Paul Laurence ‎– Haven't You Heard.

Paul Laurence's 1985 Debut Album - Expanded and available on CD for the 1st Time Ever.

Re-Mastered From The Original Master Tapes.

As a result of creating hits for others, Paul was given the chance to cut his own album in 1985, “Haven’t You Heard”. He enlisted Lillo as a background vocalist & got to work with the keyboards.

The overall tone of the album not only reflected Paul’s excellent musicianship & mastery of the technology, the songs’ lyrics revealed a mindset to tell stories that were positive, uplifting and with a conscious. The single “Strung Out (Freebase)” was self-explanatory – a warning of the dangers of crack cocaine addiction (Paul wasn’t the only one who covered this territory – the late Isaac Hayes did so as well with 1986’s “Ike’s Rap/Hey Girl”).

“She’s Not A Sleaze” featured Paul, Freddie & Lillo trading lead vocals about a girl who may dress in tight clothes & likes to tease – but she’s really a good girl (thank you, Lillo!). “You Hooked Me” is one of the album’s few ballads – this one with Paul in a very mellow mood.

The uptempo “Good & Plenty” describes a love that is just like the candy. “Racism (Sucks!!)” gets right to the point – an issue that will sadly remain one of society’s greatest ills. “Haven’t You Heard” – another slow jam with just Paul on vocals & piano, keeping the song simple yet sweet. The mid-tempo “There Ain’t Nothin’ (Like Your Lovin’)” has a nice guitar lilt that accents the song quite nicely. “I’m Sensitive”, which closed out the original album release, deals with a man’s insecurities about love & a fear of being meek in a relationship.

While “Haven’t You Heard” quickly became a fan favorite among those who followed Freddie, Lillo, Melba, Me’lisa & Kashif (who had his own record deal w/Arista), the album barely even charted whereas “She’s Not A Sleaze”, “Strung Out” & “You Hooked Me” peaked in the mid/upper-50's on the R&B singles listings.

Being that Hush Productions controlled the marketing & promotion of their releases, Huggins & company knew that the money-makers were their singers and were satisfied with keeping Paul behind the scenes. A sad scenerio – especially since Paul’s own work was good enough to earn priority status alongside the hits he created for his colleagues.

1 Strung Out     7:01
2 She's Not A Sleaze 4:54
  Vocals [Duet With] – Freddie Jackson, Lillo Thomas
3 You Hooked Me     5:48
4 Good & Plenty     5:49
5 Racism!!!     5:09
6 Haven't You Heard     4:07
7 There Ain't Nothin' (Like Your Lovin')     4:45
8 I'm Sensitive     4:12

 Bonus Tracks

9 Strung Out (International Version)     6:38
10 She's Not A Sleaze (Extended Mix) 6:21
   Vocals [Duet With] – Freddie Jackson, Lillo Thomas
11 Strung Out (Extended Dance Mix)     6:20
12 You Hooked Me (Single Version)     4:12

Label: Funkytowngrooves ‎FTG  236
Barcode :851903003076

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