Monday, 13 August 2018

Omar - For Pleasure (1994)

BMG ‎– 74321208532, RCA ‎– 74321208532


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Listen, before I start the review proper I feel the need to preface it with the following: we're not in the business of posting up entire albums on the Soul Vendor. We're all about venerating certain artists and primarily posting dope CD Singles containing mixes that, criminally, would be otherwise lost to time.

However, this album is special and deserving of veneration. It's out of print and only available on the secondary market, often for silly money (I'm looking at you Amazon third party sellers). Please do all you can to support the artist if you dig his work. Omar is the very definition of "legendary" and is one of the rare UK soul artists who had a very palpable influence on the US artists, essentially creating "neo soul" before it was even a thing.

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Omar released For Pleasure back in July 1994 to widespread acclaim. Known mainly for the super-smooth joint There's Nothing Like This and the fabulous Your Loss My Gain, this time around Omar dropped an absolute BOMB of an album in For Pleasure which had a lot more swagger about it. The production had a touch more of the hiphop about it, and the tracks, for my tastes, were of a higher standard.

The first track proper, I'm Still Standing, is as infectious as the flu, and a great way to kick things off. I love how Omar plays those keys - it really makes me regret dropping my piano lessons! Next up is Saturday, probably my favourite cut off the album. That Monstrous bassline had me at first listen. Keep Steppin' is dope with its positive lyrics, but I preferred the Uptight Remix on the CD SingleOther choice cuts would be Need You Bad, Confection, Making Sense Of It with its square synth bass lead and the title track For Pleasure, in which Omar sounds like he's channelling Stevie Wonder on those keys!



For Pleasure remains a gem in the crown of UK soul and, for me at least, a true seminal moment. I hope it brings you as many eargasms as it did me.


Tracklist
  1. My Baby Says
  2. I'm Still Standing
  3. Saturday
  4. Keep Steppin'
  5. Magical Mystery Interlude
  6. Outside
  7. Little Boy
  8. Need You Bad
  9. Can't Get Nowhere
  10. Confection
  11. Magical Mystical Way
  12. Making Sense Of It
  13. For Pleasure
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Download here: O-FP.7z | Filesize: 118MB

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