Are there any fans of Ready For The World in the house? If so, come show some love to this great band!

I cannot believe MCA dropped the ball on this one. Much better then the weak lead single "Straight down to business".

It seemed to of become an underground hit in the UK despite there never being a 12 mix of it. It was issued on one of their Mastercuts series (which were great).

Anyway, "yo, thats alot of body" has a Heavy D/Eddie F feel to me, but credit where credits due, they wrote (with another outside cowriter) and produced the track themselves.

Such a shame MCA, the best label for rnb at the time, failed to see this songs potential.

[Edited 10/24/13 20:52pm]

thesexofit said:

I cannot believe MCA dropped the ball on this one. Much better then the weak lead single "Straight down to business".

It seemed to of become an underground hit in the UK despite there never being a 12 mix of it. It was issued on one of their Mastercuts series (which were great).

Anyway, "yo, thats alot of body" has a Heavy D/Eddie F feel to me, but credit where credits due, they wrote (with another outside cowriter) and produced the track themselves.

Such a shame MCA, the best label for rnb at the time, failed to see this songs potential.

[Edited 10/24/13 20:52pm]

RFTW and New Jack just wasn't a good mix imo. Some r&b bands and solo artists of the 80's

like Starpoint, Midnight Star, Micheal Cooper,etc jumped in the sack too with New Jack and

fans weren't having it.

I was bumping "Digital Display" a few days ago! that's my favorite song by them.Their first two albums are great,but I lost interest after that.

phunkdaddy said:

RFTW and New Jack just wasn't a good mix imo. Some r&b bands and solo artists of the 80's

like Starpoint, Midnight Star, Micheal Cooper,etc jumped in the sack too with New Jack and

fans weren't having it.

I agree.I liked them when they were sounding like Prince/The Time/the Minneapolis sound After that,they jumped on the new jack swing bandwagon and that's when I lost interest.

SoulAlive said:

phunkdaddy said:

RFTW and New Jack just wasn't a good mix imo. Some r&b bands and solo artists of the 80's

like Starpoint, Midnight Star, Micheal Cooper,etc jumped in the sack too with New Jack and

fans weren't having it.

I agree.I liked them when they were sounding like Prince/The Time/the Minneapolis sound After that,they jumped on the new jack swing bandwagon and that's when I lost interest.

Did anyone ever see them perform live? Just curious to know if they can really play, espcially the guitar player.

They could have been an early version of Mint Condition, if they played thier cards right and can actually play.

G3000 said:

Did anyone ever see them perform live? Just curious to know if they can really play, espcially the guitar player.

Yeah,I saw them perform live in March 1986,on a bill with The Jets and Doug E.Fresh featuring Slick Rick RFTW can really play,they were good.

SoulAlive said:

G3000 said:

Did anyone ever see them perform live? Just curious to know if they can really play, espcially the guitar player.

Yeah,I saw them perform live in March 1986,on a bill with The Jets and Doug E.Fresh featuring Slick Rick RFTW can really play,they were good.

Back then some of those earlier rap acts like Whodini and Doug E. Fresh were touring with r&b bands. I remember seeing Doug E. and Slick Rick open the show on a bill with Starpoint, ConFunkshun, Atlantic Starr, and the Barkays in 1985. It was billed as Star Show 85.

SoulAlive said:

I was bumping "Digital Display" a few days ago! that's my favorite song by them.Their first two albums are great,but I lost interest after that.

Yeah I lost interest after the first two albums too. Ruff and Ready was not good at all.

I can only remember digging Gently a lot and of course Straight Down To Business was

only good for Can He Do It Like This which is one their better ballads.

And Melvin Riley's solo album for MCA

[Edited 10/26/13 18:11pm]

SoulAlive said:

G3000 said:

Did anyone ever see them perform live? Just curious to know if they can really play, espcially the guitar player.

Yeah,I saw them perform live in March 1986,on a bill with The Jets and Doug E.Fresh featuring Slick Rick RFTW can really play,they were good.

*

I may have to bump Dig In Your Display...I mean Digital Display.

*

Ready For The Curl

*Sorry, Couldn't Help Myself.

