Najee said:

You know this is one of my favorite old school bands to see live....along with the Time,,classic music

man, Golden Time of Day is just transcendent! Happy Feelings is INCREDIBLE too. While I'm Alone is another fave. Classic group!

popgodazipa said:

To me, Maze feat. Frankie Beverly's music is perfect for summer concerts and days at the park -- which is why their concert tours were so well-received over the years. That laid-back, casual vibe came across on the following songs:

* "Happy Feelings"
* "Golden Time of the Day"
* "I Wanna Thank You"
* "We Are One"
* "Never Let You Down"
* "Feel What You're Feelin'"
* "Southern Girl"
* "Joy and Pain"
* "Before I Let Go"

I saw them in concert where they were an opening act for Luther Vandross, and they rocked the stage for nearly two hours. They blew Vandross out of the water, who left after only 45 minutes.
[Edited 8/1/07 21:17pm]

The dudes are the ultimate "family reunion" band. You can play anything be them at the reunion.

Laid Back Classic Funk Masters!!! These guys are awsome live!

"The Look In Your Eyes" (from the 1980 'Joy and Pain' album)

Ah, them mellow soul funkers are

Time Is On My Side
[Edited 8/2/07 0:26am]

I LOVE Maze!!!
Especially the 2 livealbums they did.
"The look in your eyes" from "Live in New Orleans" is my fave.
/peace Manki

SoulAlive said:

my all time fave

...


My favorites:

Feel That You're Feeling

Before I let Go

The Look In Your Eyes

Happy Feelings

Family

Reason

Happiness

Golden Time Of Day

Magic

Lady Of Magic

We Need Love To Live

I Wish You Well

We Are One

When You Love Somebody


...

One question: When will Frankie just stop frontin and call them "Maze" and nothing else?

MuthaFunka said:

That won't happen due to these 3 letter EGO.

MsLegs said:

Well


It is his band

He's the chief songwriter/producer and airthang

funkpill said:

Corrections: He's the ONLY songwriter

funkpill said:

Hey whatever floats his boat. Of course some forget that before he stepped in as principle writer, his band use to be Marvin Gaye band before Marvin passed. This is why they dedicated the song to Marvin called Silky Soul Singer in his honor.
[Edited 8/2/07 9:22am]

MsLegs said:

MuthaFunka said:

MsLegs said:

Well

Marvin helped them get a record deal

Let them stay at his home, when they were struggling

In fact, Marvin suggested that they change their name.

They were orignally known as Raw Soul

Frankie stated that he was always appreciative of Marvin

They were well established when Marvin died tho'

funkpill said:

Marvin putt'em on the map w/the work they did with him on the road and in the lab.

MsLegs said:

Yeah, I read somewhere brother be on that Marvin Gaye song shit "Ego Trippin' Out."

They said he was doing a show with either Charlie Wilsion or the Gap Band (I forget) and he was supposed to be the openner. He said, "I ain't openning no show" so Charlie or the Gap Band openned up isstead.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

yeah....

heard about that

he regretted it because Charlie torn the place up from what i heard

Maze is a timeless band just like the isleys and ewf. It is amazing these
guys haven't recorded a studio album since 1993 and still get much love when
they tour. The majority of their albums have quietly gone gold or platinum.
Some of my favorites are running away, joy and pain, before i let go, happy feelin, changing times, after the morning, laid back girl.

MsLegs said:

Maze featuring Frankie Beverly was formed years before Beverly met Marvin Gaye (the group was founded in Philadelphia and recorded three singles for Philly's small Gregar label before moving to San Francisco in 1971), who helped the band get a recording contract with Capitol in the mid-1970s and recommended the band change its name from Raw Soul.

For all intents and purposes, Beverly is the concept and visionary for the group, similar to how George Clinton is the vehicle through whom Parliament/Funkadelic breathed. The charismatic Beverly not only founded the group and is the lead singer, but is its primary producer and songwriter.

Thank God GC wasn't ego-trippin' to call it Parliament Featuring George Clinton.

MuthaFunka said:

No, George Clinton ego-tripped by coming up with different personas for himself, while basing every song on himself and essentially signing the same concept and members to various record labels.
[Edited 8/2/07 16:24pm]

Najee said:

Personas are at least under the guise of fun and creativity (Shock G/Humpty Hump, Garth Brooks/Chris Gaines, Prince/Camille/Alexander Nevermind). That's a lot better than naming a group and then adding yourself as a "feature".

MuthaFunka said:

I always got the impression that it was Capitol Records that started marketing the group as "Maze featuring Frankie Beverly." After all, the group's previous name was Raw Soul and Beverly's name was not attached to the end of it. On their self-titled debut album and follow-up albums, Beverly's name is in small type or not even tied in with the name "Maze:"













In fact, some of Maze's albums such as "Golden Time of Day" and "Joy and Pain" didn't even have "featuring Frankie Beverly" attached to Maze's name. Also, in the interviews I've heard Beverly and crew talk they never identified themselves as "Maze featuring Frankie Beverly" as if he separated himself from the group. They generally referred to themselves as "Maze."

Another difference between Beverly and George Clinton is that Clinton was not the only colorful, standout member in the P-Funk mob (see Bennie Worrell, Bootsy Collins). Maze is totally centered around and dependent on Beverly, both from a creative and a visibility standpoint and no one else in the band stands out.
[Edited 8/2/07 19:26pm]