Together Forever (1982) - Exodus
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Together Forever (1982) - Exodus
Simply one of the all-time great classics from the Loft and Garage days, check out the accapella on this monster track!! --wavemusic.com
Another one of my all time favorite boogie choons has to be Exodus "Together forever" from 1982 on a small label out of Jamaica NY. I can remember Phil Allen being one of the few people to play this back in the summer of 1982 on Capitol Radio in London although it wasn't until the late 80s that it became sought after when Dave Lee reworked it and put it out under the disguise of Raven Maze. This record also gained a release sometime around 2001 via Wave Records.
As I pointed out above anyone who use to listen to Phill Allen's excellent soul show on Capitol Radio that ran from the early part of 1981 until sometime in 1984 may well remember this record. Each week he would have all the latest US 12"s and albums that had been released that week and I think he used to take a copy of everthing that came into the country. --http://www.soulmusiccollector.com/exodus_together_forever.html [May 2004]
Wave Classics
I don't know where Francois Kevorkian keeps finding these vintage gems, but I love that he does! Here's yet another pre-house classic finally made available again legitimately on F.K.'s Wave Classics imprint. Produced by Errol Mattis and mixed by Bobby Davis back in the early '80's, the song was first released as a hard-to-find promo on New York's Charlotte Amalie Records. It's been the starting point for countless sample-driven club hits over the years: remember Todd Terry's "Hey Buddy," Raven Maize's "Forever Together," and even 1998's underground favorite "House Music" by Eddie Amador (that haunting key riff)? They all used pieces and parts of this Loft/Paradise Garage era staple, and now you can enjoy it in it's full-bodied, original form that still sounds fresh today. Newly remastered from the original 2-track tapes, the full vocal and dub mixes (both 7:55) are featured, plus the previously unreleased "TV Mix" that sounds like a sort of bonus dub. ***Charlotte Amalie
'Together Forever' is an intriguing combination of funk, latin and reggae influences. It was originally issued on the obscure Jamaica, New York based label Charlotte Amalie. [the singer was none other than Neville 'Tinga' Stewart]. Following in the footsteps of pioneers the The Peech Boys, Exodus were one of the earliest to include an acapella on the record. It is the superior, more spaced out version, which [the people at BBE] have included on [Disco Spectrum, compiled by Joey Negro]. Thanks to the recent Eddie Amador club hit, it has become a bigger floor filler than ever. Lets also not forget Royal House [Todd Terry], Raven Maize[Quark rds] and Fabi Paris who have all heavily plundered this classic. text by Dave lee, click to find Disco Spectrum track listing.On August 23d I wrote:
- "I have a question: On what label was the Exodus - 'Together Forever' (1979) released?
It was sampled in Todd Terry's 'Yeah Buddy' track. I have the bootlegged acapella but not the actual 12inch
Barry Walters answers:
- "Exodus - Together Forever on the Charlotte Amalie label, # Val 033 out of Jamaica, NY, produced by Errol Mattis, mixed by Bobby E. Davis --S.U.R.E.SHOT, mixed by Bob Blank"
Then I asked Barry: "Is the Exodus track a hard find?
To which he replied: "It took me about four years to find it about ten years ago and I haven't seen a single copy since. Because it was on a tiny label, didn't sell much at the time and lived on through play at the Garage, NY mix shows and records that sample it, the Exodus 12" is one of the hardest records to find that I own. It has been bootlegged of course.
Brian Chin:
- "Hi, It was on Charlotte Amalie, and you will be happy to know that Tommy Boy is reissuing the dub version on a 4-CD collection called "The Perfect Beats", with liner notes by myself... Cole and Clivilles also made a very clever usage of it in the song 'Nothing Matters Without Love' on that classic Seduction album." Regards, Brian Chin
Featured on these CDs:
- Francois Kevorkian's Essential Mix [Amazon US] mixed version, not complete.
- Vol. 1-Disco Spectrum [Amazon US]
- The Perfect Beats, Vol. 2 [Amazon US]