Logo
DiS Needs You: Save our site »
  • Logo_home2
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • In Photos
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Search
  • Community
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • Blog
  • Community

THIS SITE HAS BEEN ARCHIVED AND CLOSED.

Please join the conversation over on our new forums »

If you really want to read this, try using The Internet Archive.

106127

review

Roy Ayers - Silver Vibrations (reissue)
JimRice14 by John-Paul Shiver March 28th, 2019

There is a compelling emotion of goodwill that always weaves itself into the tapestry of whatever genre of music Roy Ayers chooses to create. The LA raised Vibes sovereign, who was bestowed with a set of vibraphone mallets by the foremost master of the instrument Lionel Hampton at age five, has constructed several mini-careers by pushing the edges of jazz forward since the '70s. His forming the group Ubiquity, which literally means the fact of being everywhere, allowed him to pursue all the connections that jazz has to soul, R&B, funk, and disco. Connectivity that later in the '90s would give him proper credit as being the godfather of neo-soul, house, acid-jazz and a canon that provided the building sample blocks for boom bap era, hip-hop.

Silver Vibrations, the heavily sought-after 1983 album by Ayers thought of as his last great focused project in that era which combined equal parts commercial viability and artistic complexity. Commanding upwards of three figures on Discogs, it's finally being reissued on vinyl for the first time by BBE Records. It stands as the truest chronicle, reporting where black music was at in the early Eighties and its trajectory to come.

At the top of the decade, while browsing the landscape of a post-disco America, Ayres switched up his production list into a worksheet of boogie compositions and string-laden grooves. Chicago, the global classic, that not only pre-dates the term ‘house music’ but in turn lays out the structure and foundation the music would grow from, is featured in its extended seven-minute version. With its sample-like loop formation, minor-key chord structure and kick drum. It elongates this slippery funk into something just a bit more than a catchy tune. We get Genre. Silver Vibrations-the sleek r&b dance track showcasing Ayers magical vibe skills-feels like something Dr Dre would sample or a production Dam-Funk would create. ‘DC City’, a kissing cousin of Ubiquity's original recording of The Third Eye, is a mellow summer night type dedication to Chocolate City.

While there are moments on ‘Lots of Love’ and ‘Keep On Movin’ where Ayers refuses to give up the hedonistic Seventies ghost, a HEAVY post-disco effect on this record, with that slippery boogie sound working its way into the zeitgeist, cannot be ignored. This abridged version morphed into new R&B. And Ayers maneuvered through all these musical developments like he was parking a car. Focused on staying relevant to the kids, he created a teaching manual. Thirty years in advance.

![106127](http://dis.resized.images.s3.amazonaws.com/540x310/106127.jpeg)


LATEST


  • Drowned in Sound is back!


  • Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Year: 2020


  • Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter


  • Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing


  • Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alternative must sees


  • A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash

Share on
   
Love DiS? Become a Patron of the site here »


Left-arrow

Fuzz Club Eindhoven Announces DiS As Media Partner For 2019 & First Wave Of Artists

Mobback
106056

More bands announced for DiS partnered Fuzz Club Eindhoven

Mobforward
106131
Right-arrow


LATEST

    news


    Drowned in Sound is back!

  • 106143
  • news


    Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Y...

  • 106141

    news


    Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter

  • 106139
  • Playlist


    Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing

  • 106138

    Festival Preview


    Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alterna...

  • 106137
  • Interview


    A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash

  • 106136

    Festival Review


    Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019

  • 106135
  • Festival Review


    25 years of SPOT Festival: DiS Picks Its Best 11

  • 106134
MORE


    feature


    Why winners always quit, OR: The Gonzo Guide To...

  • 21429
  • feature


    Mogwai on Radiohead: Robin Hoods or Robbing Gits?

  • 66649

    feature


    Radiohead's Kid A - the DiS re-appraisal

  • 101472
  • news


    Drowned in Sound is back!

  • 106143

    Staff-generated


    Year 2000 - A Playlist of Songs Wot Soundtracke...

  • 53565
  • news


    Q1 Digest: Most Read and Editor's Recommended R...

  • 94692

    Artist-generated


    Rappers and Melody: An Analysis by Chilly Gonzales

  • 96777
  • feature


    The Critic Sleeps Alone Tonight... Fighting Ove...

  • 93699
MORE
Drowned in Sound
  • DROWNED IN SOUND
  • HOME
  • SITE MAP
  • NEWS
  • IN DEPTH
  • IN PHOTOS
  • RECORDS
  • RECOMMENDED RECORDS
  • ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
  • FESTIVAL COVERAGE
  • COMMUNITY
  • MUSIC FORUM
  • SOCIAL BOARD
  • REPORT ERRORS
  • CONTACT US
  • JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
  • FOLLOW DiS
  • GOOGLE+
  • FACEBOOK
  • TWITTER
  • SHUFFLER
  • TUMBLR
  • YOUTUBE
  • RSS FEED
  • RSS EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
  • MISC
  • TERM OF USE
  • PRIVACY
  • ADVERTISING
  • OUR WIKIPEDIA
© 2000-2023 DROWNED IN SOUND