"It's all about you, every day-every way. It's all about you, you got it going on..." It's All About You - Intro
I have finally risen from the slumber that I was under for the past few days. You should have seen me trying to get my tail off the bed to go to work, not a pretty site trust me. Monday was a complete write off from the craziness of the weekend. I had emails and a couple of personal phone calls asking for Monday Madness. SO SORRY!!! I was surely out of commission and there was nothing that this brain of mine was going to put together that made any sense once so ever. I mean come on, I didn't even spell "site" properly.
So today, I have decided to hit my page up with something I have not done in a hot minute- the album of the week! This album came to me because right now, I am in the midst of transferring my CD collection of over a thousand CD's, to my little ol' MacBook (or as I call her affectionately, Ivory). A woman has to have her music with her at all times, especially this woman! I have already started this arduous task and now and then I fall on some albums that I have not come across in a long time. Some I have to shuck off the dust particles and hug (my cd's are my CHILDREN! Those who know me, know this!) and some are just mainstays, staples if you will. One of my staples that I must admit I have not played in a long time is:
Dear lord, I LOVE me some Intro like a huge Junior's Cheesecake Cherry Pie!! I remember the first time I heard that voice. Kenny Greene's voice is one that cannot be mistaken at all, especially when accompanied with Clinton "Buddy" Wike and and Jeff Saunders. This is yet another album that came into play in my friendship of 15 years with my one of my sista-friends. All we did was talk about Intro the night we both soaked it in. She introduced me to the group and it was as they say, all she wrote after that. This here, is an instant classic in my book.
Intro kept it real, there cannot be any arguments about that. All of their songs were about love; well written and carefully executed. Kenny was the writer, the instrument, the voice along with Eddie F being the producer. Collectively, the group sang about the many facets of love-"why don't you love me anymore" love ("Why Don't You Love Me"), "baby I am horny and need your love" love ("Come Inside") and "sexy, sensual, I want you" love ("Ecstasy of Love"). Where there was love, there was Intro. The album Intro is another album that I can say I play from beginning to end, without flinching. Sometimes even daring to ruin the flow and press repeat on a song or two. With the album starting off on the tune of "Love Thang", you have no choice but to bounce. Only to follow with "Let Me Be", both samples brining you back to the good times in hip hop with Brand Nubian and Ed O.G. and Da Bulldogs and even further back to the originals...however you can do some homework, I can't give everything away. Song after song, it got better and better. Especially once you reached the slow grooves on the tape beginning with the cover of Stevie Wonder's "Ribbon In The Sky". If you have not heard this cover as yet, please do yourself a favor and hunt it down. Some things are best to be left alone, but this one is not to be looked over. To hear Kenny pleading to his loved one not to leave him on "Don't Leave Me" had me wanting to console him, until I realized he was thoroughly over her on "Come Inside". This song had EVERYONE buzzing back in the day, it was the backbone to every Quiet Storm cassette! Ending the tape with "So Many Reasons" was just genius. UNTIL I realized I was loosing out because I did not have the CD. You see, the advantage to having the cassette, was the fact that the album was split in half. Uptempo on one side and slow grooves on the other. Having known that, I bought the tape. But when I became aware that I was missing out on the bonus track, you know I had to run out and get the CD. Of course, the bonus track "Ecstasy Of Love" ended up becoming my favorite track on the album. Sexy, alluring, and all that yearning bottled up in one song. Just one listen and you will understand.
Kenny was an amazing writer, check out "Love No Limit" or "Reminisce" by Mary J Blige, or better yet both Intro albums. My heart skipped a beat the day I heard that Kenny "G-Love" Greene was taken from us by AIDS. We lost a gifted writer and singer and I thought at the time, that we lost Intro too. Jeff and Buddy are still doing the do and I happened to fall on their MySpace pages, only to learn that Intro (with new lead Kermit Quinn II) is going to be releasing a new album this year. I am not sure if this is going to be a good idea, since Intro was primarily Kenny's voice and that is the sound we know. I believe that is a lot of pressure for the new lead, however I will of course take a listen to see what they will offer. I mean, Quinn was previously a part of Blackstreet so it can't be all bad. I am eager to hear what will be released, they know they have a reputation to uphold so I am hoping they will come correct. I couldn't find anything for Buddy, but you can find Jeff's page here and Quinn's here. And do know that I will be touching on their second album soon!
Flashback for the day: Well, this was hard! I love every song on this album and there is no video for my favorite track. So I will go with the intro (no pun intended):
Have a good weekend y'all...
Tha Connoisseur
