Sylvester - Step II (Remastered) (2020) [Hi-Res]

Craft Recordings are set to reissue Sylvester’s iconic 1978 album, Step II, with newly remastered.

This classic disco album features Sylvester’s enduring anthem, ‘You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real),’ plus his very first Top 40 hit, ‘Dance (Disco Heat).’

By the late 70s, Sylvester (born Sylvester James Jr. in 1947) had been performing in San Francisco for nearly a decade – both as a part of the avant-garde drag troupe, The Cockettes, and as the frontman for a rock group, Sylvester and his Hot Band. Though he failed to find commercial success with the Hot Band’s two releases, he set his sights on a solo career and signed a deal with the Berkeley-based Fantasy Records.

Armed with new backing singers— Martha Wash and Izora Rhodes (better known as “Two Tons O’Fun,” who later became The Weather Girls)—Sylvester released his self-titled, disco debut in 1977. While Sylvester fared better across the Atlantic, it was clear that the artist had found his groove in the disco scene.

When he went into the studio to write his next record, the 30-year-old Sylvester was determined to score a hit song. His guitarist, James Wirrick, had been working on a melody for an R&B ballad. Sylvester saw its potential as a faster club track, however, and enlisted producer and electronic music pioneer Patrick Cowley to work his magic on the track.

The result was ‘You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)’, a pulsating, effects-heavy tune with an irresistible hook. The song would not only become a disco classic, and an anthem within the gay community, but it is also considered to be a touchstone in the hi-NRG genre, following Donna Summer’s 1977 hit, ‘I Feel Love,’ and ushering in songs like Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s ‘Relax’ in the 80s.

With the release of Step II in 1978 Sylvester’s dreams of stardom came true—and then some. Praised by Rolling Stone for being, “as good as disco gets,” Step II was certified Gold by the RIAA, broke the Billboard R&B Top 10, and peaked at No.28 on the Billboard 200.

The album’s first single ‘Dance (Disco Heat)’ marked Sylvester’s first Top 40 hit, peaking at No.19 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No.29 on the UK Pop chart. ‘Dance (Disco Heat)’ and ‘You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)’ also both hit No.1 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart, while the latter song would break the Top 40 in the US, and become his first Top 10 hit in the UK.

Sylvester, vocals, piano
Tip Wirrick, guitar
Michael C. Finden, organ, electric piano, clavinet
David Frazier, percussion
Eric Robinson, piano
Pat Cowley, synthesizer, sequencer, keyboards, effects
Bob Kingson, bass
James Jamerson Jr., bass
James Gadson, drums
Randy Merritt, drums
Izora Rhodes, backing vocals
Martha Wash, backing vocals

Engineered by Buddy Bruno, Eddie Bill Harris
Mastered by George Horn
Produced by Harvey Fuqua, Nancy C. Pitts, Sylvester

Digitally remastered