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Whispers - Love is where you find it/ Love for love

Released on 16 September 2002

Two more albums from this excellent series of Whispers reissues, from 1981 and 1983. Both albums contain uptempo dancehall cuts and the sweeter smoother soulful ballads. The uptempo material were the ones that hit and whilst they are quite good of their kind it is the slower material that oozes class.

The uptempo material on both of these albums in my view does not come up to the heights of some of the early material, despite there being a number of R'n'B hits. For example 'In the Raw' with it's embryonic and emerging rap and the better 'Emergency', a middish tempo item. From the latter album we have 'Tonight', a Babyface and LA Reid composition who were starting to well and truly make waves at this time, and 'Keep on loving me'

The other similar cuts were 'Turn me out' and 'Cruisin in' on the earlier album, being neither better nor worse. In 1983 we had 'Love for Love' falling just a bit in between in tempo, but containing some lovely mellow melodies, building into a very nice track.

On the ballad side where The Whispers really excel we commence with 'Say Yes' containing all the hallmarks of Scotty Scott with that lilting and easy falsetto. Nice sax break too. Five minutes of class. 'Love is where you find it' is a ballad also but completely different and less of a 'group' thing, jazzy Bensonesque guitar. 'Only you' has a similar feel to the last track and 'Small Talkin'' is more harmonic and the style that I prefer. 'Say Yes' is for me the best of the four.

All in all the 1981 album is good but doesn't for me come up to the standards of the previous ones.

Actually neither does the 1983 album that includes a number of slower cuts, 'This time', 'Had it not been for you' with it's tinkly jazzy piano is the best for me, 'Try it again', 'Do they turn you on' far and away the best, and probably the best track on the album or at least running a close second to 'Love for Love', 'Keep your love around', and 'Lay it on me'.

Whilst this does not come up to the previous ones it is still a must have in order to continue with the entire series, and whilst I may be critical all things are relative and it is head and shoulders above so much else. On this particular set Ralph tee in his sleeve notes is more upbeat than I have been.

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