Champaign - Modern Heart

Name: Champaign
Album: Modern Heart
Year: 1983
Style: Light Rock, R&B
Similar Bands: Eric Carmen, Prince, Bobby McFerrin, Atlantic Starr, SOS Band, Luther Vandross
"One-Word" Review: Overproduced Jazzy Adult Contemporary Prince
Based Out Of: Champaign IL
Label: CBS Columbia

Cover, Record, Lyrics

Back, Record, Lyrics

Modern Heart (1983)

1. Let Your Body Rock 4:18
2. Try Again 3:46 (single)
3. Party Line 3:51
4. Cool Running 3:16
5. Walkin' 2:07 /
6. Keep It Up 3:58
7. Love Games 4:39
8. Get It Again 3:38
9. International Feel 4:32

Album Rating (1-10): 5.0

Members & Other Bands:

• Michael Day - Keys, Guitar (Water Bros, MODA, Freddie Jackson, Don Thompson, Coalkitchen, Luther Ingram, Freeze Etch)
• Paulie Carman - Vox (Water Bros, Coalkitchen, Thom Bishop)
• Rena Jones - Vox (Water Bros)
• Leon Reeder - Guitar (Thom Bishop)
• Rocky Maffit - Drums (MODA, Race, Mosaic, Luther Ingram, Freddie Jackson, Milo, Rhythmic Union, Rocking Clones)
• Dana Walden - Keys (Water Bros, Coalkitchen, Kristin Lems, Combo Audio, Erin Isaac, Sergio Buss, Arnold McCuller, Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah, Christian Mayhem )
• James Gadson
• Melvin Webb - Drums
• John Robinson
• Paul Richmond
• Abraham Laboriel
• Neil Stubenhaus
• Dean Parks
• John Kellogg
• Jimi Randolph
• Bill Payne
• Neal Robinson
• Ian Wallace
• Ron Dewar
• James Mack
• Jerry Hey
• George Massenburgh - Production, Sound
• Richard Denhart - Asst. Engineer
• Bill Youdelman - Remote Recording Equipment
• Doug Sax - Mastering
• Beverly Parker - Photography
• Nancy Donald - Design

Unknown-ness: Never heard of this band, but the cover art is exactly what many of today's island synth pop artists are going for. But for 1983, this is going to be some synthetic yacht rock

Album Review: Somewhere between and on a different plane than Lionel Ritchie's All Night Long and Bobby McFerrin's Don't Worry Be Happy sits this slick, over produced set of adult contemporary sexy-mood setting tracks. None of it is really that good to want to put on to enjoy. It fails in the mass studio synthesization of music down to the bone, where nothing organic or raw can live. There may be talent in this group, but the glossy sheen on the one dimensional sound loses interest quite fast. Their first album, one before this one, contained the song they were most famous for, and never reached that peak again...Pauli Carman keeps the band going with s revolving cast and is still active (2020)

Stand Out Track: Keep It Up

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