Without You - Lucy Pearl

One of my favourite aspects of writing for Driving Sounds is the audition process for car features. Typically, I will have a number of tracks up my sleeve. These will be tracks well known to me, with particular musical or instrumental cue points that allow me to compare the systems I encounter with my own reference system.

Over the years, I have learned the importance of also listening to some of the music the car owner listens to. After all, they will have affected the setup with a list of music genres and even specific tracks they like to listen to. This is how I came across this banging funk track by Lucy Pearl.

Michael Bavin played the track to me in his Lotus as an example of music he likes. I also like it a lot now - Thanks, Michael!

Lucy Pearl was a short-lived funk supergroup composed of experienced musicians/producers associated with some of the genre's biggest names. Raphael Saadiq is a multi-instrumentalist who toured as a bass player with Prince. He has also contributed to the work of Stevie Wonder, Beyonce and Earth, Wind, and Fire, among many others. In this setting, he is joined by En Vogue vocalist Dawn Robinson. Aided and abetted by Ali Shaheed Muhammad, a Hip-hop DJ whose most famous work was with A Tribe Called Quest. They are joined by Joi (Outkast, Curtis Mayfield, George Clinton) on BV's and writing duties. 

"Without You" opens with a short introduction featuring a heavy wah-wah guitar, piano, other keyboards, and a spoken male vocal. We have to wait 26 seconds for the track to burst into an '80s-style funk track. Tight, accurate guitar chops and jazz funk bass line are glued together by crisp rhythmic drums, creating a sound as good as any funk song I have ever heard.

A 46-second Dawn Robinson steps up to the mic. The track supports her vocals without too much complication or unnecessary layers, often associated with commercial funk. A set of Claves (wooden sticks) punctuates the rhythm, but nothing gets in the way of the vocal.

At 1m10s, Joi adds multi-layered close-harmony vocals to the chorus, giving the track a further lift. Once all of these grooves and sounds and majestic playing have been established, there is no need for anything more. I am not a dancer, but I can imagine those who are struggling to keep still while listening to this dynamic and entertaining track.

Certainly, played through Michael's Audison Voce II Speakers/Audison Forza amplifier/Prima APBX 10 AS system, the track demonstrates that, despite the efforts of an industry attempting to sideline musicians in favour of machines, the need for excellent playing still wins the day!