Blending R&B, soul, funk, and jazz, Portland, OR’s Pleasure landed a Top 10 R&B chart hit in 1979 with “Glide,” but were otherwise something of a cult band, produced on four of their albums for the Fantasy label by Crusaders trombonist Wayne Henderson, including their third, Joyous, which hit stores in 1977. As smart and diverse as it is consistently grooving, on January 6 it returns to vinyl for the first time since its initial release courtesy of Craft Recordings’ subsidiary Jazz Dispensary’s Top Shelf series.
The scoop is that when members of two Portland acts, namely The Franchise and The Soul Masters, choose to join forces, Pleasure was born. Cohering in 1972, it took roughly three years for their debut Dust Yourself Off to emerge, but once completed they issued five more LPs for Fantasy (Accept No Substitutes, Joyous, Get to the Feeling, Future Now, Special Things) and one for RCA (Give It Up) before ceasing operations in 1982; a self-released reunion CD Now Is the Time, came out in 2018.
Next to Pleasure’s first two records, Joyous offers a bit of refinement without muting the core appeal; that is, heat arising from a sturdy instrumental attack, vocals smoothly rendered but substantial, and seamlessly applied stylistic range. With that said, the opening title track begins with a sax solo, burning and searching atop a lively rhythmic thrust; along with the wailing guitar of Marlon “The Magician” McClain, the whole should bring a smile to the face of any fan of George Clinton’s prime maneuvers.
There are horn charts, but they avoid overwhelming the forward motion with unimaginative vamping, both in “Joyous” and more prominently in the next track, the string section infused (shades of Isaac Hayes) funky groove of “Let Me Be the One.” Next is the vibrant and buoyant “Only You,” which exudes shades of the Five Stairsteps as it kicks into gear, spotlighting the lead vocals of Sherman Davis and lyrics that urge positivity (“only you can start love a burning/only you can stop the hate from spreading”). It’s followed by a funky rebound with the conga-loaded cooker “Can’t Turn You Loose.”
Two minutes elapse before the vocals enter during “Sassafras Girl,” the track emphasizing how Pleasure was solidly focused on instrumental depth, though the vocals were far from an afterthought. Stretching out to nearly seven minutes, “Sassafras Girl” hits the ’70s Quiet Storm R&B style smack in its bullseye. That is, it has that slow jam romantic vibe going on, with strings (this time radiating a bit of a Curtis Mayfield vibe) and certainly jazz through Dan Brewster’s trombone and Dennis Springer’s soprano sax.
One can hear the rudiments of smooth jazz to come in “Sassafras Girl,” but it’s important to relate the reliable heft in Pleasure’s execution, though “Tune In” does start rather tranquilly, with just some stately piano as a prelude to kicking it into a slow and low gear. The rhythm is tough and there’s even a brief flurry of wholly purposeful bass from Nathanial Phillips. It’s also here that Pleasure’s backing vocals really shine.
“Dance to the Music” pulls off the slick trick of being Sly influenced, a facet underscored in the title (‘tis not a cover), as there are some shades of Bootsy in the mix. It sets the table nicely for “Selim,” the album’s fusion-tinged closing number, as the track highlights Bruce Smith’s role as percussionist and rises to something of a standout.
There’s no doubt I would’ve appreciated a little more friction complementing the heft in Pleasure’s equation, but it’s clear that element wasn’t high on the band’s list of priorities. It ultimately matter’s little, as Joyous is an engaging listen.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
B+
