Wise old Teddy, though, knew that it was ballads that they were best at and his ‘Love At First Sight’ is a Stylistics classic in waiting.Īfter the deal with Mercury folded the outfit became soul pilgrims – moving from label to label with an annoying regularity. The ‘Love Spell’ album was issued in ’79 and though Randazzo was still in charge, he allowed the group to record a couple of their own songs and on their ‘You Make Me Feel So Doggone Good’ and ‘Fantasy’ they strive to break away from their ballad image. It’s a quite superb ballad that borrows elements from many of the Stylistics’ earlier hits… wonderful! ‘First Impressions’ (NOT the Impressions’ song) is similarly constructed and as a single it took the band back into the charts. On 1978’s ‘In Fashion’ the most successful recreation of THAT sound was ‘Looking At Love Again’. Mercury brought in the legendary Teddy Randazzo to work with the group and, clearly, his brief was to recreate the magical sound that Thom Bell and Linda Creed had coaxed from the boys in their heyday.
When that label floundered the Stylistics found themselves with Mercury for whom they recorded ‘In Fashion’ and ‘Love Spell’ – two long-neglected albums now reissued by. Their best “era” of course was the early 70s when they scored dozens of hits for the Avco group of labels. Sure their catalogue includes some duds (incredibly money-making duds!) but it’s also stuffed with some of the most romantic and truly soulful recordings of any era. The Stylistics were – indeed, still are – one of THE great sweet soul groups.
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