Janice Marie Johnson - One Taste Of Honey (1984) (vinyl Lp) - €10,00

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One Taste of Honey is the debut solo album by Janice-Marie Johnson of the American rhythm and blues group A Taste of Honey. 

It was produced by Mike Piccirillo and Gary Goetzman for Goetzman/Piccirillo Productions in association with Janice-Marie Enterprises Inc. and included the minor R&B hit Love Me Tonight. 

The album was recorded following the departure of Hazel Payne from A Taste of Honey in 1983 and after the commercial disappointment of their 1982 album, Ladies of the Eighties.

One Taste of Honey, is generally excellent. 

Those who expected this LP be a carbon copy of Honey’s soul/disco were in for a major surprise — determined to move forward, Johnson often favors a harder style of urban contemporary/funk with a slight rock edge. 

The singer/bassist maintains some of the sweetness she was known for, but her solo material is definitely more hard-edged than anything she did with Honey. 

In fact, Johnson really tears it up on uptempo gems like “Last Chance Romeo,” “Beverly Hills,” and “Baby Sister.” 

The Asian-tinged ballad “Love Me Tonight” (which was released as a single and became a minor hit) recalls Honey’s famous remake of Japanese singer Kyu Sakamoto‘s 1963 hit “Sukiyaki,” but for the most part, One Taste of Honey is the work of an artist who was refusing to live in the past. Unfortunately, corporate politics at Capitol prevented the LP from being the mega-hit it deserved to be — and Johnson was dropped by the label.

The album was recorded and released due to contractual obligations made with Capitol Records. 

One Taste of Honey was released in the summer of 1984, but was a huge commercial disappointment. Jim Mazza, president of Capitol Records at the time, was very supportive of the album, although he was removed by the time the album was released. 

As a result, there were problems between Johnson and Capitol Records, including promotion and the lead single choice. 

Two singles were released, “Love Me Tonight” and “She’s So Popular”. “Love Me Tonight” reached #67 on the then-called Hot Black Singles chart in the United States, while “She’s So Popular” was released internationally in an extended version and failed to chart.

Side A

A1.   Who’s It Gonna Be? - 4:19

A2.   Baby Sister - 3:54

A3.   Last Chance Romeo - 3:20

A4.   Beverly Hills - 3:50

A5.   She’s So Popular - 4:30

Side B

B1.   Back With My Boogie - 4:13

B2.   Love Me Tonite - 3:20

B3.   Givin’ It Up - 4:09

B4.   Catch 22 - 3:19

B5.   I’ll Be There - 3:49

Companies, etc.

• Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Capitol Records, Inc.
• Copyright © – Capitol Records, Inc.
• Marketed By – EMI
• Manufactured By – EMI
• Distributed By – EMI
• Printed By – EMI Services Benelux B.V.
• Produced For – Goetzman/Piccirillo Productions

Credits

• Art Direction – Roy Kohara
• Bass – Abe Laboriel
• Design – O'Brien
• Drums – John Robinson 
• Engineer – Mark Wolfson
• Executive-Producer – Don Grierson, Varnell Johnson
• Guitar – Paul Jackson, Jr.
• Keyboards – Bill Cuomo, Ron Jeffrey, Steve Rucker
• Mastered By – Wally Traugott
• Percussion – Darryl Jackson
• Photography By – Phil Fewsmith
• Producer – Gary Goetzman, Mike Piccirillo
• Producer [Associate] – Janice Marie Johnson
• Saxophone, Woodwind [Electronic Woodwind Instrument] – Joel Peskin

Produced for Goetzman/Piccirillo Productions
in association with Janice Marie Enterprises Inc.
Marketed, manufactured and distributed by EMI 

Notes

Release: 1984

Format:  LP, Vinyl

Genre:  Soul, Funk

Label:  Capitol

Catalog#  1A 064-2401641

Vinyl:  Goed (VG)

Cover:  Goed (VG)

Prijs: €10,00