Atlantic Starr released their first album in 1978 where this weeks pick originates from. I first heard this song on a mixtape Sweet Sticky Thing by the legendary Nujabes. It’s track 6 on side B if you’re curious. That whole mixtape gets a solid recommendation from me if you’ve never heard it. Tons of fairly deep soul and R&B cuts that will fuel many a beat making session. Anyway back to the track at hand.
With Your Love I Come Alive is a classic R&B track. It opens up with tight drums, a groovy ass bass line and windy guitar riff. The guitar player plays the pocket so well you’d have to be dead to not enjoy it. Kudos to David Lewis. Along with the great musicianship on display the track really comes into its own once Porter Carroll starts vocalizing and the back up singers harmonize with him. This part would be a great starting point for some mallsoft or vaporwave.
Porter’s lines are spaced out far enough that they can easily be chopped up and processed.The bass grove that comes up every bar is played by Clifton Archer. Clifton played bass on 5 more Atlantic Starr releases before leaving the group in the mid 80s. He went on to do bass work for Japanese Singer Shanti in the early 2010s. The entire album is produced by prolific Bobby-Eli who produced albums for Wilson Pickett, The Spinners, Barbra Mason and countless other R&B heavyweights.
With Your Love … is a mellow number with enough instrumental bits to chop up to get a real groove going.
Peace!!!
