Track Listing

1. Galaxia
2. That's the Time
3. Break it Out
4. Rollin'
5. Let's Make Love
6. Heartfelt
7. Tally Ho
8. Cafe L'Amour
9. Ju-Ju
10. Goin' Back Home
11. Karma
12. Making Up

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10905 in Music
• Released on: 2002-07-23
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Amazon.com
It's hard to believe that this is the eighth Fourplay album. It seems that the group tried so hard to duplicate the commercial success of their first three albums that they sleepwalked through the next three. Now freed from the corporate culture of the monolithic record company they once answered to, the supergroup has re-energized and finally, after 10 years, surpassed the artistic success of their marvelous self-titled debut. It's as if some of their smooth-jazz slickness has been worn away, because Heartfelt actually shows there are some hard edges to the group. Oh sure, Harvey Mason's "That's the Time," Larry Carton's "Rollin,'" and Nathan East's "Let's Make Love," may find their way to radio and help push album sales, but on many of the tracks, including two they wrote collectively ("Galaxia," "Café L'Amour"), there's a bit too much sizzle for airplay. Carlton has really settled into the group and he actually has some burning guitar solos that will also never be heard on said staid airwaves. On a couple of tracks, Bob James echoes his very popular '70s keyboard sound, especially "Break It Out," which is very reminiscent of his classic "Westchester Lady." --Mark Ruffin

Customer Reviews

Finally, Fourplay back to the Groove
I've been a fan of Fourplay for a long time, and have all of their releases. While Elixir is probably still my favorite, this disc comes really close to the energy and chemistry on that one. The first track is one of the highlights of the disc. It sucks you right in and sets the mood quite well. It's atypical of their previous work and sounds fresh and exploratory. The next few tracks follow the standard Fourplay time signatures and chord progressions. Then there's the obligatory vocal track - 'Let's Make Love', which could have easily been left off to increase this collection to 4 1/2 or 5 stars. Nathan should save his songwriting for a solo disc and save us the time skipping over his tracks on the Fourplay discs. Then the group collectively kick it up a notch on 'Tally Ho' and Cafe L'Amour, which are wonderful compositions, again very fresh and energized sounding. Fourplay sets the bar pretty high for a lot of the jazz pretenders out there fiddling with their programming. There's nothing like the chemistry of a group where every musician is above par and allowed to contribute their musical talents to find new heights.

12 tracks: playing time: 66:03

Tired of the polish of the radio stuff..?
Somebody really cool that they respect must have gotten to these guys and said, "Enough already; just play".

A couple of the tracks still sit pretty pat in the contemporary jazz radio chair ("Let's Make Love" being the most blatant culprit here), but much of this record is simply too cool and out-of-the-norm to fall inbetween Marion Meadows and the 13th Sade song that hour on your average radio dial. There's WAY less vocal action here for once, allowing the band to really show off why getting together in the first place was such a good idea: all of these guys are legends in their own right and having them play together is asking for a great time. They seem to be reaching backwards a little, with grooves and arrangements that challenge casual listening but keep you nodding your head with the beat...like Bob James USED to do all of the time (not Grover Washington-period funky, but definitely in line with his 80s stuff before it went too soft). "Galaxia" and "Cafre L'amour" have some serious teeth.

If you miss the Yellowjackets circa 1990, or the local jazz radio station seems to run the same sax player over a Lisa Stansfield beat one too many times for your taste anymore, get this record. It's sharp as a tack and I'm sure will make some long-standing fans turn their heads a little, but will recover longtime fans of the players who wrote this group off about album #3 or so.

Simply Their Best Effort to Date
I'm still on Cloud 9 after seeing them perform live at the Mountain Winery. Their performance of Tally Ho convinced me once and for all that "Heartfelt" is their best effort to date. I received Heartfelt right after its release and have not been able to stop listening to it. The entire CD is great and has something to appeal to all tastes. There's even a bluesy tune, "Ju-Ju", to appeal to Larry's fans. Complementing the incredibly great musicianship displayed on this CD is a fantastic production, reminescent of Steely Dan's "Two Against Nature". In summary, Fourplay has finally been allowed to let loose and show their stuff. I would be surprised if this effort is not a Grammy winner.