Inside of Me in Bloomington, MN

When
Esther Williams
'
Inside of Me
was first released in 1981, there was a lot of talk about how disco had died. To hear some people tell it, disco was so out of fashion in 1981 that even
Donna Summer
was trying to be new wave. But truth be told, disco was quite plentiful in 1981. Disco never died; it evolved and diversified, and new terms emerged in the ''80s (dance-pop, deep house, Hi-NRG).
Williams
enjoyed some exposure in dance clubs in 1981, especially with her seductive hit "I'll Be Your Pleasure" (which opens this album).
, which the Brooklyn-based
Funky Town Grooves
reissued on CD in 2011, doesn't get into Euro-disco at all; rather,
favors a disco-soul approach (a la
Loleatta Holloway
or
Jocelyn Brown
) on club-friendly offerings such as "I'll Be Your Pleasure," "You Can Have It All," and "You Can Use It." But it would be a mistake to think that
is strictly an album of uptempo dance grooves. Actually, the slower jams are very much in the Philadelphia soul vein, including "You Are the Spice of My Life," "Ready for Love," and the title song. So even though some parts of this 36-minute CD are club-friendly, other parts of it have a lot of quiet storm appeal.
was not a huge commercial hit when it first came out on LP back in 1981; regardless, this is a solid effort from the talented but underexposed
(who married Washington, D.C.-based jazz saxophonist
Davey Yarborough
and shouldn't be confused with the actress who appeared in all those
MGM
musicals in the '40s and '50s). And it is good to see
reissued on CD after being out of print for many years. ~ Alex Henderson