Cardiac Arrest is the debut album by American funk band Cameo.
The album reached number 16 on the R&B charts.[7] It contains the hit singles "Rigor Mortis" and "Funk Funk".
In 1977, one of funk's most promising debuts came from Cameo, whose first album, Cardiac Arrest, made it crystal clear that Larry Blackmon's outfit was a force to be reckoned with. If you were into hard, tough funk in 1977, it was impossible not to be excited by Cameo's debut. This excellent LP contains a romantic soul ballad ("Stay By My Side") as well as the original version of "Find My Way," which is the sort of smooth yet funky disco-soul that groups like the Trammps and Double Exposure were known for in the late '70s. But for the most part, this is an album of aggressive, unapologetically gritty funk. On classics like "Rigor Mortis," "Funk, Funk," and "Post Mortem," one can pinpoint Cameo's influences -- namely, Parliament/Funkadelic, the Ohio Players, and the Bar-Kays. But at the same time, these gems demonstrate that even in 1977, Cameo had a recognizable sound of its own. And ultimately, Cameo would become quite influential itself. For funk lovers, Cardiac Arrest is essential listening. Period.
Cameo's second album, We All Know Who We Are, is uneven, but it has its moments, both in the quiet storm field ("Why Have I Lost You") and the disco-funk category ("It's Serious"). Much of the record sounds like filler, but the best moments illustrate that Cameo is beginning to grow and refine their own sound.
As Cameo rode both the critical and commercial success resulting from their debut, Cardiac Arrest, Chocolate City took the group straight from the road and right into the studio to record its follow-up. Because of this, the overall quality of Ugly Ego suffers mildly. It's uneven at points, but this easily could be attributed to erratic song sequencing, something that thankfully can be rectified in the digital age by the custom programming button. The band was developing its definitive sound at this point -- the sound later heard on Secret Omen that would usher Cameo from being just another funk band to funk overlords. The uptempo "Insane" would later go on to be a fan favorite, and the slower moments found on "Give Love a Chance," "Friend to Me," and "Two of Us" prove that Cameo were more than just a good-time party band, but serious soulful balladeers when the time was appropriate.
Cameo never recorded a bad album, but it did record some uneven ones. One such LP was 1978's Ugly Ego, which was generally decent but fell short of the excellence of Cameo's superb debut album, Cardiac Arrest. But if Ugly Ego led some people to believe that Cameo might be slipping, the band's fourth album, Secret Omen, put that idea to rest. Released in 1979, Secret Omen is among Cameo's most essential releases. Everything on this album is a winner; anyone who appreciates sweaty, gutsy, horn-powered funk would have a hard time not loving "I Just Want to Be" (a major hit) and equally gritty gems like "New York," "Macho," and "The Rock." Meanwhile, a remake of "Find My Way" (previously heard on 1977's Cardiac Arrest) is even more disco-minded than the original version. Disco was never Cameo's specialty, but because disco was so huge in 1979, it made sense to revisit "Find My Way." And although "Find My Way" is atypical of Cameo on the whole, it's still a great song. Equally impressive is the hit soul ballad "Sparkle"; even though Larry Blackmon and friends are best known for up-tempo songs, they recorded their share of memorable ballads in the 1970s and 1980s. Secret Omen is recommended to anyone with even a casual interest in late-'70s funk.
The big single on Cameosis, the stimulating "Shake Your Pants," provokes body moves from the animated group vocals to the rump-shakin' groove. The vivacious number "We're Going out Tonight" is a man's salute to his lady. Larry Blackmon and Tomi Jenkins sing in unison throughout the body of the song, with first tenor Wayne Cooper soaring in the vamp. The group puts a different twist on a remake of their own "Why Have I Lost You." Tomi Jenkins imparts a compassionate rap in the intro before crooning his way through the imaginative lyric, where Wayne Cooper reaches one climax after another. Like the original version, it, too, never graced the charts but found a home on radio. The sleeper on this album is "I Care for You." Anthony Lockett took the vocal lead on this tear-jerking ballad, in which a man tolerates his woman's questionable behavior. From Lockett's execution to the song's overall arrangement, this is a must-listen.
