Aurra

For Slave fans, the release of spin-off group Aurra's self-titled debut in 1980 was a major event. While Aurra isn't the group's most essential release and wasn't their most commercially successful —1981's Send Your Love was the Aurra album that boasted the hit "Are You Single?" — it's a solid funk/soul outing that has Slave written all over it. Indeed, the strong Slave influence is impossible to miss on such addictive cuts as "Who Are You," "When I Come Home," and the single "In the Mood (To Groove)." Those who had appreciated the rock influence in some of Slave's material should have no problem getting into "Too Much," a funk-rock gem that, in an ideal world, would have been a hit single. In 1980, however, "Too Much" stood little chance of finding radio airplay because it was too rock-minded for black radio and too funky for AOR programmers. The most disco-flavored song on the LP is "Got to Get My Lady Back"; while Slave and Aurra's albums generally had more to do with funk and R&B than disco, this Shalamar-inflected item was clearly aimed at the disco crowd. Aurra wasn't a chart buster, but among Slave's more hardcore devotees, it earned a lot of respect.