The 1st Cuba Gooding Album

.Nice clean vinyl with a smart gloss cover. Includes lyric sheet.

The title suggests a long, fruitful career with Motown, but the association ended after two albums; Love Dancer, the second Cuba Gooding album was released in 1979. Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter had some success producing Tavares and others but came up empty this time. Only "Mind Pleaser" emerged on a 45, backed with the dreadful "Where Would I Be Without You"; it deserved better. Lambert and Potter built it around Motown's tradition -- a ringing intro, a hot chorus, a lively hook, and spirited singing -- but its lackluster sales were a major disappointment. Nothing else, except "All I Can Give You Is Love," is as pleasing. The ballads are mundane and familiar, and the midtempo numbers are irritating; on one tune Lambert and Potter have Gooding sounding like Mickey Mouse. No kidding.