Gwen Guthrie
Reviewed on this page:
Gwen Guthrie - Portrait - Just For You -
Good To Go
Lover - Lifeline - Hot Times
Gwen Guthrie broke into the business in 1974 singing backups for
Aretha Franklin, and her clear, smooth
voice made her a natural for anonymous parts and jingles. She
soon branched out into writing (Ben E. King's "Supernatural Thing,"
"This Time I'll Be Sweeter" recently covered by India), where she began to make a
name for herself. Finally she became a solo artist, where she didn't
make much impact outside of her 1986 hit single "Ain't Nothin' Goin' On
But The Rent." Guthrie died very young (42) of uterine cancer on
2/3/99. Not a groundbreaking innovator or big commercial force, she
had a subtle way with a ballad and a good ear for catchy riffs,
and if you like 80s R&B you should give her a try.
I don't know of any Gwen Guthrie sites on the Net; if you find one,
please let me know. (DBW)
 Gwen Guthrie (1982)
Her first album was produced by Sly
Dunbar & Robbie Shakespeare with Steven Stanley. Surprisingly, the
drums and bass are almost nonexistent: their approach to dance music is
to start with a Chic-style stripped-down groove,
replacing Tony Thompson with a toy drum machine and substituting a
keyboard bass line for Bernard ("Peek-A-Boo," "Dance Fever"). They also
run all the tracks on the first side together, which only accentuates
the similarity of the songs. Things are better on side two, which
features the disc's best groove ("For You (With A Melody Too)") and
two fine ballads: "It Should Have Been You" and Guthrie's own "God Don't
Like Ugly," previously recorded by Roberta
Flack. A disappointing tossoff with few Guthrie originals,
but nostalgic fun for fans of the NYC Hi-NRG movement. (DBW)
 Portrait (1983)
Sly and Robbie again, and the same basic formula: mindless dance tracks
Guthrie didn't write, some with good hooks ("Seventh Heaven"), some
without ("Hopscotch"), and a couple of fine Guthrie slow numbers
("Younger Than Me," "Oh What A Life"). The most embarrassing moment is a
bubble-gum funk cover of Sly Stone's "Family
Affair," which loses all the original's power. Guests include Bernie Worrell and Jimmy Maeulin. (DBW)
 Just For You (1985)
Somewhere in between the simpleminded dance of the two previous records and the confident hi-tech R&B of the following
two, this is a carefully produced (by disco pioneer Eumir Deodato) mix of piano ballads
(Guthrie's own "Thrill Me") and uptempo synthfunk ("Put Love In Control"). Given more space to show herself, Guthrie
responds enthusiastically: caressing each word on the slow numbers ("Oh Donny No"), blithely knocking out the faster ones
("I Gotta Have You"), and projecting an easygoing sense of humor ("Love In Moderation," with lyrics recalling
Smokey Robinson). Plus, there's one amazing dance tune, "Joy Riders," with a keyboard riff that
will stick in your head until it seems like it's always been there. The trouble is, much of the songwriting is rote, and
since the arrangements are strictly within genre conventions, many of the tracks have not much going for them aside
from Guthrie's winning earnestness.
This album isn't easy to find and, with only a few Guthrie compositions, may not be worth the effort. But if you trip over a
copy, don't pass it up. Songwriters include Katreese and Jerry Barnes, Raymond Jones, David Conley, Andy Goldmark, Phillip Field,
Brian Morgan and Shelley Scruggs; musicians include most of the aforementioned plus Ira Siegel and Jeff Southworth (guitars),
Josh Thompson (keyboards), and Sammy Figueroa. (DBW)
 Good To Go Lover (1986)
In some ways this is a pretty typical 80s R&B production, laden with
electronic percussion and synth bass lines, but it's set apart by
Guthrie's light touch (she produced). Her uptempo numbers like the title
track and the eminently chantable single "Ain't Nothin' Goin' On But The
Rent" are understated, avoiding the bombast of contemporaneous Pointer Sisters efforts. Guthrie also gets
endearingly mushy on her own ballad "You Touched My Life," and blends
her torchy vocals with electronic backing on an affecting remake of
Bacharach & David's "(They Long To Be)
Close To You." She didn't write much of the material, but the album
succeeds in creating a subtle groove of its own.
There are a ton of musicians here, including Dunbar, Steve Ferrone,
Maeulin and Worrell. (DBW)
Lifeline (1988)
After the success of the previous album, Guthrie got to write and
produce almost everything here, and the result is pleasant, pretty late
soul. A mix of funky dance tracks ("Destiny," the AIDS comment "Can't
Love You Tonight") and ballads ("What Would I Do Without You," "Bye Bye
Lover"); nearly everything has a solid melody and a no-nonsense
arrangement. Her other 80s records have more idiosyncratic touches, and
this album is padded out with a silly remix of "Can't Love You"
featuring rapper Gangster-B and a lifeless cover of the Marvelettes'
"Too Many Fish In The Sea," but it's a safe bet for Guthrie fans. Guests
include Bobbi Humphrey on flute, Sly &
Robbie, and Ray Chew. (DBW)
Hot Times (1990)
Guthrie's production is less idiosyncratic here, using synth vamps,
programmed drums and hip-hop elements pretty much like everyone else on
the R&B scene was doing. But she sounds comfortable, not forced, and the
tunes are strong and memorable: tender love songs ("Sweet Bitter Love"),
sassy love songs ("Miss My Love," "Same Ole Thang"), and lively lust
songs ("Hot Time In Harlem"). This time around she wrote or cowrote
nearly everything (except for a lengthy, moving cover of Stephanie
Mills' "Never Knew Love Like This Before"), and it seems to help; there
are also lots of nice touches like sampled horns on "Same Ole Thang" and
off-kilter fills on "Feel Good." Nothing groundbreaking here, just an
enjoyable lesson in the fundamentals. Coproducers include Sly and
Robbie, Brian Jackson and Greg Smith, who play most of the instruments
- guests include George Benson, who duets on the
forgettable "I'll Give My Best To You," Lenny White, Richard Tee, and
Ferrone. (DBW)
Yep, I'm good to go.
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