Colonel Abrams: "Trapped"
Sept 27, 2003 21:33:04 GMT -5
Post by stevie nice on Sept 27, 2003 21:33:04 GMT -5
THIS is a hot, truly great classic club/r&b track from 1985! Wow! Probably in my all time top 40, maybe higher! Colonel Abrams had a big underground club hit on the influential Streetwise Records label (wow, going to Rock And Soul record store in the mid 80s, you could for a couple years just pick any Streetwise and Tommy Boy record off the rack without having to listen to it) which was very housey and dubby sounding. Called "Music Is The Answer" it was one of the earliest songs that I used to first practice mixing with. (Boy did I suck bad trying to blend songs back then, not that I'm much better now)
Anyway, this song was released on MCA Records (was this not THE r&b label of the 80s? It seems like everything r&b that I own was either MCA, independent or Capitol.) It's kinda a story song, about what the vocalist is singing about I'm not sure, I guess that was the point. Apparently he's not allowed to see the love of his life for fear that that person's parents will throw him in jail. This song, at least in New York, worked everywhere in a club format; perfect fit with the Garage sound, perfect fit with the early freestyle crowd, even worked in a high enery setting at places like xenon's where you could hear this reasonably close to Bobby O and Lime stuff.
Colonel Abrams had a couple other big hits, in fact, the followup "I'm Not Gonna Let" (which is also a superb song and could be its own thread) even made top 40 WPLJs stagnant "better late than never" playlist for 3 or 4 weeks. In between was a decent, but forgettable ballad called "Never Change" and a couple other songs like "Speculation" and "How Soon We Forget" that did alright, but the magic was pretty much gone by then.
But "Trapped" will always be remembered, in my eyes at least, as a true classic! If you're unfamiliar with it, download it or find it, I guarantee you won't be disappointed.
Anyway, this song was released on MCA Records (was this not THE r&b label of the 80s? It seems like everything r&b that I own was either MCA, independent or Capitol.) It's kinda a story song, about what the vocalist is singing about I'm not sure, I guess that was the point. Apparently he's not allowed to see the love of his life for fear that that person's parents will throw him in jail. This song, at least in New York, worked everywhere in a club format; perfect fit with the Garage sound, perfect fit with the early freestyle crowd, even worked in a high enery setting at places like xenon's where you could hear this reasonably close to Bobby O and Lime stuff.
Colonel Abrams had a couple other big hits, in fact, the followup "I'm Not Gonna Let" (which is also a superb song and could be its own thread) even made top 40 WPLJs stagnant "better late than never" playlist for 3 or 4 weeks. In between was a decent, but forgettable ballad called "Never Change" and a couple other songs like "Speculation" and "How Soon We Forget" that did alright, but the magic was pretty much gone by then.
But "Trapped" will always be remembered, in my eyes at least, as a true classic! If you're unfamiliar with it, download it or find it, I guarantee you won't be disappointed.
