CLASSIC ALBUM: ASK RUFUS

By 1977, the group Rufus was on top of the world with their unique offerings of funky Soul, featuring gifted vocalist Chaka Khan who had become known as the "Queen of Funk Soul," by this time. "Ask Rufus" is just one of the group' many masterpieces. The album has a somber tone musically and vocally, and at times lyrically. Most of the tracks have a laid-back feel, and Chaka's vocals sound very muted in a jazzy type of way on all of the songs except for the high-energy single "At Midnight (My Love Will Lift You Up), and the classic groove "Hollywood."

The overall reception of the album was positive back in 1977, and I'm personally surprised that Rufus would offer an album like this for a year like 77' when Disco was hot and R&B music was uptempo with high energy records that featured mostly dance songs. Perhaps, this was Chaka's doing since she was clearly high on all of these songs, or the group wanted to stand out and give a preview of what 80's music was going to be, considering their early 70's work would not catch on with the rest of the music industry until the late 70's. Not saying that their early work was not successful; in fact, their work has always been successful since 1973 when they hit the charts with their breakthrough single "You Got the Love." It's just that Rufus and Chaka Khan's music has always been ahead of its time, musically and vocally. So somehow, get a hold of this album and listen to it. It's pure genius.

Some of my favorite songs from this album include: "Close the Door," "Earth Song," "Evelasting Love," "Hollywood," and "Better Days," in which the latter was sampled by Mary J. Blige on her 2003 album "Love & Life," on the interlude "Finally Made It."