Sister Sledge - Original Album Series (2011) 5CD Box Set

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Sister Sledge - Original Album Series (2011) 5CD Box Set

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Best known for their work with Chic in the late '70s, siblings Debbie, Kim, Joni, and Kathy Sledge – collectively Sister Sledge – reached the height of their popularity during the disco era but had been recording since the early '70s and were still active in the late '90s. The group was formed in Philadelphia in 1971, when the sisters' ages ranged from 12 to 16, and they recorded their first single, "Time Will Tell," for the Philly-based Money Back label. (For the first few years, the group called itself Sisters Sledge.) In 1972, Sister Sledge signed with Atco and recorded its second single, "Weatherman," which was followed by the Jackson 5-like "Mama Never Told Me" in 1973.

Sister Sledge's first national hit came in 1974, when "Love, Don't You Go Through No Changes on Me" reached number 31 on the R&B charts and the Philadelphians recorded their debut album, Circle of Love. Their second album, Together, was released in 1977 and contained the number 61 R&B hit "Blockbuster Boy." It wasn't until 1979, when Chic leaders Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards produced We Are Family, that Sister Sledge really exploded commercially. "He's the Greatest Dancer" and We Are Family's title song both soared to number one on the R&B charts, and the latter (a number two pop smash) was adopted as a theme by the World Series-winning Pittsburgh Pirates.

Sister Sledge's next album, Love Somebody Today (1980), was also produced by the Rodgers/Edwards team, and the single "Got to Love Somebody" became a number six R&B hit. In 1981, Sister Sledge switched producers and worked with Narada Michael Walden, who produced 1981's excellent All American Girls. The title song was a number three R&B hit, and in 1982, Sister Sledge had a number 14 R&B hit with a cover of Mary Wells' "My Guy" that appeared on The Sisters. But after that, the foursome's popularity faded, and it never had another Top 20 hit in the U.S. – although 1985's "Frankie" (a number 32 R&B hit in the States) became a pop number one hit in England. Sister Sledge left Atlantic for good in 1985, but its members kept busy in the 1990s. Epic released Kathy's debut solo album, Heart, in 1992, and 1997 found the sisters recording a risk-taking date, African Eyes, arguably one of the finest albums they ever recorded.

Alex Henderson, Allmusic.com

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Sister Sledge - Original Album Series (2011) 5CD Box Set

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Sister Sledge - Original Album Series (2011) 5CD Box Set

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When Sister Sledge recorded their debut album Circle of Love in 1974, all four members of the group were still in their teens – Debbie Sledge, the oldest member, was 19, while the youngest, Kathy, was only 15. However, there's nothing bubblegum about Circle of Love. If Sister Sledge sounded like a female equivalent of the early Jackson 5 on 1973's "Mama Never Told Me," this vinyl LP found the Philadelphians sounding more like a younger version of the Three Degrees (who were also from Philly). This LP had a gem of a single in the haunting "Love, Don't You Go Through No Changes on Me," which wasn't huge but did reach number 31 on the R&B charts. The rest of the album isn't that strong, nor is it in a class with Sister Sledge's late-1970s/early-1980s work with Chic and Narada Michael Walden. Nonetheless, it's a decent, if uneven, collection of Philly soul, and the siblings handle themselves well on material ranging from the Gamble & $Huff-minded "Pain Reliever" and the charming "Cross My Heart" to the Thom Bell/Linda Creed ballad "Give in to Love." Out of print since the 1970s, Circle of Love isn't among Sister Sledge's essential albums, but it has historic value and deserves to be reissued on CD.

Alex Henderson, Allmusic.com

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Sister Sledge - Original Album Series (2011) 5CD Box Set

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Well it's 1977,Saturday Night Fever is out and the disco era is in full swing. On their second time around the Sledge's have jumped ship to the Munich scene,but it's not Giorgio Moroder and Pete Ballotte;they've hooked up with producers Michael Kunze and Sylvester Levay,who was also the keyboard and sax player on this album. So this album allowed them to not only stay contemporary and embrace eurodisco to a degree but also diversify their musical pallet. Unlike Circle of Love this album focuses on uptempo and dance tunes with a larger ammount of variety.The punchy "Blockbuster Boy",two Stevie Wonder covers in "I Was Made To Love Him" and "As" as well "Moondancer" and "My Favorite Song" certainly fit right into the then highly popular disco sound and,as always,the sisters inject more then enough of their own personalities and spunk to give these tunes a timeless feeling. But the sisters also get down with some heavy funk-namely on Kathie Sledge's self penned "Do The Funky Do"-with it's punching keyboards and seriously deep beats it actually qualifies as a funk classic along the same lines as The Bar-Kay's "Holy Ghost". They add a little more disco stylings to the same general pallet on "Funky Family",which could actually be seen as a somewhat more rowdy and less tame prelude to "We're A Family".A cover of "Sneaking Sally Through The Alley" is with little doubt one of the funkiest things on this album,and his made even more of a surprise since the sisters didn't alter the lyrics to a mans point of view as they did on their Stevie Wonder cover. One of the finest overall tunes here is "Can't Mess Around With Love"-a Brazillian pop tune with a look and vocal very much out of the Sergio Mendes school. The two ballads that are here "Hold On To This Feeling" and "Hands Full Of Nothing" even seem to have a more urban feel to them and a newfound sophistication. This would be their final album before the pair of Chic productions that would make the Sledge's superstars and it will be obvious even on the first listen that the future starts here and the changes are coming fast.

