A Look Back at Slave
Back in the 70's, I was in high school when I first heard this band. This group was a funk/boogie band formed in the mid-70's from members of two local groups in Ohio - Black Satin Soul and the Young Mystics. Considering all the groups that we’re coming out of that hotbed of a musical city Ohio at the time, Ohio players, Heatwave, Sun, Dayton, and many more. This group brought funk to the forefront!
Their first self-titled album “Slave” was basically a masterpiece of woven funk with playful melodies, like “Where your wig on tite, separated and party hardy”, but for the real in your face funk “Slide” was the jam! When you hear the first two notes from the bass line, you knew they were a force to be reckoned with and if that wasn’t enough, Danny Websters guitar solo on "Slide" was touted to be one of the best R&B/rock solo’s ever! “Son of Slide” was more than just a party jam, it was an anthem. When “Slide” was released, most of the members haven’t graduated high school yet!
By the slave's second release “Hardness of the world”, Slave really came about with the funk and threw it at you and dared you to throw it back. Anything after “Baby Sinister" and "Volcano Rupture” was just a tease and they dipped into the jazz scene. “Can’t get enough of you” was a funky mellow groove letting you know that they can tone down the groove just a little.
Meanwhile slave was going through some personnel changes. Steve Arrington, who was living in San Francisco, came back to Ohio to rejoin his bandmates as a backup singer and also adding to the mix was guitarist Curt Jones and singer Starlena Young (Young and Co).
Slaves third album “The Concept” was to me the second best album that Slave has ever put out. Slave wasn’t afraid to experiment in electronic sounds hence the song “Stellar Funk” and the debut of Steve Arrington on drums, Curt Jones on guitar and Starlena on background vocals. “Just Freak” showcased Starlena’s vocal prowess.
Meanwhile, Steve Arrington had worked his way through the ranks of the Slave organization, and by the time their fourth album came, Slave was destined to take over the R&B charts in which they did by knocking out the Gap band with just one song. And that song had a bass line so recognizable, that you can get sued just by just thinking of it. “Just A Touch Of Love” hit the charts like a napaum bomb, with that snaking bass line, Arringtons' sensual vocals and Starlena voicing the hook. It's one of the brilliant songs ever arranged! The "Touch of Love" album boasted several other hits like "Are You Ready For Love", "Foxy Lady (Funky Lady)", and "Shine". But to me, the most underrated song on the album was “Warning”; You can't get any more funkier than that!! It was pure funk!
The following year, Slave blasted back in the charts with “Watching You” off the album “Stone Jam” but the whole album was worth listening to. Starlena starts the album off with “Let’s Spend Some Time”, and Steve singing “Watching You” and Curt blistering on the track “Never Get Away”. As a group effort, the title track “Stone Jam", "Sizzling Hot” & “Stone jam”. It was written that Danny's guitar solo was actually a keyboard. On the "Showtime" album, which was released in 1981, Curt and Starlena had left the group along with Steve Washington (the fearless leader) to form Aurra. The "Showtime" project was a great album with songs like "Snap Shot", "Smoking", "Funken-town", "Steal Your Heart", & "Wait For Me". This was the final album for Steve Arrington as he left for a solo career.
Slave released several more albums with reasonable hits, but by then we knew the funk had ended. Slaves' final album on the Atlantic Cotillion label was titled “New Plateau”. From the late 80’s to the mid 90’s, Slave released 6 albums on the Ichiban label. There have been greatest hits CD’s to help keep the funk alive & the most comprehensive collection to date is the very rare Concept Music Group 3 cd set "Slave The Atlantic years", Slave is one of the funkiest bands to come out of Ohio in the 70's, and set a standard for other funk bands to follow including the ones that were already there. Hopefully there will be a slave reunion of all the original members, and maybe the funk will be down, one more time!!
Marv D.
The Urban Music Scene
The Urban Music Scene
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