Search - Rufus :: Rags to Rufus

Getting into the Groove.

T. Gallagher | Boston, MASS | 11/11/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Groovy album by unsung heroes of R&B/Dance/Funk. Chaka Khan is at her best here before over-production drowned out her rootsy, groovin charm."

Rufus Walkin' In The Sun

Andre S. Grindle | Brewer Maine | 03/26/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Recently I've been reading articles linking Rufus & Chaka Khan with what's known as the "sophistifunk" crowd. Well of course if your aware of Rufus's early career,of which this sophmore album is definately a part of than you'll know that wasn't always the case. This album doesn't possess the heavy country-rock flavors of their debut Rufus a year earlier but it doesn't have that albums relatively clean production style either. The recording quality of this albums tends to be somewhat raw and muddy and it includes a number of songs that benifit from that. "You Got The Love" is one of those songs that builds instrumentally but same as with the big hit "Tell Me Something Good" there's some deep grunting male backround vocals and,on the first cut only Chaka is sticking primarily to an often underused (in this period anyway) higher level of her elastic voice. Considering she had no particular love affair of the blues at this time it's odd to hear the energy she puts into the clavinet charged blues/funk of "I Got The Right Street (But The Wrong Direction)". The ballads here have got a range too. You have "Walkin In The Sun" which does possess a mild Nashville flavor only in Kevin Murphy's piano and Ashford & Simpsons' "Aint Nothin But A Maybe",again finding Chaka using her higher voice at a more consistant level as opposed to scaling. "Swing Down Chariot" is a great chugging funk/gospel with an amazing sense of build and some of the most inspired vocals on this album and,back to the ballad front the BEST vocal (and likely composition) on this album is "In Love We Grow". This piano ballad is so strong it almost sounds like something...er a Barbara Streisand would be inclined to sing but Chaka's voice and the lyrics take this heavily chorded song to a whole different level of soulfullness. You basically get the same effect with "Smokin' Room",another great composition although definately more in the jazz-funk ballad style than anything so obviously pop. The title track and the briefer "Sideways" both showcase the bands instrumental abilities, particularly the rhythm section. "Look Through My Eyes" is a jazz-funk style uptempo tune and one of the slicker tunes here production wise. So this is a diverse flavored album all and all and one should'nt go into this expecting each cut to be a clone to "Tell Me Something Good";they're not. But it does place Rufus out of the country-folk-rock influences they had earlier on and more into the funk/soul/jazz/gospel vein they'd make famous from this point on."