Shakatak are the most successful group to have emerged from the UK's late 1970s/early '80s jazz-funk scene. From their early days performing at jazz-funk �all-dayers' and �weekenders' to their superstar status in the mid-1980s, when they enjoyed a string of Top 40 chart hits, the original line-up � minus Nigel Wright (keyboards) and Keith Winter (guitar) � of Bill Sharpe (keyboards), George Anderson (bass guitar), Roger Odell (drums) and Jill Saward (vocals) remains intact. This Vocalion release comprises �Night Birds', their second album and the one that really put them on the map, as well as two tracks previously only available on 12-inch singles. �Night Birds' established Shakatak's trademark smooth and sophisticated jazz-funk sound, and contains two of the band's biggest hits, Easier Said than Done and Night Birds, the former reaching the No.12 spot in 1981, the latter climbing to No.9 in the following year. The album also features contributions from the late Dick Morrisey, one of the greatest saxophonists the UK has produced, whose sultry, elegant solos are featured on Streetwalkin' and Light on My Life. The vocal trio of Jill Saward, Lorna Bannon and Jackie Rawe are on hand to add atmospheric vocal lines (particularly so in the title track, Easier Said than Done, Bitch to the Boys and Fly the Wind), while George Anderson's �slap bass' provides a grooving, funky foundation throughout. Rounding off this superb reissue are Go for It, a bright instrumental originally issued on the B-side of the 1982 Streetwalkin' 12-inch single, and Fly the Wind re-mix, an extended version of the �Night Birds' album track and originally issued on the B-side of the 1983 single If You Could See Me Now. Remastered from the original analogue stereo tapes.

Night Birds
THE ORIGINAL LP POLS1059 (1982) STEREO
Recorded: Jacobs Studios, Surrey; PYE Studio No.2, London; Rock City Studios, Shepperton, Middlesex

Night Birds (Sharpe; Odell)
Streetwalkin' (Sharpe; Odell)
featuring Jackie Rawe (vocal) & Dick Morrisey (tenor sax)

Rio Nights (Sharpe; Odell)
featuring Simon Morton (Portuguese translation & vocal)

Fly the Wind (Sharpe; Odell)
Easier Said than Done (Sharpe; Odell)
Bitch to the Boys (Sharpe; Odell)

Light on My Life (Sharpe; Odell)
featuring Lorna Bannon (vocal) & Dick Morrisey (soprano sax)

Takin' Off (Sharpe)

Singles
Go for It (Sharpe; Odell) Full length version POSPX452 (1982)
Fly the Wind (re-mix) (Sharpe; Odell) POSPX635 (1983)

Personnel:
Bill Sharpe (Bosendorfer grand piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Oberheim OB-X, ARP Odyssey & Prophet 10 synthesisers)
Nigel Wright (Fender Rhodes electric piano, Oberheim OB-X & Prophet 10 synthesisers)
Keith Winter (Yamaha SG2000 & Gibson ES345 guitars, Ovation acoustic guitar, Mesa Boogie amplification & custom pedal board)
George Anderson (Music Man Stingray & G&L L2000E bass guitars)
Roger Odell (Sonor drums & Avedis Zildjian cymbals)
Simon Morton (Percussion)
Jill Saward/Jackie Rawe/Lorna Bannon (vocals)
Brass arrangements: Nigel Wright
Nigel Wright (trombone); Stuart Brooks (trumpet)

CDSML 8446

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