Wednesday 29 August 2018

En Vogue - Hold On (1990)

Atlantic – A 7908 CD, WEA International – 7567-86178-2-LO, 1990

EV_Hold_On_front

Another re-up in 320kbps!


I throw the word 'classic' around a lot in my write-ups, but I'm sure you will agree that this track is the very definition of the word.

I'm also quite sure you know all about En vogue already, but, if not, here's a bitesize guide: They're a Grammy-nominated R&B girl-band Assembled in Oakland, California, USA in July 1989 by producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy, formerly of Club Nouveau (Mick has already given us the lowdown on Foster & McElroy and Club Nouveau here.). En Vogue launched with original members Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones, Dawn Robinson (who left in 1997 & went on to form Lucy Pearl with Raphael Saadiq & ATCQ's Ali Shaheed Muhammed) and Terry Ellis. They sold over 28 million albums and singles worldwide, and have won more MTV Video Music Awards than any other all female group in MTV history, a total of 7 VMAs. The group was named the second most successful girl group of the 90's and the 18th most successful act overall of the 90's according to Billboard magazine.


EV_Hold_On_OFC

Hold On starts strong with the girls giving us a wicked rendition of The Jackson 5's Who's Lovin' You, showcasing each girls soaring vocals and the beautiful harmonising of the group as a whole. It gets better when the beat drops and suddenly we have an absolutely banging tune built on a loop from James Brown's beyond dope The Payback, over which the girls can strut their stuff and dispense beautifully sung knowledge and advice on keeping your man.

You know this tune, and you sure don't need me to tell you about it. There are three mixes on the CDS, not really a lot to pick from between them, but the extended version is worth the entry fee alone, as, unlike the other two versions, it hasn't featured on a million and one R&B compilation albums.
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Last bit of trivia about this particular release: The inlay card was misprinted with details of a release called Nationwide Television by a Tony Baez (see above). Weird.

EV_Hold_On_CD

Tracklist

  1. Hold On (7" Edit) 
  2. Hold On (Extended Version) 
  3. Hold On (Radio Version With Intro) 
Download: EV-HO.7z Filesize: 43.2MB

3 comments:

  1. Excellent group Kym but this release seemed a little weak to me. Not the song but the single, 3 versions of a song that really all sound the same?

    Nice write up Kymba, makes the post worthy of your hard work babygirl! ;-)

    http://www.discogs.com/Tony-Baez-Nationwide-Television/release/2480802

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  2. Hi Kymba
    I have a cd of Tammy Payne Free off a compilation mix - email me on turnerhooch@hotmail.com & will speak!
    Sheryl.

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  3. hi. will post tammy payne on my other blog http://se16s-big-beat.blogspot.co.uk/ just need to get back to bournemouth and pick it up, going back in november to see friends and pick up the other half of my tunes. loved this blog for years xx. can you see if the big man still needs the touchdown remix of the facts of life by danny maden, full 12" in 320 also on my new blog.

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