Jamaican born singer Precious Wilson was front woman for European disco group Eruption, which in the late 1970s was responsible for a number of dance club hits. Yet her tenure with the group was short lived, as she soon progressed to a solo career. With the coming of the new decade, she decided to expand her sound beyond the disco style that had made her famous. She launched her career with some choice disco-flavored covers of contemporary American hits “I Can’t Stand The Rain” (credited to Eruption with Precious Wilson but essentially a solo single) and “Hold On, I’m Coming”—both featured here as bonus tracks. Relocating to Germany, she set about recording her debut album, On The Race Track.
Released in 1980, On The Race Track was a bold, confident album. She had been wise to update her sound, as the results proved quite impressive. The album opens with the title track––a standard euro disco Number that is highlighted with a bass line derived from traditional German folk music, and a wonderful blending of the past, present, and future of German music. It’s a catchy disco song that delights and hypnotizes with its groove. From that point the album steers through a satisfying collection of modern R&B (“You. Ain’t Got Love,” “Together Forever”), Gospel (“Stay By My Side”), and pop (“Stop Running,” “Cry To Me”). If her contemporaries were having to radically change their style for a new decade, Wilson had no such problem. The variety of sound and style of On The Race Track showed she was flexible in whatever direction music was going.
On The Race Track was a promising album that did not disappoint, a sophisticated collection of songs highlighting Wilson’s capabilities and range. Furthermore, the album set Wilson on the right path for the rest of her career, one that still goes on to this day. Wilson is now legally in control of the eruption name, still tours with various iterations of the band, as well as performing as a solo act.
On The Race Track is available now from Hot Shot Records.
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