally unlistenable 7:20 ballad.
If you haven’t given up yet, the album closer “Fool on the Street” turns out to be the best song on the album… if it had been able to cohere together better. There’s some jazz-fusion flourishes that elevate the song, but once again the backing vocals are often annoying and detract from the situation.
ALBUM GRADE: D+
The funk jams don’t quite hold together as well as they should and the ballads suck. Supremely disappointing sophomore effort from Rick James. This would be a C maybe a C+ album if not for the total sinkhole that was “Jefferson Ball”.
Song Scores
Bustin’ Out (On Funk): 7/10
High On Your Love Suite / One Mo Hit (Of Your Love): 6/10
Spacey Love: 4/10
Cop ‘N’ Blow: 6.5/10
Jefferson Ball: 0/10
Fool on the Street: 6.5/10