Cameo has been known for so many funk grooves -- like this album's featured single, "Keep It Hot" -- that their plush ballads are seldom recognized. The title track, "Feel Me," was one of those classic gems. Guitarist Anthony Lockett assumes lead vocal duties on this charming number. As Lockett patiently and gently caresses the lyric, his wholesome, amplifying tenor exudes a plea for that elusive intimacy. (Anthony Lockett would soon exit the group for gospel music.) "Better Days," also a ballad, has less musical attire; it's trimmed with primarily a rhythm section and Cameo's trademark horn arrangement and cooing background vocals. Preceded by an improvising piano solo, "Is This the Way" finds its stride with a rapid, percussive groove and a socially conscious message.
As Cameo continued to hone their sound, they found themselves in the position not only of having to bridge a musical gap, but also needing to follow up a smash album. Following on the heels of 1980's massive Cameosis, which created a signature vibe and set the band up for truly massive early success, it's surprising that Knights of the Sound Table would lose strength. But it did. The band was exhausted, only coming off the road long enough to record the album before heading straight back out again. Knights of the Sound Table plays through like a transitional album -- and it falters at times because of it. Even though the band remained bound to their funk roots, they were tweaking them within a very different framework -- a 1980s pre-wave wave. The set is divided into two very distinct camps, then, booty shaking funk and saccharine ballads. When it's good, it's tremendous. "Knights by Night" is strong and very typically Cameo, while "Don't Be So Cool" leans more into an '80s frame of mind. The marvelous "Freaky Dancin'" pulled out ahead of the pack and was rewarded with a number three spot on the R&B charts for its efforts, while two other tracks, the funky "I Like It" and "Feel Me," would also chart. Where the band weakened was across their ballads. "I'll Always Stay" and "I Never Knew" feel more like filler than anything else, while "The Sound Table" is a poke at disco -- too long after the genre left the dancefloor. Despite such serious wobbles, though, the set is cohesive enough to forgive its failings, the sound of a band keeping their past alive while stretching their wings toward the future.
Dropping the Parliament-esque, Mothership-era theatrics, and the multitude of bandmembers that comprised 1981's Knights of the Sound Table tour, Cameo's Larry Blackmon scaled the band back to a less financially prohibitive number and returned to the studio to record what would be the band's last effort for longtime label Chocolate City. The mighty Alligator Woman, released in spring 1982, marked the quintet's final foray into the annals of the deep funk that had signposted much of their material so far. A continuation, but extension of the otherworldly synthesis which blended old-school sounds with new technology, the LP emerged a peerless hybrid, giving Cameo another Top Ten hit for their collection. Both "Be Yourself" and "Soul Army" are deep slabs of funk, heavily steeped in the band's own past, with the former driven by harmonized vocals and groovy guitar, and the latter dominated by Blackmon's distinctive vocals. Elsewhere, the lively "Flirt," a Top Ten hit, is a sassy exercise in tricky pop, while the title track proves a heady mix of all of the above. Included, too, are the less interesting ballads "Secrets of Time" and "For You" but, despite such occasional stumbles, Alligator Woman was a remarkably cohesive and energetic outing for the new-look band. It also proved a perfect bridge for the gap between the antics of Knights and Cameo's forthcoming exploits, later in the decade.
Style is the ninth album by the funk band Cameo, released in 1983. It was their first album to introduce their Atlanta Artists label, with which they maintained their distribution through Polygram Records.
At the time, Cameo was going through a transition, having gone from five members (Alligator Woman, 1982) to four, with an extreme makeover in their sound. Their former big funk band sound was now being replaced by all the elements of the electronic age (i.e., keyboards, synthesizers and Simmons drums). Their music was self-proclaimed as "21st Century Bebop" and the band prided themselves on the use of non-conventional drums.