80s R&B flashback: "Digital Display" by Ready For The World (1985)

^^ such a cool song,but the video is so dumb! They should have rejected that concept,and filmed a video with a bunch of sexy chicks instead

SoulAlive said:

80s R&B flashback: "Digital Display" by Ready For The World (1985)

This and Mary Goes Round are my favorites by RFTW

Speaking of Melvin.................................

Brilliant band - so many jams.

G3000 said:

Did anyone ever see them perform live? Just curious to know if they can really play, espcially the guitar player.

They could have been an early version of Mint Condition, if they played thier cards right and can actually play.

I saw RFTW play Kings Dominion (Doswell VA, 35 minutes north of Richmond)

way back in '85. I was working at that theme park then, so it wasn't hard to get tickets.

I attest to their musicianship - they played their instruments throughout the show.

I thought then - & still think now - that their sound & Riley's singing was

totally derivative

of Prince.

a good number of people made fun of them back then - because of their jheri curls.

some dudes would joke to the effect of

"yeah man.. I'm not going to that show unless I can get my jheri curl cap"

or

"I have to bring my umbrella" or "I'll bring my rainboots so I won't be slidin' all over the place"

and

"we're going to see 'ksk ksk' next weekend - are y'all going?"

the "ksk ksk" imitating the sound of the (jheri curl) spray bottle when you push down on it with your index finger..

& similar..

the 1 song they made that I liked was "ceramic girl" - the original version or the remix version..

I'd say they made the most of their 15 minutes..

ksk ksk

love RFTW, they're "homeboys" of sorts, about an hour or so outside of Detroit, but yeah, love their stuff. they're probably the only group that managed to create "signature ballads" (sonically) like Prince did.

[Edited 11/2/13 14:17pm]

phunkdaddy said:

SoulAlive said:

Yeah,I saw them perform live in March 1986,on a bill with The Jets and Doug E.Fresh featuring Slick Rick RFTW can really play,they were good.

Back then some of those earlier rap acts like Whodini and Doug E. Fresh were touring with r&b bands. I remember seeing Doug E. and Slick Rick open the show on a bill with Starpoint, ConFunkshun, Atlantic Starr, and the Barkays in 1985. It was billed as Star Show 85.

mltijchr said:

G3000 said:

Did anyone ever see them perform live? Just curious to know if they can really play, espcially the guitar player.

They could have been an early version of Mint Condition, if they played thier cards right and can actually play.

I saw RFTW play Kings Dominion (Doswell VA, 35 minutes north of Richmond)

way back in '85. I was working at that theme park then, so it wasn't hard to get tickets.

I attest to their musicianship - they played their instruments throughout the show.

I thought then - & still think now - that their sound & Riley's singing was

totally derivative

of Prince.

a good number of people made fun of them back then - because of their jheri curls.

some dudes would joke to the effect of

"yeah man.. I'm not going to that show unless I can get my jheri curl cap"

or

"I have to bring my umbrella" or "I'll bring my rainboots so I won't be slidin' all over the place"

and

"we're going to see 'ksk ksk' next weekend - are y'all going?"

the "ksk ksk" imitating the sound of the (jheri curl) spray bottle when you push down on it with your index finger..

& similar..

the 1 song they made that I liked was "ceramic girl" - the original version or the remix version..

I'd say they made the most of their 15 minutes..

ksk ksk

See aside from "Oh Sheila", I don't find them any more or less Prince derivative than many other R&B acts of the time who were all jocking off the Minneapolis Sound.

Their musicianship and songwriting was stellar. "Love You Down" is simply a brilliant ballad that I feel has lasted the test of time. I saw Me'Shell Ndegocello live a couple of years ago and she opened her set with a psychedelic-rock cover of the song. Fantastic.

I have a handful of RFTW CDs and a Melvin Riley CD and they all carry strong ballads, but the one that has always connected the most with me is "Baby (Let Me Love You)":

This song gets right down in the marrow for me. I fell in love with it the first time I heard it and it's never let me go since.

.

"Gently" is also a wonderful ballad. But I find it a bit difficult to listen to at the beginning; the music is so sad it's almost palpable--feeling like the pain is going to start squeezing the air out of my lungs. But then the beauty of the song finds me and I ease into it.

.

Like most, I'm more familiar with RFTW's first two albums than the others that followed. But all the CDs I have by them contain gems. RFTW released a CD in 2011 but it wasn't available at the time I was trying to complete my collection, so I don't know what their current sound is like.

