''Goin' Bananas'' is the fourth album by

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

group Side Effect. Released in 1977 by

Fantasy Records Fantasy Records is an American independent record label company founded by brothers Max and Sol Stanley Weiss in 1949. The early years of the company were dedicated to issuing recordings by jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, who was also one of its inves ...

, it was produced by Wayne Henderson. Like other releases by the group, the work featured an R&B based sound greatly influenced by contemporary

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

music. In terms of background, the group had endured a major line-up change as singer Helen Lowe had her role taken over by

Sylvia St. James Sylvia St. James is an American gospel and soul singer, recording artist, and entertainment host. She is best known for her time as the Mistress of Ceremonies of the House of Blues Sunday Gospel Brunch, and her appearances in her signature long, ...

. The album embraced bananas as a gimmick. Besides the cheeky title, the cover depicts vocalist Sylvia St. James in an outfit highly reminiscent of film icon Carmen Miranda. The record company even pressed the release on yellow vinyl. ''Goin' Bananas'' ended up receiving supportive yet mixed reviews.

Music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...

Alex Henderson of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

stated that he thought singer St. James can show "herself to be an expressive and capable vocalist", yet the group still appeared to fall short in comparison to their previous work. He still highlighted several tracks for praise such as "It's All In Your Mind" and "Private World", remarking on the latter's "infectious funk".

Track listing

#Goin' Bananas 5:40 #Open Up Your Heart 3:08 #Watching Life 4:38 #Keep On Keepin' On 7:10 #It's All Your Mind 4:24 #Private World 3:46 #Mr. Monday 3:07 #Never Be The Same 4:42 #Back In Time 3:43 #Cloudburst 2:04

Charts

Singles

References

External links

Side Effect-Goin' Bananas at Discogs
1977 albums Fantasy Records albums Side Effect albums Albums recorded at Total Experience Recording Studios Albums produced by Wayne Henderson (musician) {{1970s-R&B-album-stub