(April 27, 2021) The band Motivation made its debut in 1983 with the album Crazy Daze. The record captured the R&B musical landscape in what was a transitional period. Crazy Daze featured excellent ballad work in cuts like “Please Don’t Say No” and a series of funky, bass driven upbeat vocal and instrumental numbers that gave the band a chance to stretch out and showcase their musicianship.
In a way, Crazy Daze was a funk album that had a good helping of jazz fusion elements. The dilemma is that Motivation released this album at a time when the industry was transitioning from those kind of projects, so the band’s fun and funky debut never received the attention it deserved. But both the title track and “Please Don’t Say No” became a part of the soundtrack of 1980s R&B through their presence on the charts, and they have aged well.
(April 27, 2021) The band Motivation made its debut in 1983 with the album Crazy Daze. The record captured the R&B musical landscape in what was a transitional period. Crazy Daze featured excellent ballad work in cuts like “Please Don’t Say No” and a series of funky, bass driven upbeat vocal and instrumental numbers that gave the band a chance to stretch out and showcase their musicianship.
In a way, Crazy Daze was a funk album that had a good helping of jazz fusion elements. The dilemma is that Motivation released this album at a time when the industry was transitioning from those kind of projects, so the band’s fun and funky debut never received the attention it deserved. But both the title track and “Please Don’t Say No” became a part of the soundtrack of 1980s R&B through their presence on the charts, and they have aged well.
Now, Motivation returns more than three and a half decades later with a bit a summertime fun called “Sexy Legs.” The cut finds the band, led by co-founder, producer and guitarist Steven Tynes, returning to a formula that served them well on Crazy Daze – a bass line that pops, augmented by horn work. “Sexy Legs” recalls one of the time-honored summertime musical traditions – songs about guys admiring ladies – from a socially and very respectful distance, of course. Check “Sexy Legs” out here.
By Howard Dukes
Motivation – “Sexy Legs”