Juicy Fruit (Disco Freak)

Sound DNA

• Soul & Funk
• Disco

• warm
• groovy
• hedonistic

About

Though the album begins with the disco-inspired title track (after several minutes of the guys chatting up a woman) where Hayes calls for disco to reign eternal, he quickly reverts back to old school balladeering for "Let's Don't Ever Blow Our Thing." Hayes is equally adept in either scenario; his entire career was about adapting material seemingly at odds with his style and finding a way to make it work. Soul music always thrived on invention and Hayes had helped pioneer much of the change from the mid-‘60s through the early '70s. By the time of this release in 1976, Hayes had been releasing albums at a torrid pace — including several movie soundtracks for <i>Tough Guys</i> and <i>Truck Turner</i> — and he decided to write the entire <i>Juicy Fruit</i> album himself. While it's not the most essential album in his catalog (the nod could go to a great number of his earlier releases such as <i>Hot Buttered Soul</i>, <i>Movement</i> or <i>Black Moses</i>), <i>Juicy Fruit</i> does contain several strong cuts such as the jubilant "The Storm Is Over," the funky "Music To Make Love By," and the sexually charged "Lady of the Night" where Ike falls in love with a prostitute.

via Apple Music

Tracklist

Credits