Song:Silky Soul
Album:Greatest Hits: 35 Years Of Soul
Maze was one of the top soul groups of the 70s and they had most of their success on Capitol Records. But they moved to Warner Bros. in the late 80s. And though they only recorded two albums there, a couple of songs were R&B hits and they are not always included on Capitol comps. Silky Soul reached #4 on the R&B Singles chart in 1989. When you listen to the song, it clearly samples from the Marvin Gaye classic What's Going On. Silky Soul is a tribute to Gaye. What you may not know is Gaye discovered Beverly. He got Beverly to change the group name from Raw Soul to Maze. He took Maze on tour as his opening act and got them a record deal with Capitol. All their albums were certified Gold and they had a lot of success on the R&B charts and as a live act. But Maze left Capitol after the 1985 album Can't Stop The Love and signed with Warner Bros. for the 1989 album Silky Soul. The single Can't Get Over You topped the R&B Singles chart and Silky Soul reached #4. The album Silky Soul was certified Gold. As I said, because those songs are on Warner Bros., Capitol did not include them on early Maze comps. But they have included them on more recent comps like this one from 2011. It's available as a budget CD. Maze only recorded two albums for Warner Bros. and they haven't recorded since 1994. But Maze still tours and there was even a Maze tribute album released in 2009. They also get sampled a lot by hip hop guys which is a sign of respect. I guess they are a 70s nostalgia act at this point but Maze were influential on today's neo soul and hip hop. Here's the video for Silky Soul by Maze featuring Frankie Beverly.
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