Verdine White (Bass Guitar), Philip Bailey (Vocals, Congas), Fred White (Drums), Maurice White (Drums), Ralph Johnson (Drums), Andrew P. Woolfolk (Flute, Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone), Al McKay (Guitar), Johnny Graham (Guitar), Maurice White (Kalimba), Larry Dunn (Keyboards, Moog Synthesizer, Piano, Organ), Al McKay (Percussion), Fred White (Percussion), Maurice White (Percussion), Philip Bailey (Percussion), Ralph Johnson (Percussion), Verdine White (Percussion), Ernie Watts (Saxophone), Saini Murira & Matepe Ensemble (Strings), George Bohanon (Trombone), Oscar Brashear (Trumpet), Maurice White, (Vocals), Philip Bailey (Vocals) and Verdine White (Vocals).
Streaming on Qobuz (96/24)… a mention of Earth, Wind & Fire had me reach for this album and the band is sounding so sublime! One very fine band…
As the legend goes, “this self-titled debut album should have been released in 1970, but disaster struck when bandleader Milton Keanes suffered a massive heart attack and the label decided to cancel the release. Shortly after, a fire destroyed the label warehouse, erasing the album from existence. Upon his release from hospital many months later, Milton found out that a band from Birmingham, conveniently called ‘Black Sabbath’, had since released two albums containing metal versions of what he claims were his songs.”
This is the only Beth Gibbons album I purchased, possibly in 2002 when it was released. Somehow I missed out Portishead completely - something I’m now trying to rectify. But this album is wonderful. The single, Tom the Model, is three minutes and 41 seconds of beauty. The album as a whole is one to treasure.
