The hit:
THE REAL THING
http://www.youtube.com/wa...QUdwySKkXU

CAUGHT UP
http://www.youtube.com/wa...re=related

There's 2 other nice songs that I remember from this album that I cant find on youtube..."Daydreamer Dream" and "Hot Mama."

My question is this..was this album THAT bad? I know that it was considered an artistic/commercial failure but musicaly is it that badf? One thing that attracted me to Prince was how he challenged himself and his audience musically, at all costs. I think the Johnson Brothers did the same thing with this album. No, its not as funky as their other releases but they were experimenting with different things in their sound.
Do you think this album was a success, musically?

I love this album.The brothers produced it themselves,but you can tell that they learned alot from Quincy Jones.The album is very high-quality.Songs like "The Real Thing","Dancin Free","In The Way" ,"Caught Up" and "I Want You" are strong and inspired.On a few tracks,the brothers even rock out a little.

In the summer of 81when this record was released,I remember seeing a promo video for the song "I Want You".I can't find it on Youtube but I do remember seeing it back then.It's a very basic video.That's such a great song that really should have been a big hit.

...

Definitely one of My Favorite Brothers Johnson albums!!! Actually, as an entire album, I like it more than Blam!,

My favorite cuts:

In The Way

Dancing Free

I Want You

Do It For Love

Sunlight

Caught Up





...
[Edited 7/22/09 12:28pm]

"Dancin' Free" was released as the second single.Like the previous year's "Stomp",it's very disco-sounding but funky as well.


"I Want You" is one of the standout tracks.Curiously,this song appeared on the B-side of "The Real Thing" when it really could have been a single in its own right.A promo video was shot but it's not on Youtube.The song takes the brothers into pop/rock territory.I love the way it concludes,with the female vocals at the end.

paligap said:

I think it's quite possibly their most consistent album.It's also the one album where they were able to break out of their funk/R&B comfort zone and rock out a little.

DigitalGardin said:

Musically,I think the album was a success.After four successful albums produced by Quincy Jones,the brothers boldly decided to branch out and produce their own album.They were able to experiment a little,try some new things.Commercially,this album was considered a failure.It was their first album that failed to reach gold status.Regardless,it's an important album in their catalog,for the reasons I mentioned above.

btw,I recently found this album on CD.I also found their 1984 album 'Out Of Control' on CD as well

SoulAlive said:

Kool!! I had the import CD of Winners, but where did you grab "Out Of Control"?




...

paligap said:

www.vinyl-masterpiece.com

Despite their name,they carry CDs too And they still have more copies of 'Out Of Control'.

hey Paligap,does your import CD of 'Winners' contain the bonus track "Let's Swing"? This song originally appeared on the B side of the "Stomp" single.When I ordered 'Winners',I was hoping that this song would be there,but it wasn't I guess it's an earlier reissue that contains the bonus track?

SoulAlive said:

tricky2 said:

that's it!!

Another great song!

tricky2 said:

I wish they would reissue 'Blast' on CD.Yeah I know it's mostly a 'Best of' album,but I'm a completist And I want the four 'new' songs on CD.

SoulAlive said:

No, it didn't have any extra tracks-- But I do have that 45.....





...

...

A few more from the album....







I Want You (w/ Toto's Steve Lukather - guitar solos )






Do It For Love










...
[Edited 7/24/09 10:31am]

Not really feeling the songs off Winners although i do like
the Real Thing and Do it for Love. They were missing that Quincy touch on this
album. Notice how Let's Swing a b-side sounds better than a lot of
the material on Winners. It has quincy's stamp all over it
and has that classic synth sound quincy is known for like
on This Had to Be.

phunkdaddy said:

re: "Let's Swing"
Well, that's because Q produced "Let's Swing." This is the non album b-side to "Stomp." This track came from the Light Up The Night sesions. So your ears are making the correct assumption.

SoulAlive said:

Really ? Gotta find that one day lol. I once saw an official video for "The Real Thing", with them and a backing band performing in a studio setting,
combined with scenes of Louis and George doing the running game, exactly like you see photographed on the frontsleeve of "Winners".
[Edited 7/24/09 11:45am]

SoulAlive said:

The vocal version of this track seems to exist on another b-side, and it's mixed differently as well. Haven't found a copy yet.

Shango said:

I've been looking for a b-side called "echoes of an era." Does anyone know about that?

SoulAlive said:

Yeah lol, there might be some Blast-tracks from the b-side of the album available on various of their compilations. Got a few stacked somewhere else. The deal with the Blast-sessions was that some tracks on there were done by the brothers seperately.
Much tension and clashes were already happening by that time. I don't have the exact details at handreach and couldn't directly find studio-details online, but i'm almost positive that George performed most of the instruments on "The Great Awakening",
and with that said, you can hear how tight he can funk on the bass. It's a great track indeed and in my toplist of their catalogue.

Yep Tricky2, i was indeed just about to post your request It's another non-album jam from the "Blast" sessions, released on the b-side of "Welcome To The Club" : www.imeem.com/fuzebox/mus...of-an-era/



www.discogs.com/Brothers-...se/1035484


One more b-side/non-album track i've spotted is "Deceiver", from the "Out Of Control" sessions : www.discogs.com/Brothers-...ase/550952
[Edited 7/24/09 12:19pm]

paligap said:

Man, i always blast this groove hard through my stereo. The drive in this jam is infectious and i dig Jeffrey Porcaro's drumloop almost near the end of the track. May brother Jeff shake that rhythm in eternity

"In The Way" has imo a very ToTo-ish vibe, somewhat like ToTo's "99", and understandably so, with a few of them performing on "Winners".



Caught up in tha fonk








[Edited 7/24/09 12:42pm]

Yep Tricky2, i was indeed just about to post your request It's another non-album jam from the "Blast" sessions, released on the b-side of "Welcome To The Club" : www.imeem.com/fuzebox/mus...of-an-era/

One more b-side/non-album track i've spotted is "Deceiver", from the "Out Of Control" sessions : www.discogs.com/Brothers-...ase/550952
[Edited 7/24/09 12:19pm]
[/quote]

[b]Whoa! Thanks for that link. That was great to hear finally. [/b]

I can't upload these, but if you can find them, these two versions are KILLER!
They are both extended versions of the album tracks, with drums break downs, extended guitar riffs and additional vocals.


Rare Promo Only Extended Version: 4:55.


Rare Promo Only Extended Version: 7:14

tricky2 said:

You're welcome !

tricky2 said:

Great versions indeed ! I found both of them some years ago but have them temporarily stacked in a safe somewhere else, because i'm currently fixing my complete appartment lol.

They also appeared with their tourband at the German tv-show "Musikladen", during their European "Light Up The Night" Tour around 1980/1981.

phunkdaddy said:

The weird thing is, I didn't like "Let's Swing"--either version...But that's just me--different strokes, and all that....



...

paligap said:

This is the non album b-side to "Stomp." This track came from the Light Up The Night sessions

I met these guys several years ago...very cool guys! They mentioned that they were working on a new album,I hope we get it someday.

When I shook Louis' hand,I was thinking "THIS is the hand that played bass on MJ's "Billie Jean"!!!

SoulAlive said:

They did an article for Jet magazine earlier this year in the Where are
They Now feature. They say they are retired from the business but thanks
to Quincy showing them the business they still receive pretty hefty
royalty checks. They said Quincy could have taken them for a ride but
Quincy was loyal and taught them a lot about the business. I can't remember
what George is up to but Louis makes guitar's.