Incognito have been churning out album after album of high quality music for 3 decades now, which is some feat.
Given that the material rarely strays from the upbeat jazz funk winning formula, even the most avid fan must occasionally grow a little tired of the sound. I personally did not buy Tales From The Beach for that reason. But the appearance of Chaka Khan, Leon Ware et al intrigued me so I decided to order this album.
Well to say it is a revelation is an understatement. For me, this is Incognito's strongest collection of tunes for a long, long time - possibly since the awesome 100 Degrees and Rising. Equally as important, is that the guest appearances and supreme production give the music a freshness that was undoubtedly needed. Each guest appearance is treated with the respect it deserves - Chaka Khan's vocals are an immediate hit, whereas Leon Ware's contribution is equally strong albeit a slightly slower-burn.
As you would expect, the biggest winners are the four-to-the-floor stompers; 1975, Put a Little Loving, Let's Fall in Love Again; Lowdown; Expresso Madureira; but to be honest there's only one or two slightly under par tracks, and even these are growers.
This is a stunning album of high quality music; it probably won't get any mainstream recognition, but perhaps that's a good thing as it allows quality bands like Incognito to keep on writing and producing music, rather than get side-tracked by the unnecessary media distractions of the popular music world. Jay Kay could take note!