.

Their whole first album is classic from start to finish: "Out of Town Lover", "Oh Sheila", "Digital Display" (still can't believe I didn't blow my ears out in the 80s turning the volume up on that one so many times ), "Slide Over", "I'm The One Who Loves You."

Bluu said:

I have a handful of RFTW CDs and a Melvin Riley CD and they all carry strong ballads, but the one that has always connected the most with me is "Baby (Let Me Love You)":

This song gets right down in the marrow for me. I fell in love with it the first time I heard it and it's never let me go since.

.

"Gently" is also a wonderful ballad. But I find it a bit difficult to listen to at the beginning; the music is so sad it's almost palpable--feeling like the pain is going to start squeezing the air out of my lungs. But then the beauty of the song finds me and I ease into it.

.

Like most, I'm more familiar with RFTW's first two albums than the others that followed. But all the CDs I have by them contain gems. RFTW released a CD in 2011 but it wasn't available at the time I was trying to complete my collection, so I don't know what their current sound is like.

.

Their whole first album is classic from start to finish: "Out of Town Lover", "Oh Sheila", "Digital Display" (still can't believe I didn't blow my ears out in the 80s turning the volume up on that one so many times ), "Slide Over", "I'm The One Who Loves You."

-

I like everyone else at the time wore my RFTW debut tape out. I hear you about Digital Display. For some strange reason, after wearing it out, using it as a backdrop soundtrack for my young preteen sexual exploration, I ended up oddly connecting to "I'm The One Who Loves You." I've always been one to look beyond the commercial, radio hits and look for the dope album cuts that probably wouldn't make it for radio. Oh! And "Ceramic Girl". I loved that song. Cool story, great guitar riff thoughout.

-

And if I remember correctly Melvin's first solo record, "Ghetto Love" was good too (I think). It's been so long and I've forgotten just about all the songs.

-

Look what I found:

-

-

-

"So nonchalant, laidback and ready for the world"

[Edited 11/4/13 6:39am]

This is probably where I got off the train. This was the last song from them that I remember rocking on repeat. Even the remix (which was totally different, damn I miss that) was dope too.

-

-

-

-

-

Sorry for the sorry sound quality on this one

-

-

On another note: I always thought Melvin vocals were smooth. He wasn't ever Gerald Levert or a Teddy P. but he worked with his limited range and worked it well. He's a crooner for sure. I'm glad they're still touring.

Their originality showed on the ballads. All of the uptempo songs were built on the same Linn Drum pattern as "Baby, I'm A Star."

*

and we bought it!!

Musicslave said:

On another note: I always thought Melvin vocals were smooth. He wasn't ever Gerald Levert or a Teddy P. but he worked with his limited range and worked it well. He's a crooner for sure. I'm glad they're still touring.

.

Musicslave! Thank you so much for posting the videos. "Ceramic Girl" is a great song and does have a nice storyline to it. Romantic in a pure and innocent kind of way. I'd never before heard the extended version of it--how cool is this!

.

And the remix of "Can He Do It (Like This, Can He Do it Like That)" you also posted is ALL that. I'd also not heard this version before and it is just gorgeous the way they changed up the vocals and the music. I like the original too, of course, but this remix is sweeeet...

.

I agree with you about Melvin's vox. He knows how to work it and does justice to RFTWs music. Good to know they are still touring.

Bluu said:

Musicslave said:

On another note: I always thought Melvin vocals were smooth. He wasn't ever Gerald Levert or a Teddy P. but he worked with his limited range and worked it well. He's a crooner for sure. I'm glad they're still touring.

.

Musicslave! Thank you so much for posting the videos. "Ceramic Girl" is a great song and does have a nice storyline to it. Romantic in a pure and innocent kind of way. I'd never before heard the extended version of it--how cool is this!

.

And the remix of "Can He Do It (Like This, Can He Do it Like That)" you also posted is ALL that. I'd also not heard this version before and it is just gorgeous the way they changed up the vocals and the music. I like the original too, of course, but this remix is sweeeet...

.

I agree with you about Melvin's vox. He knows how to work it and does justice to RFTWs music. Good to know they are still touring.

You're welcome. Yeah, that remix for "Can He..." was sweet. Unfortunately that was the only version I could find on YouTube. Glad you enjoyed