''The Early Tapes (July/Aug 1980)'', also known as ''Strategy'', is the second album released, but first to be recorded, by English
jazz-funk
Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat, electrified sounds, and analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creation of a genre that ranges from ...
group
Level 42
Level 42 are an English jazz-funk band formed on the Isle of Wight in 1979. They had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s.
Their highest-charting single in the UK was " Lessons in Love", which reached number three on th ...
. Originally recorded for Elite Records, the band subsequently signed to
Polydor
Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...
, who bought the masters from Elite and issued it in March 1982. It features Level 42's first two singles—"
Love Meeting Love" (UK #61) and "(Flying on The) Wings of Love" (UK #76).
Track listing
# "Sandstorm" (Badarou, King) – 4:41
# "
Love Meeting Love" (Gould, King) – 6:24
# "Theme to Margaret" (King) – 3:59
# "Autumn (Paradise Is Free)" (King) – 4:45
# "(Flying on The) Wings of Love" (Badarou, Gould, Gould, King, Lindup) – 6:58
# "Woman" (Lindup) – 4:38
# "Mr. Pink" (Badarou, King) – 5:08
# "88" (King) – 5:11
Personnel
;Level 42
*
Mark King – bass guitar, percussion, vocals on "Love Meeting Love" & "Autumn (Paradise is Free)", chant vocals on "88"
*
Mike Lindup
Michael David Lindup (born 17 March 1959) is an English musician known as the keyboard player and falsetto-voiced singer who joined Mark King and brothers Phil and Boon Gould to form the British jazz-funk/pop rock band Level 42.
Early life
...
– keyboards, percussion, vocals on "Wings of Love", chant vocals on "88"
*
Boon Gould – guitars, alto saxophone
*
Phil Gould – drums, percussion
with:
*
Wally Badarou
Waliou Jacques Daniel Isheola "Wally" Badarou (born 22 March 1955) is a French musician. Born in France with ancestry from Benin, West Africa, Badarou is known for his close association with the English group Level 42, and for his prolific wor ...
–
Prophet 5
The Prophet-5 is an analog synthesizer manufactured by the American company Sequential. It was designed by Dave Smith and John Bowen in 1977. It was the first polyphonic synthesizer with fully programmable memory.
Before the Prophet-5, synth ...
and inspiration
*
Leroy Williams
Leroy Williams (February 3, 1937 – June 1, 2022) was an American drummer, mostly known for his work in jazz.
Williams first began playing drums as a teenager in the 1950s. From 1959 to the middle of the 1960s he played with singer Judy Roberts ...
– percussion (Courtesy
EMI
EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
)
*Dave Chambers – tenor and soprano saxophones
Charts
Release history
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Early Tapes, The
1982 albums
Level 42 albums
Albums produced by Mike Vernon (record producer)
Polydor Records albums