The Invisible Man's Band was the brainchild of Clarence Burke Jr. who enlisted the help of his brothers Keni, Dennis and James, all former members of The Five Stairsteps. Their first, self-titled album was released in 1980 on the Island/Mango Label after a couple of singles were released to positive reviews the previous year. This album is not all that easy to come by but there are used copies that appear in circulation from time to time. Second hand record shops and Ebay are your best bet for obtaining one. All the tracks on this album are danceable, that is, for the time period from which they came, when the Latin Hustle was all the rage. There is only one down tempo song on this album and even that can accommodate a slow Hustle. I can't help but feel that there is some secret underlying theme to some of these tracks, apart from the obvious ones like, "Rent Strike". For example, listen to "X-Country" (that's Cross-Country) and tell me you don't get the feeling that they're taking a shot at the southern mentality of the day. If you didn't live through that time period, forget I mentioned it because it would take too long to explain. Another great track is the Latin influenced, "Full Moon", which opens the album. This is nothing less than a stellar LP and one that definitely should not be overlooked.
Invisible Man's Band LP (1980 Island Records)
Tracks:
1. Full Moon
2. All Night Thing
3. X-Country (Cross Country)
4. 9X's Out Of 10 (9 Times Out Of 10)
5. Rent Strike
6. Love Can't Come/Love Has Come
Credits:
Produced By Clarence Burke and Alex Masucci
Executive Producer: Chris Blackwell
Engineer: Ben Taylor
Creative Advisor: Dean Grant
Musicians:
Keni Burke: Bass
Dennis Burke: Rhythm Guitar
Clarence Burke: Lead and Acousic Guitar
James Burke: Vibes
Dean Grant: All Synthesizers and Keyboards
Steve Ferrone: Drums (Courtesy of AWB)
Ricardo Marrero: Latin Percussion (Courtesy of Vaya Records)
John Weisenburg: Banjo
Totico and Carlos Sanchez: Latin and Vocal Percussion
Bob Bryant: Lead Trumpet
Greg Fowler: Guitar
Lee Jaffe: Harmonica (Courtesy of EWF & ARC Records)
Don Myrick: Sax and Flute
Rahm Lee: Trumpet, Flugal Horn and all solos
Louis "Vibes" Satterfield: Trombone
Background Vocals:
Brenda Madison, Janice Burke, Yvonne Wright, The Burkes,
Vernon Stuart, Pete and Gerald Jackson,
(Ben Taylor and Alex Masucci on X-Country)
Album Cover Art:
Photography and Design: Jane Walsh-Ronayne
Photographed at Artspeak, NYC
Cover Model: Maggie Hahn (For those interested)
DOWNLOAD: LINK EXPIRED
References:
Invisible Man's Band at Discogs.Com
Invisible Man's Band at SoulWalking.Com
Keni Burke Biography at Homdrum.Net
Purchase LP's HERE
Invisible Man's Band LP (1980 Island Records)
Tracks:
1. Full Moon
2. All Night Thing
3. X-Country (Cross Country)
4. 9X's Out Of 10 (9 Times Out Of 10)
5. Rent Strike
6. Love Can't Come/Love Has Come
Credits:
Produced By Clarence Burke and Alex Masucci
Executive Producer: Chris Blackwell
Engineer: Ben Taylor
Creative Advisor: Dean Grant
Musicians:
Keni Burke: Bass
Dennis Burke: Rhythm Guitar
Clarence Burke: Lead and Acousic Guitar
James Burke: Vibes
Dean Grant: All Synthesizers and Keyboards
Steve Ferrone: Drums (Courtesy of AWB)
Ricardo Marrero: Latin Percussion (Courtesy of Vaya Records)
John Weisenburg: Banjo
Totico and Carlos Sanchez: Latin and Vocal Percussion
Bob Bryant: Lead Trumpet
Greg Fowler: Guitar
Lee Jaffe: Harmonica (Courtesy of EWF & ARC Records)
Don Myrick: Sax and Flute
Rahm Lee: Trumpet, Flugal Horn and all solos
Louis "Vibes" Satterfield: Trombone
Background Vocals:
Brenda Madison, Janice Burke, Yvonne Wright, The Burkes,
Vernon Stuart, Pete and Gerald Jackson,
(Ben Taylor and Alex Masucci on X-Country)
Album Cover Art:
Photography and Design: Jane Walsh-Ronayne
Photographed at Artspeak, NYC
Cover Model: Maggie Hahn (For those interested)
DOWNLOAD: LINK EXPIRED
References:
Invisible Man's Band at Discogs.Com
Invisible Man's Band at SoulWalking.Com
Keni Burke Biography at Homdrum.Net
Purchase LP's HERE
