Sandy Barber - The Best Is yet to Come (Deluxe Edition) (1977/2012/2019)

Barely Breaking Even (BBE) Records takes the opportunity to re-issue a record originally released in 1977, conceived as the result of the pairing of Sandy Barber with record label boss Clyde Otis. Also featuring artistic input from Tasha Thomas (vocal arrangement) and Nat Adderly Jnr (musical arranger and son of the noted Jazz Trumpeter), BBE clearly believe that this is a record that deserves wider musical exposure, having long been sought out by DJs and record collectors. The question is, does the release confirm their commercial and artistic judgement?

The record opens with 'Look Out Sky', a record driven by hi-hats and wonderfully organic bass playing, sweetened with light orchestration. 'Well happy is as happy does', sings Barber, continuing, 'Look out sky I think I've found someone to love me'. The vocal delivery is utterly assured, Barber conveying completely the mood of the uplifting lyric. 'I've Got Something Good' is a driving dancefloor stomper, featuring bouncy chords and tightly controlled brass and bass work (with at least one melodic nod to Kool & The Gang's 1974 'Summer Madness'). 'The First Time' is a slow ballad, featuring a powerful vocal performance over wonderfully sustained strings, the type of song that could only have been created, perhaps quite lamentably, in an earlier age. The tempo shifts upwards for the album title track 'Don't You Worry Baby (The Best Is Yet To Come)', again allowing Barber's vocals to soar over a track that shifts from a disco like drive to a swaying midsection (featuring a lovely saxophone solo), before concluding with a return to an uptempo vocal coda.