Gap Band – The Gap Band III (1980)

The Gap Band – The Gap Band III
Vinyl rip in 24-bit/96kHz |  Art scans at 300 dpi
Genre: funk, disco | 1980
Mercury Records ~  SRM-1-4003

When I Look In Your Eyes     4:58
Yearning For Your Love     5:41
Burn Rubber On Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)     5:16
Nothin’ Comes To Sleepers     5:34
Are You Living     4:24
Sweet Caroline     3:21
Humpin’     5:06
The Way     4:46
Gash Gash Gash     5:18

Charlie Wilson – Keyboards, Synthesizer, Percussion, Lead and Backing Vocals
Ronnie Wilson – Trumpet, Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Robert Wilson – Bass, Backing Vocals (Lead vocals on “Gash Gash Gash”)
Oliver Scott – Horns, Keyboards, Synthesizer, Backing Vocals
    Raymond Calhoun – Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals
Melvin Webb, Ronnie Kaufman – Drums
    John Black – Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Malvin “Dino” Vice – String Arrangements, Backing Vocals
Cavin Yarbrough – Synthesizer
Robert “Goodie” Whitfield – Keyboards
   Fred Jenkins – Guitar
  Glen Nightingale – Guitar
Marlo Henderson – Guitar
Wilmer Raglin– Horns, Backing Vocals
Earl Roberson – Horns
Katie Kilpatrick – Harp
The Gap Band, Howard Huntsberry, Jonah Ellis, Marva King, Maxanne Lewis, Rudy Taylor, Val Young, Lonnie Simmons, Malvin “Dino” Vice – Backing Vocals

Ripping info:
US vinyl; Pro-Ject RM-5SE with Audio Tecnica AT440-MLa cartridge; Speedbox power supply); Creek Audio OBH-15; AUdioquest King Cobra cables; M-Audio Audiophile 192 Soundcard ; Adobe Audition at 32-bit float 96khz; clicks and pops removed with Click Repair on light settings, manually auditioning the output; further clicks removed with Adobe Audition 3.0; dithered and resampled using iZotope RX Advanced. Converted to FLAC in either Trader’s Little Helper or dBPoweramp.  Tags done with Foobar 2000 and Tag and Rename.

Let’s check our math: This is actually the FIFTH Gap Band album – but the third for the Total Experience production imprint. This was the Wilson Brothers (and Co.) first platinum album, with at least two or three big hits on it.  Burn Rubber On Me, the quiet storm Yearning For Your Love, and the p-funk of Humpin’ are all classics.  Cavin Yarbrough (Yarbrough & Peoples) provides the wicked synth bass on ‘Burn Rubber’.  Although the two previous Gap Band LPs showed them consolidating their own distinct sound, this is where it all starts to come together for them.  You’ll still hear shades of EW&F, The Commodores, and other influences.  Check out that steel guitar on Sweet Caroline – NOT the Neil Diamond song, incidentally – and tell me if you can’t imagine Lionel Ritchie singing it.  Or maybe Stevie Wonder?  In 1980 he released a weird country-funk track on his Hotter Than July album that also happened to feature Charlie and Robert Wilson.  Subtract some points for some phoned-in lyrics, like the sappy “Nothin’ Comes To Sleepers,” where they rhyme the word dream with… dream.  Nice harp though, I’m serious.  “Are You Living” is an upbeat anthem featured in an inspirational 1980’s film that exists only in my imagination, with a scene involving a track suit, weight training, and sealing that Big Deal that makes you a partner at the firm.  Are you giving life everything you’ve got?  Don’t be deceived though: try following that bass line in the chorus that keeps shifting around under you.  It’s most definitely a sign that things will come unraveled in the final act.

Note that this is not a mint copy, it was previously owned by a Fort Myers, Florida, dance club.   But it’s not real noisy and the little bit of surface grit just adds “dusties station authenticity” or something.

I’m going to bring up the thing about donations and patrons and covering the costs of this here blog again.  Think of it as our Spring Pledge Drive for people who need something a little funkier than NPR every now and then.  Unlike public radio, I can’t say that “This post would not be possible without the support of readers like you!” because, well, I only have one person signed up on Patreon so far.  Hell I can’t even treat them to the promised ‘perk’ of an opinion poll with those numbers  Where’s the fun in that, they totally know how it’s going to turn out!   Really though, I’ve bee doing this without reader support for a long time and will no doubt continue to do so.  But the domain name is up for renewal, server costs must be paid, and I’m still combing the job listings and trying to figure out how I’m going to land on my feet in the new world order.. If you can spare a dollar a month, please consider being a part of the crowdfunding future and click the link at the bottom of the post.

password: vibes

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10 Comments

  1. Sweet Caroline

    THANK YOU. Outstanding.

  2. Hi Charlie, just wanted to say I was tired of waiting for my strawberry pop, so I put the pedal to the metal back in ’80. But I never meant to hurt you, for real, call me if you’d like to do the vicious hump one of these days, for old times’ sakes.

  3. Anyone know the password for the rar file?

  4. Hi!!
    The download link is now expired . I’ve searched everywhere for a fine vinyl rip. Can you forward me a new link pls, it would be wondefull.
    THX.

  5. So after finally listening to this I wandered through the band history. Did you know Robert Wilson played main bass on Dwight Yoakam’s debut Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.?

    Thanks for the rip, btw.

  6. Hi Dr. Vibes

    I stumbled on your web site via a DuckDuck search. I came across your comment and I feel for your plight. I know I have been there myself, unfortunately for many reasons. Now though the Covid-19 is another important game-changer – at least for now and the foreseeable future.

    Are you from UK or the US?

    As you can see, I like my privacy, so if you would like to leave a comment as to whether I might be able to help in some way, then please do so.
    Cheers
    George

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