Don Blackman
When Bernard Wright released his debut album ‘Nard in 1981, he was only 18 years old. The only son of Roberta Flack had generated quite a bit of hype in the industry and many had high expectations that ‘Nard would “hit big.” Strangely, the album was met with mixed reviews upon release and didn’t sell as well as the label had hoped, though it did reach number 7 on the Jazz Albums chart. ‘Nard would later go on to be sampled by a slew of West Coast hip hop legends such as 2Pac, Snoop Dog and Ice Cube. The track “Spinnin” gave rise to Skee-lo, who none of us will forget, wishes he was a little bit taller. Love for the album has continued to grow and it’s since become a cult classic in the funk/soul category and even received a proper reissue from Arista in 2012. Online the reissue seems to be plagued by mixed reviews with the biggest complaint being “too much high end.” A brilliant album none the less and familiar, even if you are just hearing it for the fist time.
– Bryan Ling
Recommended – A1 Master Rocker, A4 Spinnin’, B1 Just Chillin’ Out, B3 Music Is The Key
Tags: Cult Classic / Dance / Jazz-funk / Samples
Tracklist:
A1 Master Rocker
A2 Firebolt Hustle
A3 Haboglabotribin’
A4 Spinnin’
B1 Just Chillin’ Out
B2 Bread Sandwiches
B3 Music Is The Key
B4 We’re Just The Band
B5 Solar
Credits:
Art Direction – Donn Davenport
Artwork, Design – Howard Fritzson
Coordinator [Grp Production] – Peter J. Lopez*
Featuring – The Jamaica All-Stars
Handclaps [The Jamaica Handclap Section] – Al “Wink” Flythe*, Charley Drayton, Darryl “Winchow” Rowe, Dennis Chambers, Desiré White*, Greg Fraction, Kevin Oliver*, Kevin “Oz” Osborne*, Kurt Smith, Marcus Miller, Mike Flythe, Pat Heaven, Rick Matthews (3), Sheri Snyder, Steve Teele, Ted Matthews
Management [Personal] – Mr. Weldon Irvine*
Mastered By – Ted Jensen
Other [Hair] – Webster McKnight
Other [Makeup] – Pat Evans
Other [Stylist] – Hui Wang
Photography By – John Ford (9)
Producer, Mixed By, Featuring – Dave Grusin
Producer, Recorded By, Mixed By – Larry Rosen
Recorded By [Additional Recording And Assistance], Mixed By [Assisted By] – Ollie Cotton
