Roy Ayers Ubiquity – Running Away b/w Love Will Bring Us Back Together 12”

Two stone cold Roy Ayers classics, get the South Street Disco official reissue treatment, one side the feel-good disco-tinged, jazz funk fire ‘Running Away’ and the other the smooth groove, love letter funk bomb ‘Love Will Bring Us Back Together’. Melting hearts, melting minds, is there a better Valentines gift out there then two slices of joy from Roy? From hip hop to house, ‘Running Away’ has been a favoured sampling treasure since it came out in 1977. This song was most famously sampled by A Tribe Called Quest in ‘Definition of a Fool’, but it has also been sampled by Common, Slick, Rick, Big Daddy Kane, Pal Joey, and Arman Van Helden. Co-produced alongside Edwin Birdsong and William Allen, joyous vocal harmonies dance around grooving basslines, strutting guitar riffs and Roy’s warm soothing tones. Top it off with some trademark vibes and it’s a one-way ticket to happiness, pure sunshine smiles all round. Flip it to find ‘Love Will Bring Us Back Together’, also sampled in the Mary J. Blige ‘Real Love (Phat Mix)’. Straight up seductive business co-produced by Carla Vaughn. It’s silky, it’s smooth, it’s everything you want it to be and more. Clavinet wizardry, buttery Rhodes layers and fiery vocals. Loved up funk at it’s best.