Fatback - 14 Karat (1980)

Beats, bass, and a whole lot more – the perfect evolution of Fatback into a street funk combo for the 80s! The sound here is more early 80s than some of the group's classic work, but it's still very much in the best mode of its generation – almost coming across with the old school sound of the indie 12" market, especially in the way the instrumentation's produced, and slightly augmented with a bit of electronics. As always, the rhythms are a bit more interesting than you'd expect – and also as was becoming common for the group, a few ballad tracks round out the album nicely – and show an unexpected depth to the Fatback sound! Titles include "Chillin Out", "Concrete Jungle", "Angel", "Let's Do It Again", "Lady Groove", and "Your Love Is Strange".