Sun - Sun over the Universe 1980

 Sun entered the 1980s with Sun Over the Universe, which was the band's fifth album and found it experiencing some more personnel changes. Four players left Sun after 1979's Destination: Sun (Curtis Hooks, Sonnie Talbert, Keith Cheatham, and Nigel Bolton), and three new members came on board with this LP: Sheldon Reynolds (who subsequently joined Earth, Wind & Fire), Larry Hatchett, and Dean Francis. But while Sun was a revolving door, it used the same producers on all of its Capitol releases; the same guys who produced Sun Over the Universe in 1980 (Beau Ray Fleming and Sun leader Byron Byrd) had produced all of its four previous LPs. Sun Over the Universe wasn't the big commercial breakthrough the band was hoping for, although it's generally decent. "Fancy Feet," "Hot Spot," and the science fiction-minded "Space Ranger (Majic's in the Air)" are infectious funk-dance numbers that, with the right exposure, might have been hits. The same can be said about the smooth soul ballad "Stay by My Side," which deserved to be released as a single. But the only people who heard this LP were Sun's hardcore followers -- and much to the band's regret, it only had a small following.