Plush – Plush (2023 Remaster) (1982/2023) [FLAC 24bit/192kHz]

Plush – Plush (2023 Remaster) (1982/2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 32:22 minutes | 1,31 GB | Genre: R&B, Soul
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © RCA – Legacy

I’ve never hidden the fact that I think the ’80s was the greatest decade for modern R&B. While we’re on the subject of the ’80s, another potential hit making side project burst on to the scene only to be overlooked in the grand scheme of things. Plush, may have seemed at the time like just another R&B band whose record company was content to release a single or two and call it a day. That must have been the reality, but the band was actually a production team made up of Bobby Watson, Rene Moore and Angela Winbush. All successful artists in their own right, the masterminds behind Plush would go further by exploring dance music through the vocals of Siedah Garrett, Tony Phillips and Ambrose Price II.I stumbled on Plush by chance. In the winter of 1983 I recorded “We’ve Got the Love” from the radio never knowing who the song was by. It was only recently in the age of Shazam that I was able to identify the song’s artist – ending the longtime assumption that it was Dynasty. Like The Family another group whose album was the band’s name, Plush was a kind of one album equivalent to today’s vaporware. Promoted on the radio for a brief time, I never heard from the group again. That might not have been completely true as it was difficult to tell where Rene and Angela started and Plush ended.

On the surface Plush sounded very much like Shalamar or a Leon Sylvers III production. The band’s only album Plush is a wonderful showcase of contemporary R&B trends circa 1982. With bouncy bass, infections melodies and booty swinging’ rhythm, Plush seemed to have it all. There was also a considerable amount of vocal talent between it’s primary vocalists Tony Phillips and Ambrose Price II.

The only single “Free and Easy” is typical of the transitional R&B of the early ’80s. Written by Rene Moore and Angela Winbush, the track is built around a pronounced bass line and hand claps. It could have easily passed for a Shalamar song. Plush is primarily a dance album, only letting up for the smooth quiet storm of “Strangers Again” (another Rene & Angela Winbush cover).

Tracklist:

1-01. Plush – Burnin’ Love (03:44)
1-02. Plush – We’ve Got the Love (04:06)
1-03. Plush – Free and Easy (04:21)
1-04. Plush – Gonna Get Ya (03:33)
1-05. Plush – Strangers Again (05:29)
1-06. Plush – Livin’ for Your Love (03:53)
1-07. Plush – I Don’t Know (Where Love Comes From) (04:04)
1-08. Plush – Coast to Coast (03:10)

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