Positivity is an album by the British band Incognito, released in 1993. The band supported the album with a North American tour.
The album peaked at No. 55 on the UK Albums Chart. The album peaked at No. 2 on the US Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. It has sold more than 350,000 copies in the United States.
Production The album was produced by band leader Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick. He was chiefly inspired by Stevie Wonder's Talking Book and Innervisions.
Critical reception
The Washington Post wrote that "the band mines familiar funk grooves with more than enough imagination and horn power to keep things fresh." The Calgary Herald praised the "free flowing numbers that eschew harder edge riffs for music suited more for spliffs." USA Today stated that "the commercially oriented backbeats and vocals (more singing than on their previous two albums) are counterbalanced by a tight horn section and jazzy, crisp arrangements."
The Orange County Register opined that "the strength lies in vocalists Maysa Leak and Mark Anthoni, whose rich-sounding voices glide through each track as easily as a hot spoon through ice cream." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution listed Positivity as one of the best R&B albums of 1994.
AllMusic wrote that "group leader Jean-Paul 'Bluey' Maunick's vision of intertwine various genres of music (bebop, soul, classical, dance, etc.) into one incomparable sound is exemplary." MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide called "Deep Waters" a "landmark acid-jazz track."
Track listing
Personnel
Incognito Mark Anthoni – lead vocals, backing vocals Maysa Leak – lead vocals, backing vocals Graham Harvey – keyboards, vocoder keyboard, synth bass Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick – keyboards, vocoder voice, guitars, drum and percussion programming Peter Hinds – keyboards Randy Hope-Taylor – bass Richard Bailey – drums Thomas Dyani – percussion Patrick Clahar – soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone Fayyaz Virji – trombone Kevin Robinson – trumpet, flugelhorn Sarah Brown – backing vocals
Additional musicians Richard Bull – keyboards, guitars, bass programming, drum and percussion programming Joel "Tyrell" LeBlanc – programming (2, 4) Max Beesley – additional keyboards (5) Ray Hayden – bass programming, drum and percussion programming, backing vocals (10, 13) Paul "Tubbs" Williams – bass (5) Bud Beadle – baritone saxophone, flute
Production Guy Eckstein – A&R direction (USA) Gilles Peterson – A&R direction Jean-Paul Maunick – producer, mixing (1, 3–9, 11, 12) Richard Bull – co-producer (1–3, 5, 7–9, 11, 12), recording, mixing (1, 3, 4, 7–9, 11, 12) Ray Hayden – co-producer (4, 10, 13), recording, mixing (10, 13) Ron Aslan – recording, mixing (6) Simon Catsworth – recording, mixing (1, 3, 4, 7–9, 11, 12) Joel "Tyrell" LeBlanc – mixing (3, 5) Goetz Botzenhardt – assistant engineer Ruadhri Cushnan – assistant engineer Doug Cook – assistant engineer Kevin Jacobs – assistant engineer Matt Sime – assistant engineer Geoff Pesche – mastering at The Town House (London, UK) Fiona Grimshaw – product manager (UK) Ben Mundy – product manager (USA) Chris Maguire – release production (USA) Green Ink – art direction Swifty Typographics – sleeve design Richard Croft – photography
Charts Chart (1993) PeakpositionAustralian Albums (ARIA) N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart. 108US Top R&B Albums (Billboard)53US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)13US Top Contemporary Jazz Albums (Billboard)2UK Pop Albums (Official Charts) 55
References