--=[ Pleasure ]=--

Pleasure - Give It Up [1982]

Give It Link 2


At the more R&B-friendly vinyl conventions, one of the ways that funk addicts try to gauge who is truly hip is to find out how much he/she knows about Pleasure. Anyone with even a casual interest in '70s funk knows about Parliament/Funkadelic, Earth, Wind & Fire, Tower of Power, and the Ohio Players – the people who are hip to Pleasure tend to be the sort of listeners who look beneath the surface and are downright obsessed with the funk and soul of that era. And for the serious funk connoisseur, this album is a must. Not because it's their greatest, but to make your collection complete. Pleasure's seventh and final album, "Give It Up" from 1982, marked their departure from Fantasy Records. It includes the groovy cuts "Stone Love", "All the Way" and "Sending My Love" which all are classics in our crowd. Sadly the group disbanded shortly after this release – but they will always be remembered by people like you and me!!















Pleasure - Future Now [IMPORT][1979]

Pleasure Link 2

Arguably, the members of Pleasure were among the unsung heroes of 1970s funk and soul. The band enjoyed a small but enthusiastic cult following, but one thing that it didn't have was a lot of major hits on R&B radio. For the most part, R&B radio ignored Pleasure, although quiet storm formats did play some of its more mellow album tracks. The exception to that rule came in 1979, when black radio proved to be quite receptive to "Glide." A pearl of a funk single, "Glide" is an infectious party jam that the African-American working class easily related to. The tune isn't really sociopolitical, although it isn't mindlessly fun either -- essentially, "Glide" is telling listeners to hang in there and be positive despite the challenges that life presents. And you don't have to be African-American to relate to the song's message. "Glide" was the only song on Future Now that could be called a major hit, although it isn't the album's only gem. Those who acquired this 1979 LP also found a lot to admire about jazz-influenced material that ranges from funk smokers like "Nothin' to It" and "Space Is the Place" to the smooth quiet storm offerings "Strong Love" and "Thoughts of Old Flames." Without question, Future Now is among Pleasure's most essential albums.















Pleasure - Joyous [1977]

Joyous Link 2

Pleasure couldn't have asked for a more appropriate producer when, in late 1976, it employed Wayne Henderson on Joyous. A band that frequently brought jazz overtones to its funk-soul foundation, Pleasure needed someone who held jazz and R&B in equally high regard -- and Henderson easily fit that description. The Texas trombonist first made a name for himself playing hard bop with the Jazz Crusaders, but as the 1970s progressed, he became increasingly R&B-friendly. Henderson was exactly the sort of producer that Pleasure needed, and the band's appreciation of jazz comes through on the up-tempo funk numbers (which include "Dance to the Music," "Let Me Be the One," and the title song) as well as the dreamy quiet storm gem "Sassafras Girl." Pleasure brings this vinyl LP to an appealing close with a jazz-funk instrumental titled "Selim," which isn't typical of Joyous on the whole -- most of the tunes are vocal-oriented. This is a funk-soul record first and foremost, and it is also a classic that underscores Pleasure's risk-taking nature.

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