During a few months of 1982, The Chicago Party, an uninhibited variety program taped at South Side cultural hub CopHerBox II, was transmitted weekly by WCIU, the original outlet of
Don Cornelius
' Soul Train. This CD/DVD set from
Numero
packages segments and performances from the show and combines them with obscure and previously unreleased early-'80s recordings by some of the artists who appeared on it. The acts were obviously up on the latest sounds. Their work, often decked out with squiggling synthesizers, whomping basslines, clamping drums, and group-falsetto refrains, recalls contemporary bands like
GQ
,
Cameo
Heatwave
, and
Rose Royce
.
Magnum Force
, who scored a charting hit with "Cool Out," are documented here with the earlier "Girl You're Too Cool," a loose and flirty funk jam that is a bike-horn squeeze away from containing every element of
Slave
's sound. If it had a little more polish and a certain amount of promotion, the sophisticated and rather advanced "Think," from notable session musician and
Earth, Wind & Fire
associate
Rahmlee Davis
(the son of unsung bass giant
Richard Davis
), could have contended with anything on radio. The track that had the highest profile is
Yvonne Gage
's "Garden of Eve," fully juiced and bumping boogie released on major-label
Atlantic
that would have been equally at home on post-disco haven
Prelude
. Others were issued on micro outlets like
Arpco
Truth Is!
Dapper
. Merrillville, Indiana's
Erect
, the same independent that released
Alexander O'Neal
's early single "Do You Dare" -- as heard on
's
Purple Snow
-- circulated
I.N.D.
's Pleasure-able "Into New Dimensions." While none of the inclusions matches what was reaching a broader audience during the era, they'll delight those whose thirst for underground post-disco R&B is unquenchable. As expected,
delivers with an image-rich, overwhelmingly detailed booklet. ~ Andy Kellman