This double album, the soundtrack to a hit 1976 urban-themed comedy starring
Richard Pryor
and
George Carlin
, was also the debut album for
funk
hitmakers
Rose Royce
. Although they had already recorded most of a non-soundtrack album prior to
Car Wash
, their producer and Svengali
Norman Whitfield
insisted that they put that aside when he got the opportunity to write the score for this film. The result was a killer crossover success that made the group's name and proved there was life after
Motown
for
Whitfield
. It also produced some serious hit singles: the title track was a clever tune that blended a throbbing
disco
beat, hypnotic
riffs from the rhythm section, and an ornate string arrangement to become number one hit, and
"I Wanna Get Next to You"
married ethereal strings to a mid-tempo
soul
beat to create a classic
ballad
in the mold of
's work with
the Temptations
. The remainder of the album divides its time between funky songs and orchestral-tinged
instrumental
workouts. In the song arena, standouts include
"I'm Going Down,"
a torchy, dramatically-arranged
that features an all-stops-out vocal performance from
Gwen Dickey
, and
"Daddy Rich,"
a witty portrait of a religious con man that is built on an infectious combination of staccato horns and a relentlessly churning rhythm guitar hook. The masterpiece in the instrumental arena is
"Sunrise,"
a hypnotic ten-minute epic whose effective tension-and-release arrangement that adds and subtracts layers of instrumentation over a pulsating beat to create a thoroughly hypnotic effect. Two album's worth of
may be a little too much for the casual listener, but there is no denying that
is both stylishly crafted and intensely funky. It is a required listen for anyone interested in
and a solid choice for
fans alike. ~ Donald A. Guarisco