This brings back memories...
I remember the 80's well. Call me a dweller in the past. But that is just the way it works. I became fan of loads of people in the 80's and then worked my way back.

This song, as well as Word Up remix have a special place in my heart...
Cameo's Word Up was the first Cameo 12" I bought and Candy came soon after. I used to have it on a tape with loads of Prince, The Cure and Depeche Mode and somehow it fitted perfectly.

Now I type this I remember also there was a time Dutch radio was not commercial and it would be normal to play Van Halen back to back with Michael jackson and it would somehow fit. It exposed me to so many different musical styles.
These days you have commercial stations that just play ONE brand of music.

So boring...but this remix.... beautiful!

What about just "Candy"?

CinisterCee said:

I love that too. But the remix has some of those 80's remix sound samples tha tmake it more dated then Candy itself... I love both.
I love Candy over Word up, actually.

HamsterHuey said:

Definitely, same here.

CinisterCee said:

Plus I used to shag on that remix. It was on my 'shagtape'. So special memories there, hehehe.

Love this song, despite the fact that Blackmon allowed Mariah to rape the hell out of it for that terrible "song" a few years back.

RipHer2Shreds said:

Glad I missed that.

RipHer2Shreds said:

When he invites me over
I come every tiiiime

CinisterCee said:

lol Please, Cee...don't tell me you like that.

CinisterCee said:

Sounds like it should be on my shag-tape.

HamsterHuey said:

Then you'd love the Janet J Nasty Remix then. I am not a fan of the 80's style hiccups and cuts...but that's me.

I love Candy better than word up (though I haven't heard both in such a long time). And I love SHe's Strange (and I like it).

Being a life long time fan of Cameo, "Candy" is a great funk/rock/pop song that only Cameo could do. It's basically what The Ohio Players did with their hits back in the 70's ; "Fire" "Love Rollercoaster". Love the lead guitar from Singelton. As usual, great bass guitar, great hook. I was happy for Cameo when they released the "Word Up" album. They were all over the radio.

blackguitaristz said:

In Europe the only time ever, I think...

As much as I love Cameo, "Candy" and "Back and Forth" are two of my least favorites. Too midtempo and too crossover sounding.

vainandy said:

Hehehe. True, but in my eyes that is not bad. To each their own, right? I have worked my way back and have loads of older stuff too. I agree on this being hella commercial.

But I still love these tracks.

blackguitaristz said:

Are you sure that's Charlie on that particular track? All along I thought that it was session ace Pat Buchanan who played the solo. I have an old guitar world magazine profile where pat talks about recording and touring with Cameo.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I though that Charlie Singleton was not involved in the recording of the "Word up" album. I'll have to dig out the cd & check the liner notes.


-K-

vainandy said:

That's interetsing since "Word Up" was the big crossover hit and "Back And Forth" wasn't. "Candy" was somewhere in the middle--#21 pop, I think.

kstrat said:

I thoroughly enjoyed the song "Word Up", especially the 12 Inch. It sounded plenty funky to me. I guess it's just one of those songs that pop picked up on. After midtempo songs like "She's Strange", I gladly welcomed the song "Word Up". After hearing some of the other tracks, I only bought the 12 Inch and stayed clear from the album.

I bought the next album, "Machismo" because I thoroughly enjoyed the song "You Make Me Work". I was disappointed with the rest of the album because there were too many midtempo songs on it. Hard funk jams were becoming a rare thing in the late 1980s.