B.T. Express Studio Albums

Do It ('Til You're Satisfied) is the debut studio album by American band B. T. Express from Brooklyn, New York. It was released in 1974 via Scepter Records. 

 Do It ('Til You're Satisfied) features two million sellers by the New York natives; the title track and "Express" are funky, irresistible disco gems. Produced by Jeff Lane and mixed by Tom Moulton, the two dancefloor classics features hypnotic basslines, handclaps on alternate beats, and the coolest congas on the planet, all combined with masterfully mixed guitars, saxophones, flutes, strings, Barbara Joyce Lomas' blaring lead, Louis Risbrooks' bass vocal retorts, and Richard Thompson's support vocals. Lane was never able to repeat the tightness of the two tracks on subsequent albums or even on this one. "If I Don't Turn You On" and "Do You Like It" come close, but "Once You Get It," "Do It," "This House Is Smoking," and "Mental Telepathy" do not. Good, because of the two classics, but a greatest-hits collection would be even better.

Non-Stop is the second album by the Brooklyn, New York, band B. T. Express. Released in July 1975, the album reached number one on the Billboard R&B albums chart in the US. 

 When one thinks of the cultural contributions that Brooklyn's African-American neighborhoods made in the 1980s and 1990s, the people who immediately come to mind range from director Spike Lee to major rappers (the Fat Boys, Big Daddy Kane, MC Lyte, Biz Markie, among many others) to soul/urban contemporary singer James "D-Train" Williams. But back in the 1970s, Brooklyn was known for its disco-minded brand of funk. Brooklyn funk wasn't the kind of hardcore funk that you expected from James Brown, George Clinton's P-funk empire (Parliament/Funkadelic, Bootsy Collins, the Brides of Funkenstein, etc.), the Gap Band, Rick James, or the Ohio Players -- it was funk-disco, and Brooklyn outfits like B.T. Express, the Crown Heights Affair, and Skyy were huge in the clubs (especially black clubs). When B.T. Express' second album, Non-Stop, came out in 1975, Scepter assumed that it would fare well in dance clubs -- and sure enough, club DJs went wild over this record. However, Non-Stop contained some major radio hits as well, including "Peace Pipe" and "Give It What You Got" (both of which reached number five on Billboard's R&B singles chart). Meanwhile, "Still Good, Still Like It" and "Discotizer" are among that tracks that weren't big radio hits but grabbed the attention of club jocks. The LP's only ballad is a cover of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David favorite "Close to You"; although B.T. Express' version is pleasant enough, the fact remains that romantic ballads were never its strong point. Up-tempo material is what defines Non-Stop and makes it one of the band's finest, most essential albums.

B.T. Express (originally named Brooklyn Transit Express) was an American funk/disco group that had a number of successful songs during the 1970s.

 B.T. Express' third album, Energy to Burn, marked two firsts for the Brooklyn residents: It was their first album for Columbia, and it marked the arrival of keyboardist Michael Jones, aka Kashif. Not that Kashif's arrival was a major event for R&B fans of 1976, the year in which this album came out. It wasn't until 1981, when Kashif wrote "I'm in Love" for Evelyn "Champagne" King, that he became famous as a producer/songwriter -- and his first solo album didn't come out until 1983. Besides, Energy to Burn (which was lead singer Barbara Joyce's last album with B.T. Express) doesn't sound anything like the smooth, sophisticated urban contemporary that Kashif wrote or produced for King, George Benson, Howard Johnson, Melba Moore, and others in the early 1980s; this LP is state-of-the-art B.T. Express. Although the band's work was uneven in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Energy to Burn is generally excellent. Those who had grooved to B.T. Express' two previous albums weren't disappointed by hypnotic funk-disco smokers like "Can't Stop Groovin' Now," "Wanna Do It Some More" (which reached number six on Billboard's R&B singles charts), "Depend on Yourself," and the title song (which was only a number 37 R&B hit but was a favorite in clubs). One of the album's most unorthodox tracks is "Herbs," an instrumental that successfully fuses B.T. Express' trademark funk-disco sound with the sort of sweet reggae that prevailed in Jamaica during the rocksteady era. And not surprisingly, the album's least inspired track is a cover of Gamble and Huff's "Now That We've Found Love" -- romantic ballads and slow jams were never B.T. Express' strong point. But other than that, Energy to Burn is one of the band's strongest albums.

