On this particular album, his third A&M release, the brilliant and well crafted, 1985's "The Vision", Howard takes the funk and dance music to an entirely higher level. The tracks, though largely drum programmed and synthesizer driven, except for one song, the Jermaine Jackson produced, "All We Have Is Love", are sequenced like that of a storybook romance. They almost chronicle a young man's sheer will, determination, pursuit, and victory of a woman's heart ..... only to have it crash down when she dumps him, hence the last song, "Older Girl". Let's do an Average White Band and check out the "School Boy's Crush" adventures of that young man as told through the vocal chords of Howard Johnson.
Opening track to this CD EVERYONE should have in their collection, is the funky bounced and lively, "Stand Up", written by Hojo himself, along with the late great and talented, Jerry Knight of "Ollie & Jerry" fame, best known for their 1984 break dancing smash, "There's No Stoppin' Us", as well his solo 1980 roller skate classic, "Overnight Sensation". The bass synthesizer here takes our mind on a trip with it's staccato performed lines, as the snare patch whips our necks about mercilessly. The drum machine execution of the handclaps, high hat and kick drum does exactly just that, KICKS ! Hojo's vocals are nothing short of superb, as he flexes the muscles of his larynx with a combinations of runs, high notes, acrobatics, some of which would cause permanent damage to a lot of the new male singers out there now. ..... Hey! I'm only telling you truth !! ...... Oh ! You don't believe me ?!?! Then check out the song below this review and hear for yourselves ! Humph ! ........ ;-) LOL !!
Now, the next song, "Knees", was released in 1985, correct ? ..... Correct. ....... OK, Keith Sweat burst on the scene in 1987, correct ? .... Correct. ..... Keith should've hired Howard as a consultant as he was recording "Make It Last Forever", for some tips on how to PROPERLY BEG !! I could see it now, Hojo saying to Keith in the control room of the studio, ...... "Nah! Nah! Nah! Keith! Keith! Keith! you're doing it all wrong ! This is how it's done! Pay close attention" ..... then Howard would've ask the engineer to cue up "Knees" and have it blast through the monitors so it could soak in. .... But it worked out for Keith in the end as he himself mastered the art of begging as his career progressed ....... LOL ! ;-) ...... Now, I just gave you the lyrical subject matter of this song here of which Hojo pulled off like a true champ ..... particularly when he said, "While I'm down here ... what do you want me to do ??!!" ..... in a British accent !! ..... Me personally, I thought the brother was from the UK when I heard that !! But the Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis written and produced track itself kicked ass like a, well, Jam & Lewis track !! Those elements of a Jam & Lewis production, during that time period at least, consisted of sub octave bass synthesizer notes, Oberheim OB~X keyboard runs, sustained droned synthesizer soundscapes, heavy and bombastic snare and kick Linn LM-1 drum programmed sounds, and reversed handclaps, the usual suspects. Funk at it's finest, that's all.
"So Tuff", produced by the extremely talented, but yet underrated, and music industry accolade overlooked production team of Vincent Brantley & Rick Timas, is yet another head bobbing funk throwdown that fits like a hand in glove with the other well crafted songs on this album. It's worth noting that Vincent & Rick wrote and co-produced the 1984 New Edition hit, "Cool It Now", as well as N.E.'s 1985 hit, "Count Me Out". The production values heard here are nothing short of spectacular. Along with the well layed synthesizers, and drum programmed hi-hat/snare/kick drum/cymbal crashes, you'll hear the sleek and downright funky licks of the electric rhythm guitar. Another fantastic element of this song that stands out to me are the background vocals. Their presence is pretty much in your face as they're mixed much louder than normally would be allowed, according to most recordings we hear ..... and who's to say they should or should not be ?! WHO ?! They're in tune, in harmony, and blend really well with Howard's powerhouse vocal delivery. Once again, Hojo sings the verses and choruses effortlessly as only a REAL singer could ! Homes sung a high registered falsetto run in the bridge that would've, once again, sent a lot of these male singers out today into cardiac arrest. ..... and if you're one of those singers reading this, please, don't try to replicate what Howard does on this album. I don't think your record company will flip the bill for your hospital stay. Besides, you're probably already knee deep in debt to them anyway, so why go there ? :-( ....... Just leave it to the pros, OK ?! :-/ ........... Good ! I thought so :-)
Now comes heartbreak time. Here's where it all come crashing down for a brother that was turned out, turned in, and spat out. I'm referring to the Monte Moir written and produced cougar anthem, "Older Girl". The mid range sounding, and not so bottom endy bass synth performance, pretty much carried the melody throughout the song which gave it the "umph" it needs. In addition to the same types of synth's more than likely used by Jam & Lewis, and the oh-so-ever-present drum programmed grooves of the "hi-hat/snare/kick drum/cymbal crash", they meshed very nicely with Howard's emotion driven storytelling performance. His doubled background vocal parts, fills, and overdubs were recorded and mixed very nicely. Kudos to engineer Steve Weiss for that. A great ending to a great album.
After this recording, Howard returned to scene 4 years later with, YET ANOTHER, overlooked project, 1989's self titled album, "Johnson & Branson" on A&M Records. It's reassuring to know Hojo is still to this day recording and performing, ..... and sounding better than ever ! ....... Once again, you don't believe me ?! ..... This is really getting tired :-/ ..... Go see for yourselves in the live performance clip below the "Kness" video. Like many solo male, and female R&B singers during that time in '80's, Hojo never really got his just due. Yes, he's had hits, but they were mainly relegated to urban radio ... and nothing else beyond. But what's really sad, to me at least, urban radio at the time, didn't even support this record. I didn't hear not ONE song from this album on the radio here in NYC in 1985 ..... Hell, they didn't even play any songs from the "Doin' It My Way" album in 1983, and it's a damn shame !! .... and NYC is suppose to be the world's largest radio market ?! YEAH RIGHT !
But thank God, we have internet and satellite radio to play those songs terrestrial radio, politically, did not program during that time .... and STILL to this day, not programming. So I strongly encourage those reading this review with Funk, R&B, Soul, Hip Hop, or whatever, internet radio shows worldwide to play, not only Howard's recordings, but other artists that weren't given the time of day during their so-called, run. Please reintroduce, and in some cases, introduce Howard to a new generation of listeners and aspiring singers. Cool ?! ........ COOL !! :-)
Musically Yours,
Ran Man
Become a friend of Hojo's on Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/HowardjohnsonSofine
Pick up this "PICASSO" of an album here : http://www.vinyl-masterpiece.com/howard-johnson-vision-p-1456.html
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