Donald Byrd and 125th Street, N.Y.C. - Love Has Come Around: The Elektra Records Anthology 1978-1982 / 2CD set

Jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd’s critically acclaimed career and life have assured the Detroit native his rightful place as one of the most respected musicians of the 20th century. Having successfully transitioned to Jazz Fusion in the 1970s under the guidance of the Mizell brothers, creating four albums on Blue Note records including the highly influential Places and Spaces, Byrd continued to explore the fertile possibilities of Fusion with four more albums recorded for Elektra Records between 1978 and 1982. 1978s Thank You… For F.U.M.L (Funking Up My Life), 1979s Donald Byrd & 125th Street N.Y.C. , produced by Byrd, and the two Isaac Hayes produced albums Love Byrd and Words, Sounds, Colors and Shapes from 1981 and 1982 respectively are fully represented over a two-disc anthology package from BBR.

Tracks produced by Byrd include the up-tempo jazz-funk-disco tracks ‘Thank You For Funking Up My Life,’ ‘Loving You,’ ‘Have You Heard The News,’ ‘Pretty Baby’ and ‘People Suppose To Be Free’ alongside the deeper jazz-fusion cuts of ‘Sunning In Your Loveshine,’ ‘Your Love Is My Ecstasy,’ ‘Gold The Moon, White The Sun’ and ‘Loving You,’ which reached #74 on the Billboard R&B chart early in 1979.

The Isaac Hayes produced tracks include ‘Love Has Come Around,’ (Byrd’s biggest R&B hit at #15), the dancefloor work outs ‘Sexy Dancer,’ (R&B #38) ‘Star Trippin’’ and ‘I Love Your Love’. The rich Hayes’ influenced ballads ‘I Feel Like Loving You Today’ and ‘Falling’ sit with the deeper jazz-fusion compositions ‘Butterfly,’ ‘I’ll Always Love You,’ ‘So Much In Love,’ ‘Forbidden Love’ and ‘Everyday.’

Featuring comprehensive liner notes and rare photos across a sixteen page booklet housed in a super-jewel CD case, Love Has Come Around is an essential addition to any Jazz Fusion, Funk, and Disco fan’s collection.

    - Disc 1 -
    1 Sexy Dancer
    2 Love Has Come Around
    3 Loving You
    4 I Love You
    5 Star Trippin'
    6 Love for Sale
    7 Giving It Up
    8 In Love with Love
    9 Midnight
    10 Have You Heard the News
    11 People Suppose to Be Free
    12 Your Love Is My Ecstasy
    13 High Energy
    14 Falling
    15 Morning
    16 So Much in Love
    - Disc 2 -
    1 Thank You for Funking Up My Life (12" Disco Version)
    2 Pretty Baby
    3 I Love Your Love
    4 Close Your Eyes and Look Within
    5 Forbidden Love
    6 Veronica
    7 Cristo Retendor
    8 Marilyn
    9 Butterfly
    10 Gold the Moon, White the Sun
    11 I'll Always Love You
    12 Everyday
    13 Sunning in Your Loveshine
    14 I Feel Like Loving You Today (Single Version)
    15 I'm Coming Home