When lead vocalist Barbara Joyce left B.T. Express after its third album, Energy to Burn, the Brooklyn combo didn't search for another female singer -- instead, it decided to carry on as an all-male outfit. Joyce was an appealing, talented singer, but losing her was hardly a fatal blow for B.T. Express. Unlike the Commodores, L.T.D., or Earth, Wind & Fire, B.T. Express never went out of its way to push a superstar vocalist -- its 1970s albums were about the overall sound of the band, not any particular singer. Function at the Junction was B.T. Express' first post-Joyce LP, but it isn't much different from the New Yorkers' three previous albums. With Jeff Lane (the guy who produced Brass Construction in the 1970s) producing, B.T. Express continue to mine the same funk-disco waters on club-friendly tracks like "Expose Yourself," "We Got It Together," and "Funky Music." Overall, this is a decent record, although it is mildly uneven and falls short of the excellence of B.T. Express' previous releases. And that isn't because of Joyce's departure; Columbia was bringing in more and more outside songwriters, which made its post-1976 albums inconsistent and less focused. Columbia assumed that those outside songwriters would be an asset, but they turned out to be something of a distraction. Nonetheless, Function at the Junction has more pluses than minuses, and is worth hearing if you're among B.T. Express' hardcore fans.

B.T. Express (originally named Brooklyn Transit Express) was an American funk/disco group that had a number of successful songs during the 1970s.

 If you notice some similarities between B.T. Express and Brass Construction, it's no coincidence. B.T. Express was a major influence on Brass Construction, and the same guy who produced all of Brass Construction's 1970s albums (Jeff Lane) also produced B.T. Express' first four albums: 1974's Do It ('Til You're Satisfied), 1975's Non-Stop, 1976's Energy to Burn, and 1977's Function at the Junction. Released in 1978, Shout! was the first B.T. Express album that Lane didn't produce. Instead, B.T. Express produced this LP with guitarist/songwriter Billy Nichols, who wasn't an actual member but had been writing songs for the band since 1974. It was Nichols who wrote B.T. Express' first major hit, "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)." So he had a strong feeling for its music, and Shout! (which was Kashif's last album with the band) isn't a radical departure from the four B.T. Express albums that Lane produced. However, this is an uneven, disappointing record. "Shout It Out" (which reached number 11 on Billboard's R&B singles chart) is a funk-disco gem, and the sociopolitical "Look at the People" is a catchy message song. But much of the material is merely average. Tracks like "Shake It Off," "I Want You With Me," and "You Got Something" aren't terribly inspired or memorable, and point to the fact that B.T. Express was running out of steam in 1978. So not surprisingly, a lot of people who bought the "Shout It Out" single opted to pass on the Shout! LP, which is strictly for completists.

In the 1970s, it wasn't uncommon to find a funk band that was entirely self-contained -- all of the producing, writing, and arranging was done by actual bandmembers, not outsiders. B.T. Express, however, was never totally self-contained; even its first major hit, "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)," was written by someone who wasn't an official member: guitarist Billy Nichols. But it is safe to say that B.T. Express was more self-reliant in the beginning than it was in the early 1980s; at that point, Columbia was bringing in so many outside songwriters and additional musicians that the Brooklynites were becoming less distinctive. Depending on the band, outside influence can be either a positive or a negative -- in some cases, it can revitalize a band. B.T. Express, however, recorded its most essential albums when it was more self-reliant. Produced by Morrie Brown, this 1980 release is full of songs that weren't written or even co-written by B.T. Express members and employs its share of extra musicians (mostly keyboardists). B.T. Express 1980 is a mixed bag; although it isn't good to hear B.T. Express losing its identity, most of the material is decent -- "Takin' Off," "Funk Theory," and "Heart of Fire" are enjoyable, infectious funk-disco items even though they lack that distinctive B.T. Express sound of the 1970s. Meanwhile, the single "Give Up the Funk (Let's Dance)," which made it to number 24 on the R&B singles chart, is more recognizable as a B.T. Express tune. Some of the material is pretty generic, but overall, B.T. Express 1980 isn't a bad record -- in fact, it's an improvement over 1978's disappointing Shout!. Nonetheless, B.T. Express 1980 is the work of a band that was four years past its prime, and the LP is only recommended to completists and hardcore collectors.