Power and Love

AMG Review of Power and Love

Craig Lytle
All Music Guide

A self-contained septet that included Kenneth Edmonds, before he was crowned with the nickname Babyface, and his close friend and collaborator Daryl Simmons. The group's sound touched on several formats. The uptempo numbers, like "Red Hot Daddy," "Power and Love," and "Funky Situation," are heavily rock-oriented. The latter has a jazzy improvisational sax solo, and is the only number that features Babyface on lead vocals. The socially conscious "We Need We" falls more in line with R&B with its appealing arrangement. The group comes full circle with its R&B sound on "Especially for You." The serene composition features an undeviating guitar solo, and was Manchild's only single to crack the Billboard R&B charts; it peaked at 70 inside of eight weeks, and features the lead vocals of Chuckie Bush. One other notable is the '70s classic "Takin' It to the Streets," originally recorded by the Doobie Brothers a year earlier. Flash Ferrell gives an ardent delivery supported by cohesive background vocals and a spirited sax solo by Reggie Griffin.