Review: “High-Rise” by Ashford & Simpson (Vinyl, 1983)

Today’s POP RESCUE from an uncertain fate, is the 1983 10th studio album High-Rise by American husband and wife duo Ashford & Simpson. Will this album be like a fun night on the tiles, or is it from the bad side of town? Read on…

Ashford & Simpson - High-Rise (1983) album — Ashford & Simpson – High-Rise (1983) album

Title track and single High-Rise opens Side One of the LP, and the track soon plunges into vocals with Nickolas Ashford. It’s a nice gentle pop song with a nice thumping bass drum, wonderful vibe solo, and plenty of echoes of disco. The contrast in the vocals once Valerie Simpson arrives, works a treat. It’s a lovely up-beat track, and I can imagine some absolute stomping remixes of this track. It’s a great start to the album.

Next up is Side Effect, and this track reminds me occasionally of Chic in the mixtures of funky bass and vocal harmonies. Valerie gets to show off some fantastic vocals here as the song reaches the final furlong. It’s another really nice track.

Then we’re on to Experience (Love Had No Face), which wins this year’s award for oddest song title, but that aside, we’re into a slower tender track. This allows Valerie and Nickolas to show off their softer vocals. They’re flanked by a gentle beat, brass and strings, that really works well with the track as both Valerie’s vocals and the string section steadily grow.

A drum fill takes us into It’s A Rush. Valerie is joined by a really nice sounding 80s synth, and Nickolas is soon on the microphone too. This is a really nice upbeat track, loaded with some great sounds, and vocal harmonies between the husband and wife duo, and really should have been a single.

Then we’re on to Side Two, opening with My Kinda Pick Me Up, and we’re into a really nice mellow jazzy start. A delicious bass sits comfortably with saxophone, piano, and soft beat. Valerie and Nickolas’ jazzier styled vocals work well here.

That’s followed by the album’s third and final single, I’m Not That Tough and for a fleeting moment in the intro, the melody reminds me of Easy by The Commodores. However, this is a loved-up song and it’s loaded with vocal harmonies and feels much like the couple singing it to themselves. It’s a nice warm song, but it wasn’t released in the UK.

It’s Much Deeper is next, and this gives us some electric guitars, and a harder and faster tempo. The track carries an element of urgency, which helps to make the song sound really quite catchy. Valerie and Nickolas sound great in this more pop-rock style, and there are fleeting moments where I find myself of Tina Turner. This was the album’s second single, but it wasn’t released in the UK.

The album closes with ballad Still Such A Thing, and this sees Nickolas and Valerie singing alongside piano and strings, in what is a fairly paint-by-numbers American love song. However, both get to show off their vocal power and range well in their soaring vocals as they seem to lift each other up higher and higher as the song evolves. It’s a nice emotive ending to this album.

Titular Ashford & Simpson single ‘High-Rise’ from 1983.

Verdict

Over all, this album is a pretty Solid album, but it doesn’t carry the power and hit quality of some of their other releases.

There’s no stinkers here, but instead, you’re treated to a wonderfully consistent high quality of production and musicianship. Nickolas and Valerie’s vocals and vocal harmonies are fantastic, and their performance allows you to feel an authentic bond between them as they sing their love songs, as well as their more upbeat songs.

The highlights here, aside from those wonderful vocal harmonies that are scattered almost throughout this album, are; High-Rise, It’s A Rush, and It’s Much Deeper. The lower points probably culminating in Experience (Love Had No Face) but even then there’s nothing wrong with it.

Whilst the catchier hits from Ashford & Simpson are elsewhere, this album is definitely worth a spin to help you discover what else they can do. Give it a go!