R&B was experiencing a year of transition in 1983. Soul music was evolving into urban contemporary, R&B producers were becoming increasingly high tech, and horn funk was losing ground to synth-funk and electro-funk. Also, the hip-hop factor could not be overlooked -- some old-timers insisted that hip-hop was a passing fad, but younger R&B producers realized that rap was becoming the music of choice for many young African Americans and paid close attention to hip-hop production techniques. Inevitably, all of these things affected Cameo. Released in 1983, Style is more high-tech than 1979's Secret Omen or 1980's Cameosis but not as high-tech as 1985's Single Life or 1986's Word Up! It is also an LP that finds singer/producer Larry Blackmon leading a downsized Cameo -- while the band had ten members at the start of the 1980s, it only has four on Style: Tomi Jenkins, Charles Singleton, Nathan Leftenant, and Blackmon himself. (And by Single Life in 1985, Cameo would only be a trio.) Having cut way back on the horns on Style, Blackmon makes sure that keyboards and synthesizers play a major role on snappy funk items like "Cameo's Dance," "Aphrodisiac," "Slow Movin'," and the hit title song. On Cameo's late-'70s albums, keyboards took a back seat to horns -- on Style, it's just the opposite. Even on a remake of the standard "Can't Help Falling in Love" (a ballad that had been recorded by everyone from Elvis Presley to Doris Day), Cameo is more technology-minded. Style isn't among Cameo's essential albums, but it's an enjoyable effort that will appeal to die-hard fans.
She's Strange is the tenth album by the funk band Cameo, released in 1984. It reached number 1 on the Billboard R&B Albums chart, number 27 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart, and was certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of over 500,000 copies.
This album is dedicated to the late Polygram A&R representative, Bill Haywood; as Cameo mentions in the liner-notes of the album, "The album which he always wanted". The track "Talkin' Out the Side of Your Neck" is a commonly performed arrangement amongst marching bands, especially those from HBCUs.[3] The titular track became the group's first number one single on the R&B charts, topping the charts for four weeks in April 1984.
By 1984, African-American popular music had become extremely high tech. The horn-powered funk bands that were huge in the 1970s were out of style, and young audiences were demanding hip-hop, electro-funk, and urban contemporary -- not horn bands that sounded like the Ohio Players or Tower of Power circa 1975. Horn bands were still in vogue only in the home of the go-go explosion: Washington, DC. But these changes in the marketplace didn't hurt Cameo; both commercially and creatively, 1984's She's Strange was a winner. Thankfully, Cameo leader Larry Blackmon isn't afraid to try different things on this excellent album. The mysterious title song (a major hit) and the sociopolitical "Talking Out the Side of Your Neck" find Cameo responding to hip-hop's popularity by including a lot of rapping, while "Lé Ve Toi!" is very rock-minded -- it's still funk, but funk laced with lots of rock. "Tribute to Bob Marley" is a reggae gem that salutes the Jamaican legend, and "Hangin' Downtown" is a smooth, jazzy number with a definite quiet storm appeal. When She's Strange soared up Billboard's R&B albums chart, one had to admire Cameo's durability. Other bands that had emerged in the 1970s were hurting, but with She's Strange, Cameo had no problem maintaining both its freshness and its popularity.
In the late '70s and very early '80s, Cameo was the epitome of a horn-driven funk band. Like Parliament/Funkadelic (a major influence), the Ohio Players, Earth, Wind & Fire, the Commodores, Tower of Power, and so many other bands that defined funk in the '70s, Cameo was famous for its horn section. But when horn bands went out of style and urban contemporary audiences started craving synth-funk and electro-funk, Cameo leader Larry Blackmon was determined to change with the times and remain on the charts. Thus, the Cameo of 1985's Single Life is a lot more high tech than the Cameo of 1978's We All Know Who We Are or 1980's Cameosis. Blackmon felt that the market called for a downsized Cameo, which is why the Cameo he leads on this LP is a trio consisting of Tomi Jenkins, Nathan Leftenant, and himself. Single Life isn't devoid of horns, but the horn players are strictly guests -- not actual Cameo members -- and the group's sound is built around synthesizers and electric bass. Some funk fans missed the old horn-powered Cameo, but Single Life had no problem appealing to urban contemporary audiences. Although not quite as essential as 1986's Word Up!, this album is generally excellent. The infectious title song was a major hit, and Cameo is equally impressive on other synth-funk offerings like "I've Got Your Image" and "Attack Me With Your Love." Much to Blackmon's credit, the album is fairly diverse and unpredictable. "A Good-Bye" is more of a rock ballad than an R&B ballad, while "Little Boys, Dangerous Toys" is a political reggae gem inspired by the Cold War and the nuclear arms race. And one of the album's best songs is "Urban Warrior," a fun yet idealistic rap tune about a hip-hopper who travels the world partying and promoting world peace. Single Life was a welcome addition to Cameo's catalog.
