The Floaters - Into the Future - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Monophonics cordially invite you to attend the grand re-opening of the once thriving, once vibrant establishment, the legendary Sage Motel. A place where folks experience the highs and lows of human existence. A place where big dreams and broken hearts live, where people arrive at without ever knowing how they got there. It's where folks find themselves at a crossroads in life. So join us as we examine where the stories are told and experiences unfold... and sink into a soft pillow of soulful psychedelia... down at the Sage Motel.

The concept for the soul-funk band New Birth evolved in 1963. Originally, all of the members were participants in three separate acts. Touring throughout the country, the three acts frequently joined together for an arousing finale. So well received was the performance, soon New Birth was born. Eventually, gravitating to Detroit in search of stardom, the group landed their first of several recording contracts and began an impressive collection of hit smashes like InchI Can Understand ItInch, InchIt's ImpossibleInch, InchDream MerchantInch and InchWild FlowerInch from hit albums like InchComin' from All EndsInch and InchBlind BabyInch. All the while they continued to develop their elaborately staged shows which led them to the first of a long line of R&B space fantasy productions. Recorded in the early 1980's, the personnel lineup for InchInto TomorrowInch includes, Tony Churchill (tenor sax, background vocals and keyboards), Austin Lander (baritone sax, flute, keyboards, bass and horns), James Baker (keyboards, trombone, drums and string arrangements), Robert Jackson (trumpet, keyboards, drums, vocal arrangements, choreography), Allen Frey (vocal arrangements, composing, percussion), Charles Hearndon (lead guitar, composer, arranger, keyboards), Robert Downs (vocals and writer) and Londie Wiggins (vocals). Finally available in the digital domain, all selections have been newly remastered.

Released in 1978, Future Bound was the third album that Freddie Perren produced for Tavares and was the group's sixth album overall. Once again, Perren sees to it that Tavares provides a healthy blend of up-tempo dance numbers and romantic soul ballads like InchFeel So GoodInch and InchAll I See Is YouInch, Northern soul ballads that would have fit right in on a Stylistics, Delfonics, or Moments album. But those who savored InchHeaven Must Be Missing an AngelInch shouldn't have a problem getting into exuberant disco-soul items like InchSlow Train to Paradise,Inch InchThe Ghost of Love,Inch and Tavares' hit version of the Bee Gees' InchMore Than a WomanInch which was available on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack several months before Future Bound came out. The group was asked to participate in the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever, a movie about the Brooklyn disco/dance scene starring John Travolta. The score was being composed and supervised by the Bee Gees. When it was released in 1978, the movie was a huge success with Travolta winning an Oscar for Best Actor, but the soundtrack took on a life of it's own! In it's initial run, the double album sold eight million copies and has since been certified by the RIAA as fifteen times Platinum. Tavares and Freddi Perren were honored with Grammy Awards when the soundtrack won the 1978 Album of the Year award. Other hit singles on the album were the Ghost of love, Timber and Slow Train to Paradise. The album itself reached nearly the Top 100 album charts.