Deodato: Night Cruiser / Happy Hour

• Two of (Eumir) Deodato’s greatest Jazz Funk albums ‘Night Cruiser’ and ‘Happy Hour’ on one CD.

‘Night Cruiser’ was originally released in 1980 beginning with syncopated chords from a solo electric piano that initiates a four-on-the-floor disco-funk groove, the tune is a vibrant, get-down party piece that filled dance floors back in the day. It was issued as a single (in both 7-inch and 12-inch formats) and rose to #23 in the US dance charts. The album also features the stand out tracks ‘East Side Strut’ and ‘Uncle Funk’, and as a bonus track there’s the 7” version of ‘Uncle Funk’.

The ‘Happy Hour’ album was released in 1982 and features the track ‘Keep On Movin’’, a Deodato original that has been sampled by several dance and hip-hop artists (including Olav Basoski and Le Tropical). The track was the first single from ‘Happy Hour’ (it came out in both 7-inch and 12-inch formats with ‘Keep It In The Family’ on the B-side) in the spring of 1982 and dented the US dance charts, stalling at #41. The 7” version is included in this package as a bonus track. ‘Happy Hour’ was issued as the second single from the album in June 1982 and was something of a minor crossover hit, blowing up even bigger in the American dance charts. You can definitely hear the influence for the 80s Kool & The Gang albums within ‘Happy Hour’.

The 80s had been a hectic decade for Deodato which had seen plenty of outside production projects, mostly R&B acts such as Kool & The Gang, Con-Funk-Shun, Juicy, One Way, Gwen Guthrie and The Dazz Band.

TRACK LISTING:

NIGHT CRUISER
1. NIGHT CRUISER
2. EAST SIDE STRUT
3. SKATIN
4. UNCLE FUNK
5. LOVE MAGIC
6. GROOVITATION

BONUS TRACK
7. UNCLE FUNK (7” VERSION)

HAPPY HOUR
8. KEEP ON MOVIN
9. HAPPY HOUR
10. JUST THIS ONE NIGHT
11. TEARS OF A CLOWN
12. SWEET MAGIC
13. KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY
14. I NEVER GET ENOUGH

BONUS TRACK
15. KEEP ON MOVIN (7” VERSION)