Jeff Redd - Down Low
1994
“Down Low” is a modern rarity that is well worth trying to hunt down. Although officially unreleased, a quantity somehow managed to escape the factory and end up on sale in a very few select, more savvy outlets in the UK only. The late, great Gerry Osborne at Masters of Music was among them, and was selling them like hot cakes for a mere £12.99 prior to supply quickly drying up! Mine was snapped up in a video / CD emporium somewhere in Portsmouth for a mere £9.99! Although the album commands up to £250 on eBay, I am certain that there are some still floating around out there at much less cost. The thing is, is this album worth the hunt?
The answer is a resounding ‘yes’, although I could not and would not recommend you pay such a hefty price for it! Jeff Redd is well loved for his superb debut CD for Uptown / MCA back in 1990, and if you love that set then it’s a sure thing to say that you will also love this. Perhaps more harder and urban in orientation, “Down Low” manages to appeal to those who are more predisposed to the modern “R&B” phenomenon, yet still has deep roots in the more soulful side of the street. Jeff’s vocals are silky, soulful and not in the nasal, whining style that seemed prevalent at the time.
The single release, “You Called And Showed Me”, I am sure was lifted from one of those 90s urban/gangsta films, the name of which naturally escapes me. This particular song is definitely one of those that still rode the wave of success at the tail end of the swingbeat years, and is one of the better and less ephemeral ambassadors for the genre. Indeed, it is still a solid track today, 18 years on. “Show You” with its ham-fisted clonking beats, samples and cool Rhodes keys is a complete and utter 90s KILLER choon. This was a perfect vehicle for Jeff to flex his vocal skills, swaggering effortlessly through the urban beats and smoother keys. This really is smooth, but with a roughness that will definitely have you nodding your head.
The old BB&Q classic, “Dreamer” is updated for the mid ‘90s, and the effort is absolutely superb; flighty beats, ricochet-styled effects and wonderful 80s based synths. Vocally, Jeff is right in mid-80s mode – a style that suits him so perfectly. Should a third album ever surface, I would hope that he adopt this style more than any other. One of my long-standing favourites is the bubbly, funky drummer-punched “I Still Do Care”- this is 90s street soul at its best.
If you want pure class, then check out the bass-pin rumbler that is “Why? (My Guilt)”. I still regularly spin this gem. To me the track has not aged one bit and still gets me ‘right there’ as much in 2008 as it did back in 1994. As far as ballads go, the best by far is the KILLER ballad “Let’s Spend The Night”, an Alton ‘Wokie’ Stewart production of the highest order. The scene is set is for a good old fashioned, no-nonsense bit of horizontal activity! The song opens up at a party, with our hero being approached, chatted up and immediately offered a bubble bath and a chance to jump into some girl’s bed. That sounds like a jolly good night out to me; though that has yet to happen to me in my local, worst luck! The album would be ripe for reissue here in the UK. Any of these songs would be great, still, on radio and on the dancefloors. If ever you see this CD please do not ignore it.
Barry Towler
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