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"Fade To Black" b/w "The Beat" by Blackbyrd and the Beat Brothers

Released in 1988 this 12" 33 1/3 rpm dance record was the product of a collaboration between the original Beat Brothers, Bob Ernest, Scott Rosner, Stan Iceland, John "Chris" Christensen, and guitarist extraordinaire Blackbyrd McKnight. Followers of useless musical trivia probably already know that Blackbyrd was the unrecorded lead guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The rest of the Blackbyrd pedigree includes stints with Miles Davis, Charles Lloyd, Herbie Hancock and George Clinton’s various aggregations. In short, he’s much too talented for his own good.

"Fade to Black" is an original composition by Blackbyrd. Just barely produced by Chris Christensen, it shows Blackbyrd being his funky self. Doing a great job on vocals bass and rhythm guitar, this is basically a one-man show, the exception to that rule being the excellent drum programming by Scott Rosner. "Fade to Black" is reprised in a re-mixed version that is a much more collaborative effort. It features funky marimba and tom-tom ostinatos with a variety of instrumental and vocal textures. It especially showcases the excellent vocals of Blackbyrd McKnight.

"The Beat" is based on a composition by John "Chris" Christensen with contributions by the Beat Brothers, Backbyrd McKnight, and Laurie Pickle of Hot Food To Go! Mach 1 & 3. "The Beat" appears in vocal & re-mixed instrumental versions. Power Percussion fused with timbale solos and electronically created and modified instruments are part of the attraction here. Blackbyrd-"Do you know there’s a minor lick and a major line going on there?" Christensen-"Is that a problem for you?" Blackbyrd-"Not at all." Slightly outside and absolutely funky, "The Beat" is an interesting and unusual dance record.

Very limited quantities remain in Vinyl Only.

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