Central Heating

by Heatwave

Overview

If you could use only one adjective to describe Heatwave's sound, it would be "smooth." The band's romantic ballads and slow jams were the epitome of smooth, and that adjective also describes many of their up-tempo funk grooves. This isn't to say that Heatwave's funk lacked grit -- it had plenty of grit, but even so, it was an undeniably smoother style of funk than Parliament/Funkadelic, James Brown, Tower of Power, Rick James, or the Bar-Kays. In fact, when Kool & the Gang switched to a smoother, sleeker approach in 1979 and hired J.T. Taylor as its new lead vocalist, Heatwave was a big influence. The Kool & the Gang that emerged on 1979's Ladies' Night is certainly a lot more Heatwave-like than the gutbucket, down-and-dirty Kool & the Gang of "Jungle Boogie" and "Hollywood Swinging." And it isn't hard to hear the parallels between Taylor and Heatwave's Johnnie Wilder. It's safe to assume that when Kool & the Gang was reinventing itself, its members had Too Hot to Handle and Central Heating in their collections. With this excellent sophomore effort, Heatwave lived up to the promise it showed on Too Hot to Handle. The invigorating funk smash "The Groove Line" became a disco-era anthem, and the album's other big hit, "Mind Blowing Decisions," is a quiet-storm classic. From up-tempo funk grooves like "Party Poops" and "Put the Word Out" to the romantic Northern soul of "Happiness Togetherness" and "Leaving for a Dream," Central Heating is among Heatwave's strongest releases. ~ Alex Henderson

Product Details

Release Date:	08/23/2017
Label:	Sony Music
UPC:	4547366315004
Rank:	48809

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Heatwave   Primary Artist
Eric Johns   Guitar,Spanish Guitar,Guitar (Rhythm),Guitar (Electric)
Roy Carter   Piano,Fender Rhodes,Guitar (Bass),Guitar (Rhythm)
Ernest Berger   Drums,Timbales
Mario Mantese   Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Johnnie Wilder, Jr.   Congas,Vocals,Conductor,Choir/Chorus,Vocals (Background)
Keith Wilder   Vocals
Christopher Payne   Trombone
John Cameron   Conductor
Tristan Fry   Percussion
Rod Temperton   Organ,Piano,Clavinet,Keyboards,Synthesizer,Fender Rhodes

Technical Credits

Vic Anesini   Digital Mastering
Dennis Morris   Photography
Johnnie Wilder, Jr.   Composer
Geoff Calver   Engineer
Patrick Halling   Leader
Michael Ross   Cover Design
Barry Blue   Producer
James Guthrie   Engineer,Remixing
John Cameron   Arranger
Rod Temperton   Composer
Mike Hedges   Assistant Engineer
Andy Jackson   Remixing,Assistant Engineer