Roy Ayers - Everybody Loves the Sunshine 1976 (Super Deluxe Edition 2016)

By 1976, vibraphone legend Roy Ayers and his group Ubiquity’s music had become dirtier, funkier, and more repetitive. Yet it was still in turns mellow and soothing. The outfit were square pegs that refused to fit in any holes that suggested straightforward jazz, soul or disco. Unbelievably, Everybody Loves the Sunshine was Roy Ayers’ 14th album, but it was the one that really struck a chord in the UK. Much of this was to do with its title-track, a woozy, off-kilter tribute to the summer. Piano dribbles out over lazy ARP synthesiser flourishes. As the tempo seems as enervated as the sweltering day the song describes, Ubiquity’s massed vocals joyously state the obvious: “Folks get down in the sunshine / Folks get brown in the sunshine / Everybody loves the sunshine.” Few records make you feel so pleasantly exhausted. The more conventional ballad Keep on Walking follows a similar groove; it can be seen as a direct influence on British funk ensembles such as Light of the World.

Tracklist:

01. Roy Ayers Ubiquity - Everybody Loves the Sunshine (03:59)
02. Roy Ayers Ubiquity - Running Away (06:54)
03. Roy Ayers - Searching (04:01)
04. Roy Ayers - Hummin' In the Sun (03:45)
05. Ramp - Daylight (04:12)
06. Roy Ayers Ubiquity - Vibrations (03:02)
07. Roy Ayers - The Memory (04:33)
08. Roy Ayers - Pretty Brown Skin (05:41)
09. Ramp - Try, Try, Try (04:57)
10. Roy Ayers - Ebony Blaze (03:58)
11. Ramp - The American Promise (06:18)
12. Roy Ayers - Come Out and Play (03:46)
13. Roy Ayers - Can't You See Me (06:58)
14. Roy Ayers - Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing (04:16)
15. Roy Ayers Ubiquity - Cincinnati Growl (03:55)
16. Roy Ayers - Higher (04:03)
17. Roy Ayers Ubiquity - Gotta Find a Lover (07:11)
18. Roy Ayers - Get on Up Get on Down (04:24)
19. Roy Ayers - The Boogie Back (04:41)
20. Roy Ayers - Show Us a Feeling (03:05)
21. Roy Ayers - It Ain't Your Sign It's Your Mind (03:08)
22. Roy Ayers Ubiquity - Sanctified Feeling (05:43)
23. Roy Ayers - No Question (04:30)
24. Roy Ayers - Moving, Grooving (04:31)
25. Roy Ayers Ubiquity - Stranded In the Jungle (04:01)
26. Roy Ayers - 2000 Black (05:25)
27. Roy Ayers - Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head (04:51)
28. Roy Ayers Ubiquity - Together (03:39)
29. Roy Ayers - I Wanna Touch You Baby (04:24)
30. Roy Ayers - Miles (Love's Silent Dawn) (02:30)
31. Roy Ayers - The Old One Two (Move to Groove) (03:37)
32. Roy Ayers - One Sweet Love to Remember (03:58)
33. Roy Ayers - Domelo (Give It to Me) (04:01)
34. Roy Ayers - Sensitize (05:03)
35. Roy Ayers Ubiquity - Fruit (03:53)
36. Roy Ayers - When Is Real, Real? (03:44)
37. Ramp - I Just Love You (04:56)
38. Roy Ayers - Magic Lady (03:18)
39. Ramp - Come into Knowledge (04:38)
40. Roy Ayers - Change Up the Groove (04:37)
41. Roy Ayers - A Tear to a Smile (05:46)
42. Roy Ayers - Donna Lee (03:13)
43. Roy Ayers - Ricardo's Dilemma (05:04)
44. Roy Ayers Ubiquity - Lifeline (02:53)
45. Roy Ayers - Everytime I See You (03:38)
46. Roy Ayers - And Don't You Say No (03:24)
47. Roy Ayers - Baby You Give Me a Feeling (03:02)
48. Roy Ayers - Young and Foolish (03:45)
49. Roy Ayers - Baby I Need Your Love (02:32)
50. Roy Ayers - You Send Me (08:28)