In Fashion/Love Spell

David Nathan's SoulMusic.com label pairs two late-'70s albums from the Stylistics, both of which were released on Mercury: In Fashion (1978) and Love Spell (1979). They were released during the group's commercial slump; only the former charted and peaked at only number 43 on Billboard's Soul LPs chart. Both sets were produced and arranged by Teddy Randazzo, who wasn't exactly tearing it up at the time, a couple years away from regaining traction with "It's Gonna Take a Miracle." The single "First Impressions," with echoes of "Betcha by Golly, Wow," did put something of a dent in the chart and reached 22. As usual for SoulMusic.com, the presentation here -- specifically the outer artwork -- leaves something to desired, but the recordings were handled with love, and there are extensive liner notes. ~ Andy Kellman