Many of the funk bands that were big in the 1970s had a hard time surviving in the 1980s, especially if they were horn bands. Having a killer horn section was something that a lot of 1970s funk outfits prided themselves on, and it was no fun when, in the 1980s, they were told that their horns sound dated and that urban contemporary audiences only wanted to hear synthesizers, sequencers, and drum machines. But Cameo, unlike many funk bands that emerged in the late '70s, really thrived in the 1980s. Lead singer/producer Larry Blackmon insisted on changing with the times, and he did so by making Cameo more high-tech and seeing to it that albums like 1985's Single Life and 1986's Word Up! were relevant to the urban contemporary and hip-hop scenes. Nonetheless, Cameo still sounded like Cameo; Word Up!, in fact, is one of its best albums. The wildly infectious title song was a major hit, and Cameo is equally captivating on other funk treasures that include "Fast, Fierce and Funny," "Back and Forth," and "Candy." To the young urban contemporary and hip-hop fans who bought Word Up! in 1986, Cameo's funk was fresh and cutting edge; and at the same time, slightly older fans that Cameo had won over in the late '70s were still buying its records. Both commercially and creatively, Word Up! was a major triumph for Cameo.
In the late '80s, most of the great funksters who had emerged in the 1970s knew that their best days were behind them. Sure, many of them were receiving royalty checks when young hip-hoppers sampled their classic recordings (assuming that they had kept their publishing rights), but they were no longer seeing their names at the top of the charts. But Cameo was another story. Unlike other horn bands that were formed in the 1970s, Cameo had no problem reinventing itself as a high-tech, downsized, hip-hop-influenced synth-funk/urban contemporary trio. 1986's Word Up!, in fact, is one of Cameo's finest and most essential albums. Word Up! was an incredibly tough act to follow, and the album that followed it, 1988's Machismo, isn't as strong or as consistent. Machismo isn't a bad album; a few of the tunes are excellent, including "Skin I'm In" (a poignant commentary on racism), the rock-influenced "Promiscuous," and the jazz-minded "In the Night" (which features the late jazz trumpet innovator Miles Davis). But Machismo isn't as successful when Cameo tries to recycle Word Up!; there can only be one Word Up!, and when Larry Blackmon and his colleagues try to recycle it, they end up sounding formulaic. But while Machismo isn't among Cameo's essential releases, it has more plusses than minuses and fared well among its hardcore fans.
Sexy Sweet Thing is a 2000 album released by the funk group Cameo. This 13-track release was Cameo's first full album of new material since In the Face of Funk in 1994, and peaked June 24, 2000, at #64 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.[2] To date, this has been the last album released by Cameo; Sexy Sweet Thing was followed up by the single "El Passo" in 2019 but did not chart making this record their latest to enter any chart.
Like fellow '70s funk alums Kool and the Gang, Cameo survived and thrived during the '80s, thanks to the pop smarts needed for crossover success. That ability stayed miraculously intact on Sexy Sweet Thing, which, despite its truly awful cover -- Larry Blackmon and co. as little Cupids - actually turned out more consistent than any of the band's previous few offerings. The band is in top form on the lovely, Stevie Wonder-ish ballad "Time for Love" and the densely-arranged "She Wants Some More," which uses rock guitar and horns to piledrive home a killer riff. Of course, the thing that waylaid many of Cameo's R&B peers during their '90s comebacks was the misguided desire to show they could hang with the young guns, resulting in lots of cameos by big-name rappers, to little effect. But "I Wake Up," a sexy, skittering slow jam, matched anything the kids could offer, while the simplistic hip-hop-style title track proved the group could throw the funk down as well as ever in new musical duds. Only a few dated-sounding clunkers that had the feel of leftovers from the New Jack Swing era of a decade earlier kept this disc from being on par with Cameo's catalog of certified classics.
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