Waiting on You [Bonus Tracks] in Bloomington, MN

After setting the funk world on fire with 1976's
Good High
and 1977's
Brick
, the Atlanta-based
seemed to be running out of steam on 1979's competent but unremarkable
Stoneheart
. Gratefully,
's fourth album,
Waiting on You
, was an improvement. Fans who found
to be uneven and mildly disappointing were pleased to discover that
were more inspired and focused on this 1980 LP. Without question,
sound rejuvenated on energetic, infectious funk smokers like
"Free,"
"Get Started,"
"Sweet Lips,"
and
"Push, Push."
And the band is equally appealing on the romantic soul ballad
"Let Me Make You Happy."
As much as
has going for it, the record isn't quite as strong as
or
, both of which are classics. But it's certainly superior to
, and it demonstrated that
were still quite capable of being exciting. [The 2010 reissue of the album on
Funky Town Grooves
adds "long" versions of the band's biggest hits (
"Dazz"
"Dusic"
) to the track listing.] ~ Alex Henderson