By 1984, African-American popular music had become extremely high tech.
The horn-powered funk bands that were huge in the 1970s were out of style, and young audiences were demanding hip-hop, electro-funk, and urban contemporary -- not horn bands that sounded like the Ohio Players or Tower of Power circa 1975.
Horn bands were still in vogue only in the home of the go-go explosion: Washington, DC.
But these changes in the marketplace didn't hurt Cameo; both commercially and creatively, 1984's She's Strange was a winner.
Thankfully, Cameo leader Larry Blackmon isn't afraid to try different things on this excellent album.
The mysterious title song (a major hit) and the sociopolitical "Talking Out the Side of Your Neck" find Cameo responding to hip-hop's popularity by including a lot of rapping, while "Lé Ve Toi!" is very rock-minded -- it's still funk, but funk laced with lots of rock.
"Tribute to Bob Marley" is a reggae gem that salutes the Jamaican legend, and "Hangin' Downtown" is a smooth, jazzy number with a definite quiet storm appeal.
When She's Strange soared up Billboard's R&B albums chart, one had to admire Cameo's durability.
Other bands that had emerged in the 1970s were hurting, but with She's Strange, Cameo had no problem maintaining both its freshness and its popularity.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | She's StrangeLarry Blackmon, Tomi Jenkins, Nathan Leftenant, Charlie Singleton | Cameo | Play | 07:11 | 16 MB | 46 MB |
| 2 | Love You AnywayLarry Blackmon, Charlie Singleton, Melvin Wells | Cameo | Play | 04:48 | 11 MB | 30 MB |
| 3 | Talkin' Out the Side of Your NeckLarry Blackmon, Tomi Jenkins, Nathan Leftenant, Charlie Singleton | Cameo | Play | 04:05 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 4 | Tribute To Bob MarleyLarry Blackmon | Cameo | Play | 05:01 | 11 MB | 31 MB |
| 5 | Groove With YouLarry Blackmon | Cameo | Play | 04:24 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 6 | Hangin' DowntownKenni Hairston | Cameo | Play | 05:08 | 11 MB | 30 MB |
| 7 | Leve ToiLarry Blackmon | Cameo | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 34 mins | 79 MB | |||||
| 34 mins | 222 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rod Antoon | Keyboards |
| 2 | Anthony Barboza | Photography |
| 3 | Larry Blackmon | Arranger, Audio Production, Composer, Drums, Guitar (Bass), Horn Arrangements, Member of Attributed Artist, Mixing, Percussion, Producer, Vocals |
| 4 | Michael Burnett | Guitar (Bass) |
| 5 | Cameo | Primary Artist |
| 6 | Glen Christensen | Graphic Design |
| 7 | Kenni Hairston | Composer |
| 8 | Mac James | Artwork |
| 9 | Tomi Jenkins | Composer, Member of Attributed Artist, Vocals |
| 10 | Steve Jerome | Mixing |
| 11 | Kevin Kendricks | Keyboards, Synthesizer |
| 12 | Nathan Leftenant | Composer, Horn Arrangements, Member of Attributed Artist, Vocals (Background) |
| 13 | Bill Levy | Art Direction |
| 14 | Wesley Phillips | Trumpet |
| 15 | Alan "Funt" Prater | Trombone |
| 16 | Tom Race | Engineer, Mixing |
| 17 | Charlie Singleton | Arranger, Composer, Guitar, Keyboards, Member of Attributed Artist, Percussion, Synthesizer, Vocals |
| 18 | Jack Skinner | Mastering |
| 19 | Melvin Wells | Composer, Guitar (Bass), Horn Arrangements, Sax (Alto), Vocals (Background) |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |