Before you throw this disc in continuous mode at your dance party, be forewarned that it begins like it is going to jam and pump all night, but just when you get used to that, it comes to a lubricous halt with three slow cuts in a row! This oblation is a kind of compilation studio party with guest stars and new jacks, all on the Mark Tara stage, displayed with pride as "Different Love" [various credits]. The title track is written brilliantly and makes you feel happy from the first note. The lyrics here are the truth, crisp as Canadian ale. Track two features a dearly departed guest star, and since I came about this CD in the middle of January, couldn't be more on-time. "Promised Land," by the Boomtang Boys feat. Billy Newton-Davis, immediately takes you to early eighties Greenwich Village with that bass line; MLK then drops by with a familiar and a needed-to-be-heard refrain. What a positive cut, and even though I think I have heard it before, it is a world premiere! "Live Your Life (Uncensored)", self-explanatory as Mark and friends Liberty Silver and Mark Cassius support the same theme that brought us the Isleys' "Love The One You're With."
My ultitrack is from Brother Love Canal; "Hold Tight" [Steve Diguay] has a classic disco feel with nuances of the rhythmic formatted radio stations of today. It made me want to reach out and grab unabashedly. The lead vocals are silky. Who was that unmasked voice, Lorraine Scott? As an ole skool head, I love the names of today's groups, by the way. I would love to hear Donna Summer sing this song as well!
Just like all the blue light in the basement parties we grew up with, this CD includes a trifecta of back-to-back slow songs as I alluded to earlier. Immerse yourself in the sauna to Lorraine Scott's rendition of "Sweet Sublime" and get used to the surroundings, we will be here for a little while. The meat in this slow sammich is the incomparable Donna Summer, still in "Last Dance" voice on "Sometimes Like Butterflies." I was psyched for one of those uptempo "Heaven Knows" jointz upon reading Donna did a song here; this one grew on me as my undying respect for her infused each subsequent listen. The other side of a real dozer that reminded me of "Desperado" by the Eagles is a spirited remix of the title track from Front to Back, with great orchestration, to take this CD home! If you are at home with house music's ubiquity, then you want this CD in yours.
Trinidadian Tara assembles multi-racial/relational musik because he's believed in and believes in others. Different Love seems only to be available in Canada at this time and through his website, www.marktara.com. This too shall change if it hasn't already by the time you are checking this review.
To quote Mark's own words of pride, passion, and praise back at'im, "You Rock!"
