Positivity (album)

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Positivity
Studio album by
Incognito
Released1993
GenreAcid jazz
LabelTalkin' Loud
Verve Forecast
ProducerJean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick
Incognito chronology
Tribes, Vibes and Scribes
(1992) 		Positivity
(1993) 		100 Degrees and Rising
(1995)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Calgary HeraldB[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide[4]
USA Today[5]

Positivity is an album by the British acid jazz band Incognito, released in 1993.[6][7]

The album peaked at No. 55 on the UK Albums Chart.[8] It has sold more than 350,000 copies in the United States.[9]

Production[]

The album was produced by band leader Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick.[3] In constructing the album, Maunick was chiefly inspired by Stevie Wonder's Talking Book and Innervisions.[10]

Critical reception[]

The Washington Post wrote that "the band mines familiar funk grooves with more than enough imagination and horn power to keep things fresh."[11] The Calgary Herald praised the "free flowing numbers that eschew harder edge riffs for music suited more for spliffs."[2] USA Today stated that "the commercially oriented backbeats and vocals (more singing than on their previous two albums) are counterbalanced by a tight horn section and jazzy, crisp arrangements."[5] The Orange County Register opined that "the strength lies in vocalists Maysa Leak and Mark Anthoni, whose rich-sounding voices glide through each track as easily as a hot spoon through ice cream."[12]

AllMusic wrote that "group leader Jean-Paul 'Bluey' Maunick's vision of intertwine various genres of music (bebop, soul, classical, dance, etc.) into one incomparable sound is exemplary."[1] MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide called "Deep Waters" a "landmark acid-jazz track."[4]

Track listing[]

No.TitleLength
1."Still a Friend of Mine" 
2."Smiling Faces" 
3."Where Do We Go From Here" 
4."Positivity" 
5."Deep Waters" 
6."Pieces of a Dream" 
7."Talkin' Loud" 
8."Thinking About Tomorrow" 
9."Do Right" 
10."Inversions" 
11."Better Days" 
12."Keep the Fires Burning" 
13."Givin' It Up" 
14."Still a Friend of Mine (Acapella)" 

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Positivity - Incognito | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  2. ^ a b Muretich, James (1 May 1994). "RECENT RELEASES". Calgary Herald. p. C2.
  3. ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 4. MUZE. p. 468.
  4. ^ a b MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 281.
  5. ^ a b Jones IV, James T. (20 Apr 1994). "A trio of jazz funk crowd-pleasers". USA Today. p. 6D.
  6. ^ "Incognito | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  7. ^ Smith, Andrew (2 June 1995). "Still rising after all these years: Andrew Smith talks to Bluey Maunick, the Mr Consistency of jazz fusion". The Guardian. Features. p. 18.
  8. ^ "INCOGNITO | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  9. ^ Thompson, Dave (August 19, 2001). "Funk". Hal Leonard Corporation – via Google Books.
  10. ^ Murray, Sonia (May 6, 1994). "POP MUSIC - PREVIEW - Incognito". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. P9.
  11. ^ Joyce, Mike (13 May 1994). "Inventive Incognito". The Washington Post. p. N16.
  12. ^ Montero, David (April 22, 1994). "Galliano, Incognito albums blend a heap of influences". Orange County Register. Show. p. 48.
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