From 1975-1978, Dick Griffey and #Soul Train host Don Cornelius co-led Soul Train Records, which evolved into Griffey's Solar Records after Cornelius' departure in 1978 and proved to be one of the hottest RB labels of the late '70s and early to mid-'80s. When Griffey and Cornelius were still working together and Soul Train Records had yet to become Solar Records, the company went through a trial and error process. Soul Train had some hits -- including Shalamar's Uptown Festival in 1977 and the Whispers' Living Together (In Sin) in 1976 -- but it wasn't the Motown-like powerhouse that Solar would become. The company was still finding its way in 1977, when it released Sunbear's self-titled debut album. Commercially, this LP was a major disappointment, and that's regrettable because it's a generally decent, if less than spectacular, soul/funk outing. Sunbear had a likable sound, and the band's appreciation of Earth, Wind Fire and Tower of Power (among others) comes through on funk items like Don't Overlook the Feelings and I Heard the Voice of Music Say. The best thing on the album, however, isn't a funk smoker -- it's the dreamy soul ballad Fantasy, which shouldn't be confused with the Earth, Wind Fire favorite. Had Sunbear's Fantasy been released as a single, perhaps it would have been a hit. In 1980, the song reached a much larger audience when the Whispers recorded it on Imagination, one of their strongest and most successful albums. And by that time, Sunbear was history. This LP, which Sunbear produced with Griffey and Cornelius, went out of print when Soul Train Records evolved into Solar in 1978. ~ Alex Henderson, Rovi

1		Erika
2		Let Love Flow for Peace
3		So Long
4		I Heard the Voice of Music Say
5		Mood 1 "L.O.V.E. Love"
6		Fantasy
7		Don't Overlook the Feelings
8		Mood 2 "Love At First Sight"
9		Rhythm of Our Souls
10		Mood 3 "Oliver"
11		Erika

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