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Street Life

'Street Life' was, for decades, my one point of contact with the voluminous discography of The Crusaders. Only in the last few years have I heard a little more: I found one of their '70s albums in a charity shop, but it didn't grab me; and I picked up a copy of B.B. King's Midnight Believer (prominently featuring members of the band) which I enjoyed much more - although I ended up giving it to my Dad.

I also found a copy of 'Street Life' on 7': this was every bit as good as I rememberered it. The sleek arrangement and Randy Crawford's exquisite vocal combine to wonderful effect. I'd been cluelessly oblivious to the fact that the single version (just short of four minutes long) was much abbreviated when compared to the album version, which clocks in at over eleven minutes.

The B-side is 'The Hustler', a funkier instrumental number which conjures up a similarly nocturnal cityscape as one listens. The single version is again shortened relative to the one on the Street Life album, but less dramatically so.

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