The Kids At Work album by the male R&B trio Kids At Work is one of Teddy Riley’s lesser known works in terms of his music production. Not too many people know or knew about this album. This production work by him was overlooked back when their album was released in 1984. Kids At Work was one of Teddy Riley’s first groups. The group was also produced by Gene Griffin who had produced for Guy and Aaron Hall.
This album was not a success in terms of sales as their debut failed to make a dent on any of the Billboard charts. None of their singles charted. If any of their singles charted, they fell off the charts shortly but very quickly. The trio disbanded not long after the release of this album. All 3 members went on to have successful careers in the music industry since then. Teddy Riley is now a successful platinum producer in the music industry.
One of the reasons why Kids At Work did not take off was because of them and CBS trying to capitalize on that popular New Edition sound of the time. New Edition was popular at that time and nearly every R&B group was trying to similar to them.
She’s My Baby is a 6 minute long funky soul jam where funk meets soul music. This song is one of Teddy Riley’s lesser known works where he sings and plays those funky synths your hear using a keyboard. Of course She’s My baby is a love song. Bobby Brown later used the chorus of She’s My Baby on his song "She's My Lady".
Timmy Gatling sang the lead vocals for She’s My Baby. Clurel Henderson was the background lead singer for this song and Teddy Riley was the lead singer for the chorus.
The song Singing Hey Yeah will remind you of those high school dances and the good times during those good old days. The mid tempo vibe gives the song a calm chilling nostalgic feel. This was the song which made everyone happy. This song will have you thinking about old good memories.
Singing Hey Yeah was one of the songs which did not fare well in terms of sales despite being released as their buzz single to radio stations. CBS had to press up 45 vinyls. That didn’t work either. That is why a lot of people never heard of this song. Singing Hey Yeah is definitely a rare classic. A classic which old heads, 70s babies, and 80s babies will only remember.
She's So Bad is a high definition hi-fi sound version of So Bad Togetherness mixed by Teddy Riley himself. The song is similar to what you would expect to hear from Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Sheryl Crow, New Edition, or Bobby Brown. She's So Bad is Togetherness revisited. The song definitely has that Michael Jackson vibe.
LaVaba Mallison, Timmy Gatling, and Teddy Riley sang the background vocals on She's So Bad although it was Teddy Riley who sung most of the vocals.
Reggae Kids is Teddy Riley’s lesser known works. It’s nice and quite different to hear a reggae song on a soul single. The song has an upbeat dance vibe. Reggae kids are swinging to the beat. Teddy Riley’s voice is similar to Michael Jackson when he sings on this song.
All N' All is a piano driven soul song accompanied by the smooth vocals of Teddy Riley. The song uses soft delicate beats and instrumentation. The delicate instrumentation is what stands out on All N' All. The song is about remembering time shared together. Nothing but good times.
Sugar Baby was the first song which Kids At Work put out in 1983. The song has similar to a song from Hall & Oates due to the percussion and musical style.
LaVaba Mallison, Timmy Gatling, and Teddy Riley sang the background vocals on She's So Bad although it was Teddy Riley who sung most of the vocals.
I rate this album 4/5****!
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