{"product_id":"leon-ware-musical-massage","title":"Leon Ware – Musical Massage","description":"\u003cp\u003e— Reissued on 180g heavyweight black vinyl.\u003cbr\u003e— Housed in single sleeve with plain inner.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e—\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOriginally released in 1976, Leon Ware’s \u003cem\u003eMusical Massage\u003c\/em\u003e is a sensual and sophisticated soul masterpiece that blends lush orchestration with Ware's velvet vocals and a smooth, jazz-inflected groove. Though initially overlooked, the album has since become a cult favorite, often hailed as a hidden gem of the Motown era. The project was originally conceived as the follow-up to Marvin Gaye’s I Want You (which Ware also co-produced and co-wrote), and features many of the same musicians and seductive moods. With its sultry arrangements, layered harmonies, and timeless soul, \u003cem\u003eMusical Massage\u003c\/em\u003e is essential listening for lovers of classic R\u0026amp;B and quiet storm grooves. — (via \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.elemental-music.com\/inicio\/4908-leon-ware-musical-massage-8435395504789.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eLabel\u003c\/a\u003e)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e—\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLeon Ware's classic Motown offering from 1976 came about as the result of another classic recording done by Marvin Gaye. Ware had written the single \"I Want You\" for a demo recording to score T-Boy Ross a recording contract with Motown. Berry Gordy heard it and told Ware he had to have the song for Marvin Gaye's next single. He took it to Gaye, who also loved it. Later, as Ware finished the tracks and orchestrations for his own album, he was playing it back for friends at Gaye's home when Marvin came out of a bedroom to inquire about what it was. He asked for — and received — all the tracks from Ware for the legendary I Want You album. This left Ware no choice but to compose an entirely new set of songs for his own record; the result is \u003cem\u003eMusical Massage\u003c\/em\u003e. (It should be noted that, according to Ware, Gordy, Gaye, and others felt he should also give this album away as a follow-up to I Want You, but Ware refused.) \u003cem\u003eMusical Massage\u003c\/em\u003e is the perfect mix of soul, light funk, jazz, and what was about to become the rhythmic foundation for disco. Picture the Motown song orchestrations with arrangements by Barry White for the Salsoul Orchestra and you get a bit of the picture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe disc opens with two smooth soul wonders in \"Learning How to Love You\" and \"Instant Love.\" Strings dominate the melodic arrangement and Ware croons directly to them as Ray Parker, Jr. fills the lines with a silky but chunky guitar. Ware's mellifluous tenor is deep in the swell of strings and guitars as the rest of the band provides a shimmering backbeat for his soul crooning. On a re-recording of the track \"Body Heat\" — which Ware had recorded as a duet with Minnie Riperton for Quincy Jones' album of the same name a year earlier — Parker and bassist Chuck Rainey set a groove for Bongo Brown, Gary Coleman, and Bobbye Hall's percussion orgy. Ware's vocals, augmented by a three-piece female choir, cover the tune with dripping, seductive, sexual energy. Bobby Womack guests on the title track and \"Holiday,\" while Gaye also lends a hand on the latter. Both tracks are spurious soul-funk workouts with fat, smooth grooves underlying Ware's gorgeous voice that melts the heart strings like butter, sounding like the whispering of satin sheets. Produced by Ware with Hal Davis and engineer Cal Harris, the disc has the same sweet, swaying feel as Gaye's I Want You but is a bit tougher, a little funkier in the breaks. The string arrangements by Dave Blumbery and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson are among the best the Motown studios issued to date.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUltimately, \u003cem\u003eMusical Massage\u003c\/em\u003e is a little-known classic from the supposedly twilight years of Motown. This record reveals Ware as a talented but undercelebrated visionary; he envisioned the evolution of soul and went about to bring it to fruition. \u003cem\u003eMusical Massage\u003c\/em\u003e is a watermark not only for Ware, but for Motown as well. — (via \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.allmusic.com\/album\/musical-massage-mw0000041217\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eAllMusic\u003c\/a\u003e)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" style=\"border-radius: 12px;\" data-testid=\"embed-iframe\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/2xAQaX8sYZKlx3Vj8bI5xq?utm_source=generator\u0026amp;theme=0\u0026amp;si=7ecc99b094c44cde\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVinyl Tracklist\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA1 Learning How To Love You\u003cbr\u003eA2 Instant Love\u003cbr\u003eA3 Body Heat\u003cbr\u003eA4 Share Your Love\u003cbr\u003eA5 Holiday\u003cbr\u003eB1 Phantom Lover\u003cbr\u003eB2 Journey Into You\u003cbr\u003eB3 Musical Massage\u003cbr\u003eB4 French Waltz\u003cbr\u003eB5 Turn Out The Light\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e↓\u003cbr\u003eLabel: Elemental Music \/ Motown\u003cbr\u003eFormat: Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition, Stereo, 180 Gram\u003cbr\u003eReissued: 2026 \/ Originally Released: 1976\u003cbr\u003eGenre: Funk \/ Soul\u003cbr\u003eStyle: Soul\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFile under: Funk \/ Soul\u003cbr\u003e⦿\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Elemental Music","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":68040439333022,"sku":"8435395504789","price":60.0,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0584\/5434\/3838\/files\/leon-ware-musical-massage.jpg?v=1794635159","url":"https:\/\/theanalogvault.com\/products\/leon-ware-musical-massage","provider":"The Analog Vault","version":"1.0","type":"link"}