Chaka Khan
's transition to solo artist in 1978 could not have been smoother. At the top of the year,
Street Player
, her sixth album with
Rufus
, appeared with a sleeve displaying her name ahead of the band's name -- no longer were they Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan. Its biggest single, "Stay," followed "You Got the Love" and "Sweet Thing" as the third Top 40 hit the singer co-wrote. In July,
Chaka
's unmistakable voice was on the number one soul single,
Quincy Jones
' "Stuff Like That," also featuring
Ashford & Simpson
. Three months later,
was back on the charts with the
-written "I'm Every Woman," in one supremely graceful swoop the Platonic ideal of a midtempo floor-filler, feminist anthem, and solo debut. No other song has been so inviting of cover versions with the obvious caveat that it cannot be surpassed -- not even by
Whitney Houston
. Although that number one soul hit overshadows everything else on
, the album is full of outstanding performances and a broad range of strong material pulled together by
Arif Mardin
. It's a near-total break from
. The only connections are
Tony Maiden
's guitar solo on a gender-switched cover of
Stevie Wonder
's "I Was Made to Love Her" and writing input from a few
collaborators. At times, especially on the free and easy "Sleep on It" and celebratory second single "Life Is a Dance," the LP resembles a
-fronted
Average White Band
session, as guitarist/singer
Hamish Stuart
and dynamite drummer
Steve Ferrone
are on almost everything. The spirit of
's Chicago hometown is also felt with
Phil Upchurch
's blues-jazz-soul rhythm guitar a throughline, and there's an emphatic update of
Rotary Connection
's gospel-fied "Love Has Fallen on Me," composed by group producer/arranger
Charles Stepney
with
Chess
staff writer
Lloyd Webber
. As with virtually every
album with or without
, there are some deep-cut knockouts. Dealing the strongest blow by far is the swirling belter "Some Love," introduced and driven by a bassline from
Mark Stevens
(
's brother), and augmented by woodwinds and brass from
David Sanborn
and
the Brecker Brothers
. (Echoes of this song can be heard in
Aurra
's "Nasty Disposition" and
Snap!
's "The Power.") Beneath that is the lovely upbeat
George Benson
duet "We Got the Love," also written by the guitarist. Certified gold within a month of release,
was quickly followed by seventh
album
Masterjam
, and then
resumed solo work with
Naughty
. ~ Andy Kellman