Andre S. Grindle, Amazon.com

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Sister Sledge - Original Album Series (2011) 5CD Box Set

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Before 1979's We Are Family, Sister Sledge wasn't a huge name in the R&B/disco world. The group had enjoyed a small following and scored a few minor hits, including "Love, Don't You Go Through No Changes on Me" in 1974 and "Blockbuster Boy" in 1977. But it wasn't until We Are Family that the Philadelphia siblings finally exploded commercially, and the people they have to thank for their commercial success are Chic leaders Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards. The Rodgers/Edwards team handles all of the writing, producing, and arranging on this album; so not surprisingly, almost everything on We Are Family is very Chic-sounding. That is true of the sexy "He's the Greatest Dancer" and the anthemic, uplifting title song (both of which soared to #1 on the R&B charts), as well as excellent album tracks like the lush "Easier to Love," the perky "One More Time," and the addictive "Thinking of You." The least Chic-sounding tune on the album is the ballad "Somebody Loves Me," which favors a classic sweet soul approach and is the type of song one would have expected from Thom Bell, Gamble & Huff, or Holland-Dozier-Holland rather than Rodgers/Edwards. Meanwhile, the intoxicating "Lost in Music" (a #35 R&B hit) is about as Chic-sounding as it gets. When Rhino reissued We Are Family on CD in 1995, it added four bonus tracks, all of which are remixes of either the title song or "Lost in Music." These remixes are intriguing; it's interesting to hear late '70s classics turned into high-tech 1990s dance-pop. But they are less than essential, and the original versions are by far the best – how can you improve on perfection? Both creatively and commercially, We Are Family is Sister Sledge's crowning achievement.

Alex Henderson, Allmusic.com

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Sister Sledge - Original Album Series (2011) 5CD Box Set

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Although Sister Sledge had already peaked with their 1979 powerhouse We Are Family LP, they returned in the first half of 1980 with Love Somebody Today. Not quite as successful as its predecessor, but still showcasing the group's remarkable vocal strength, the album foundered primarily because it hit the brick wall laid down by the burgeoning disco backlash, but still managed to peak at number seven on the R&B charts in March.

Partnered for the second go-round with Chic's Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, who wrote and produced all the songs, Sister Sledge spun out a sophisticated, slick set of smooth, mid-tempo R&B that concentrated on the sisters' vocals, leaving the musical arrangements in the background. Both the title track, which proved the album's only major hit, and the melancholy "You Fooled Around" emerged as the set's high points. Elsewhere, "Reach Your Peak" is a surprising combination of disco and jazz, leaving both "I'm a Good Girl" and "How to Love" to weigh in on the ballad front. It would have been hard for Sister Sledge to surpass the monstrously good one-two punch of "We Are Family" and "He's the Greatest Dancer." And, not surprisingly, much of Love Somebody Today sounds flat in comparison. But still, the sounds of Sister Sledge at the peak of their star power are better than much of the pap that passed for pop at the time.

Amy Hanson, Allmusic.com

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Sister Sledge - Original Album Series (2011) 5CD Box Set

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After recording two albums under the direction of Chic leaders Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, Sister Sledge surprised the R&B world by working with Narada Michael Walden on All American Girls. The Philadelphia siblings had become identified with the Chic sound, and were ready for a change. It was a gamble that paid off artistically more than commercially. Far from a bomb but not as successful as it deserved to be, the album (reissued on CD in 1995 with informative liner notes by music journalist Gary Jackson) boasts its share of gems, including the hit title song (which, ironically, does have a few Chic-ish touches), the rock-influenced "He's Just a Runaway" and the infectiously funky "Make a Move." Interestingly, "Runaway" didn't became a hit until given a reggae remix that isn't nearly as exciting as the version heard on All American Girls, clearly one of the group's finest accomplishments.

Alex Henderson, Allmusic.com

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Sister Sledge - Original Album Series (2011) 5CD Box Set

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