Platinum Hook

It's safe to say that the vast majority of people who followed R&B closely in the late '70s were totally unaware of Platinum Hook, a little-known soul/funk/disco band that recorded two albums for Motown back then. Both of its LPs were commercial flops, which wasn't due to consistently horrible material but rather to a lack of promotion on Motown's part. Had Motown promoted Platinum Hook as aggressively as it promoted Rick James, Switch, and the Commodores, the band would not have been so obscure. Produced by keyboardist Greg Wright in 1978, this self-titled debut album features two talented lead vocalists (Tina Renee Stanford and Stephen Daniels) and shows Platinum Hook to have a smooth, attractive sound along the lines of New Birth or Atlantic Starr (which also made its vinyl debut in 1978). There are some up-tempo funk jams, including a cover of Funkadelic's "Standing on the Verge (Of Getting It On)," and "City Life" is an exuberant disco-soul item that isn't unlike Brainstorm's "Lovin' Is Really My Game." But romantic Northern soul is the thing that prevails on "'Til I Met You" and "Lover What You've Done to Me." Like so many of the Northern soulsters who were active in the late '70s, Platinum Hook sounds polished and professional but still has plenty of grit. This LP falls short of remarkable, although it's a solid, enjoyable debut that deserved more attention than it received. ~ Alex Henderson