Strut revisit the early years of Patrice Rushen’s time with Elektra Records with the definitive 2LP edition of the ‘Patrice’ album from 1978. Includes a 2nd disc of extended versions & edits!
After recording three jazz-oriented albums for Prestige, Patrice Rushen switched to Elektra and gave herself a major R&B/pop makeover with Patrice. Even the funkiest parts of Shout It Out, the last of Rushen's three Prestige/Fantasy albums, couldn't have prepared listeners for this LP, which finds her taking the commercial plunge and successfully making the transition from jazz instrumentalist to R&B/pop vocalist. As expected, jazz's hardcore audience cried foul: Like Roy Ayers, George Duke, George Benson, and other jazz instrumentalists who took up R&B singing, Rushen was called a sellout and vilified in the jazz media. Patrice was trashed by jazz critics. Instead of hating this album because it isn't jazz, however, they should have judged it by R&B/pop standards. When those standards are applied, it becomes obvious that Patrice is, in fact, a rewarding R&B/pop effort. Patrice demonstrated that she could be an expressive, charming singer, and her writing or co-writing is solid on cuts that range from the funky "Hang It Up" and the lovely ballad "Didn't You Know?" to the socio-political "Changes (In Your Life)." With Patrice, the Los Angeles native made it clear that she was as appealing as an R&B/pop singer as she had been as a jazz pianist/keyboardist.
| A1 | Music Of The Earth |
| A2 | When I Found You |
| A3 | Changes (In Your Life) |
| A4 | Wishful Thinking |
| A5 | Let's Sing A Song Of Love |
| B1 | Hang It Up |
| B2 | Cha-Cha |
| B3 | It's Just A Natural Thing |
| B4 | Didn't You Know |
| B5 | Play! |
| C1 | Music Of The Earth (Danny Krivit Edit) |
| C2 | Hang It Up (12" Version) |
| D1 | Play! (12" Version) |
| D2 | Didn't You Know (Extended Version) |
