the cool notes

[Phoster]

anyone remember "the cool notes"?

they had a hit around 85: "spend the night"

Is it worth to buy the album "have a good forever"? Or can someone give me a little desription what it's like? are there some other good tracks besides "spend the night"...

[buckaroo]

Yes, The Cools Notes were a very good UK band, who started out doing Lover's Rock (British soulful Reggae) in the early '70s. It's well worth grabbing their LP.

[qdearl]

Hey, if you don't want it, I'll take it:-)

I've managed to get about 9 or 10 of their songs as mp3's - HOT! They remind me of the all the great early/mid 80's mid tempo songs from people like Windjammer, Real to Reel, Five Special, Nick Martinelli productions, or Paul Laurence/ Kashif type stuff or all those Malavasi/Petrus productions, and if that's not enough to convince you, take comfort in knowing that Cool Notes LP's aren't that easy to come by, I haven't found any yet.
And there are other groups I've discovered recently that have a similiar sound (and are also hard to find) you might want to check them out also....

Hi Tension
and
Breakwater

:-)

[Phoster]

Thanks for your answers...

early/mid 80's mid tempo songs, nick martinelli, malavasi/petrus..sounds all good! that's what i'm looking for :-)

I've already found a copy on ebay, not even expensive.
Since they were a UK band, there are a few copies around here in europe.
Or the seller didn't know what good and rare stuff he was selling :-P

Gotta check Hi Tension and Breakwater as well

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcuUQ...h=cool%20notes

[eddie]

The Japanese pressings of the 2 Breakwater Cds are not that uncommon in the U.S. and are well worth the money. I've had mine for about 5 years and the group the 2 groups they sound closest to is Maze and Earth, Wind, and Fire. They do some nice falsettos and have that working vibe that only Maze had.

I've heard some samples of the Cool Notes while on that certain mystery song scavender hunt. I wasn't real impressed although the mid 80's is not my favorite era.

[buckaroo]

Bobby Nunn had a similar sound.

[SandraDee]

Just a bit of trivia: did you know that the lead singer of Cool Notes is the mum of one of the guys in S Club 7?

[Phoster]

Yeah :-)

We've already solved this one in another thread:

http://www.discomusic.com/forums/ask...jazzy-pop.html

[visuals]

Whoa...Cool Notes....Never heard of. If these guys sound anything like "Breakwater", I'm gonna have to look out for them though. I am a major fan of Arista's Breakwater with "Splashdown" being my favorite album. The self-titles album from 1978 was also very good...Must have in my opinion. Eddie hit the nail on the head with the comparisons. They do seem to have that sound that is very much related to Maze & E,W & F. As the cd prints are Japanese imports, Look forward to spending close to (if not over) $20.00 respectively for each disc but again as eddie said, well worth the money spent. "Hi Tension" I also never heard of.

[Ida Sessions]

Stock/Waterman produced a single for them in 1991 called "Make This a Special Night" -- at least I assume this is the same Cool Notes we're discussing.

[eddie]

No the Cool Notes don't sound anything like Breakwater. The Cool notes who are from England employ mostly female vocals and resemble Klymaxx. "In my car" which was the track sample I heard was quite sing songy and not very soulful and definitely not funky!!

[qdearl]

Originally Posted by eddie

No the Cool Notes don't sound anything like Breakwater. The Cool notes who are from England employ mostly female vocals and resemble Klymaxx. "In my car" which was the track sample I heard was quite sing songy and not very soulful and definitely not funky!!

Sound wise, The Cool Notes' only resemblence to Klymaxx would be the fact that they both have female leads, Klymaxx is more urban/funk oriented than Cool Notes, as is Breakwater, I never said they were carbon copies of each other, but they both have songs in a similiar vein, (production, arrangement, tempo...) As an example you mentioned "In My Car" by CN which is similiar to "Say U Love Me Girl" by Breakwater and "Girl I Betcha" by Hi Tension
It all depends on your preference, you focus more on the" funk" sound,(which CN and Breakwater part ways on) I listen more for smooth melodies (a.k.a "Quiet Storm) sound of which Cool Notes, Breakwater, & Hi Tension all have in common:-)

[Phoster]

qdearl is right. it really depends on the preference.
from what I heard until now, musically the CN remind me of much of CHANGE and other Petrus/Malvasi productions from the early 80's. But additionally the CN have that special britfunk approach, similar to bands such as LIGHT OF THE WORLD, THE WARRIORS, and early INCOGNITO stuff.
That's how I would decribe it...

I'll get my CN record in the next few days :D

[eddie]

I guess I'm really not at liberty to talk about about their Quiet Storm stuff. I heard about a 1 minute sample of "In my car" which sounds like its from 1986 and opted out of buying their rare Greatest hits CD for $40 as I didn't think their was much substance in the music. I have heard that their 1984 Lp sells typically for $150 and is probably stylistically different. But vocally I didn't think they were terribly strong but the key would then by finding appropriate material which isn't an impossible task.

I also make strange metaphoric analogies and compare music from different eras and also appreciate the Quiet Storm which is my main focus of collecting. I see the 70's progressive funk and roots that Visuals collects and didn't want to reccomend something he wouldn't dig!!!

[Phoster]

I finally got the CN album "Have a good forever" and I listened to it several times.

They have a great sound and are very good musicians, and the ladies know how to sing. Tight boogie drums in an early eighties style, sparkling rhodes, funky guitar, sweet synths and nice backing vocal harmonies. But the songwriting is not outstanding.
The band is very likeable. On the sleeve notes every member of the group drops a few lines about their personal musical taste and influences, which is mainly: Maze, EW&F, Dazz Band, Atlantic Starr and Jeff Lorber. The Influence is all there. Their sound also remind me of D-Train, Larry Wu (Let me show you), George Benson (Give me the night), the slower songs are very similar to Jaki Grahams work with Derek Bramble.
I have to admit I'm a little bit disapointed because of the songs...spend the night is by far the best track on this album.

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