Tomorrow's People: Open Soul (Japan Import) Vinyl LP

"Everybody, everybody, wanna know… What is soul?" Tomorrow's People consisted of 4 brothers (Kevin, Maurice, Gerald, and Timothy Burton) from South Chicago, and the soul-funk group released Open Soul through Stage Productions in 1976. The record has since become a holy grail for collectors, and Japanese reissue powerhouse P-Vine has brought back the 5-tracker (feel free to check prices on vinyl marketplaces for og copies) with the original cover for the first time ever. Much of the conversation concerning the LP starts around the epic 20-minute title track, which apparently was not a written piece and/or rehearsed(!!!). It begins with cosmic-soul vibes created by warm keys and guitar riffs, then around the 2-minute mark, the funk explodes with percussion, simple-yet-effective bass work, and the catchy chanting that gets at the burning question: "What is soul?" The answer lies in tunes like "Lovers To Friends," "It Ain't Fair," and "Hurry On Up Tomorrow," but also, don't sleep on the funk-disco bump of "Let's Get Down With The Beat." Recommended.

• 1976 funk / soul holy grail reissued w/ original cover for the first time ever
  
• black vinyl pressing
  
• high-quality Japanese import w/ obi strip
  
• limited edition
• music label: P-Vine 2021

reviewed by enak light 04/2017