Patrice Rushen – Straight From The Heart
Patrice Rushen – lead and backing vocals, electric piano (A1, A3, B1, B3-4), synthesizers (A1, B1, B3-4), acoustic piano (A2), percussion (A2-3, B1, B4), clavinet (A3, B2), guitar (B5)
Roy Galloway – backing vocals (A1-2, B1, B3-5), lead vocals (A3)
Jeanette Hawes – backing vocals (A2)
Lynn Davis – backing vocals (A3, B1-4)
Karen Evans – backing vocals (B2)
Brenda Russell – backing vocals (B2)
Charles Mims Jr. – electric piano (A2), backing vocals (B2), acoustic piano (B3), synthesizers (B3)
The Madagascar Horns - Horns
Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar (A2-3, B2), acoustic guitar (B1)
Wali Ali – electric guitar (B1)
Marlo Henderson – lead guitar (B2)
Freddie Washington – bass (A1-3, B1-3)
Melvin Webb – drums (A1-2)
Tony St. James – drums (A3, B3)
James Gadson – drums (B1, B4)
Ollie E. Brown – drums (B2)
Ulysses Duprée – percussion (A3)
Paulinho da Costa – percussion (B5)
Gerald Albright – saxophone (A1-2)
Clay Lawry – trombone (A2), bass trombone (A2)
Ray Brown – trumpet (A2)
Arranged by Patrice Rushen
Written by Patrice Rushen (all tracks), Teri McFadden (A1), Freddie Washington (A1-3, B1), Angela Ehgiator (A2), Charles Mims Jr. (A2), Roy Galloway (A3), Lynn Davis (B1), Brenda Russell (B2), Mims Jr. (B3), Syreeta Wright (B3), Karen Evans (B4), Fay Hauser (B5)
1 LP, standard sleeve
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33RPM
Size : 12”
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Quality Record Pressings
Label : Vinyl Me Please - Classics Series
Original Label : Elektra
Recorded October 1981 – February 1982 at Conway Studio, Hollywood, California
Recorded by Peter Chaikin, Philip Moores
Remixed by F. Byron Clark (A1 to B1, B4-5)
Produced by Charles Mims Jr., Patrice Rushen
Executive-Producer – Patrice Rushen
Mastered by John Golden at K Disc Mastering
Lacquer cut by Peter Beckmann at TechnologyWorks
Art Direction – Ron Coro
Design by John Barr, Ron Coro
Liner Notes by Oliver Wang
Photography by Bobby Holland
Originally released in April 1982
Reissued in March 2020
Side A:
- Forget Me Nots
- I Was Tired of Being Alone
- All We Need
- Number One (Instrumental)
Side B:
- Where There Is Love
- Breakout!
- If Only
- Remind Me
- (She Will) Take You Down to Love
Awards:
Pitchfork list of the 200 Greatest Albums of the 1980s - Ranked #194
Reviews:
“An early-'80s jazz-pop-R&B synthesis as durable and pleasing as any other, Straight from the Heart was Patrice Rushen's most successful album, at least from a sales standpoint: it peaked at number 14 on the pop chart, 25 slots higher than 1980's Pizzazz. Still working with a core group of associates -- including Freddie Washington, Charles Mims, Paul M. Jackson, and Marlo Henderson (along with a still young Gerald Albright) -- that went back to her earlier Elektra albums, the material here is as slick as ever, but not at the expense of lighter rhythms or less memorable melodies. Much of the album's popularity can be attributed to the club hit "Forget Me Nots," Rushen's most-known single -- a breezy, buoyant mixture of handclaps, fingersnaps, twisting bass, and Rushen's typically blissful (and not overplayed) electric piano, not to mention the incorporation of a bad bass-and-percussion breakdown. (If you were born after the mid-'70s or so, you'd be more likely to recognize the song as the basis of Will Smith's "Men in Black.") Beyond a forgettable ballad or two, the only disappointment is the Brenda Russell collaboration on "Breakout!," where rock affectations (gnarling electric guitar, grimacing vocal tactics that suit neither Rushen nor Russell) damage what could've been a bigger hit. "Remind Me," despite not being released as a single, is a sweet and low-slung groove that has been sampled and interpolated by no less than a dozen significant rap and R&B songs -- including Faith Evans' "Fallin' in Love," Notorious B.I.G.'s "Unbelievable," MoKenStef's "He's Mine," and Junior M.A.F.I.A.'s "I Need You Tonight." But it's not like anything about this album requires that kind of validation.” AllMusic Review by Andy Kellman
Ratings:
AllMusic : 4.5 / 5 ; Discogs : 4.57 / 5