Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly - Maze (CD)

All Music Guide

Formerly known as Raw Soul, Frankie Beverly and his band took a new name when they relocated from Philadelphia to San Francisco, as well as broadening their style from mainly standard soul to a funk/soul hybrid. They signed with Capitol in the mid-'70s, and their first album under the new pact was their finest set, with Beverly's energetic lead vocals and an excellent band that included keyboardists Phillip Woo and Sam Porter, bassist Robin Duhe, and guitarist Ron Smith. They made an immediate impact with their hard-driving sound, not as strictly on the beat as the Dayton bands like The Ohio Players or Slave, but just as soulful.

- Ron Wynn, All Music Guide