line up 1 (198-81)

- Buddy Hankerson -- bass, guitar, backing vocals, percussion

- Dave Reyes -- drums, percussion

- Jacqueline Thomas -- vocals

- Billy Young -- vocals, percussion

- Kenneth Young -- vocals, percussion

- Mike Young -- vocals

  supporting musicians:

- Mike Clark -- keyboards

- David Connolly -- flute

- Joshua Thompson -- guitar

- Steve Arrington's Hall Of Fame (Buddy Hankerson)

- Buddy Hank Band (Buddy Hankerson)

- Buddy Hankerson with Billy Young

- Legion (Buddy Hankerson)

- The Youngs

Genre: soul

Rating: 2 stars **

Title:  I Like What You're Ding To Me

Company: Brunswick

Catalog: BL 754224
Year: 1980

Country/State: East Orange, New Jersey

Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+

Comments: --

Available: 1

Catalog ID: 817

Price: $20.00

Formed in East Orange, New Jersey, and originally known as The Youngs, Young & Company featured the talents of brothers Billy, Kenneth, and Mike Young, supplemented by friends Buddy Hankerson on bass, drummer Dave Reyes, and vocalist Jacqueline Thomas.   The spotlight was on the attractive Ms. Thomas, while, judging by the songwriting credits, Billy, Mike and Buddy were the creative brains behind the outfit.  So here's what the liner notes to their one and only LP say about this New Jersey-based outfit:

"Young & Company, a group that is destined for stardom in the '80s, a group that hails fro East Orange, New Jersey, brings today's sounds to you, the public.  Sit back and relax, let Young & Company groove you.   Three brothers and three friends give you a sound you won't let go.   Their chart making single 'I Like What You're Doing To Me; is on its way to gold on their first try.   This LP demonstrates a determination by them to bring you a quality LP and let you know what their about.  Kenny, Jackie, Billy Buddy, Mike and Dave want to thank you and to tell you to keep your ear on Young & Company."

Signed by Brunswick Records, the group enjoyed a massive dance hit with their 1980 debut:

- 'I Like What You're Doing To Me' b/w 'I Like What You're Doing To Me' (instrumental) (Brunswick catalog number D 213)

Brunswick wasted no time rushing the band to record a supporting album - 1980's cleverly-titled "I Like What You're Doing To Me".   Produced and largely written by Billy, Buddy, and Mike, it would be disingenuous to tell you the was a great LP, but given it was recorded in a rush, the results were passable.  Besides the title track, there were really only one highlight -  the funky follow-on single 'Strut Your Stuff'.  The rest of the album was given over to formulaic and dull funk moves ('Checking You Out') and even worse production line ballads ('Got To Be Free').   That's not to imply the band didn't have talent.  Hankerson was an impressive bassist, occasionally reminding one a bit of Larry Graham, while vocalist Thomas had a crystal clear voice, but limited dynamism.   I'm guessing much of the album already sounded somewhat dated in 1980. Today it sounds oddly nostalgic with a naive charm.

"I Like What You're Doing To Me" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Strut Your Stuff   (Billy Young - Buddy Hankerson - Mike Young) - 7:42

Geez, you'd be hard pressed to come up with a tune that encapsulated early-'80s dance music better than 'Strut Your Stuff' - poppin' bass; synthesizer burps, Funkadelic-styled group harmonies, hysterically sexist lyrics (well I guess that hasn't changed), and a dance mix that went on about four minutes too long.  The song was tapped as the follow-up single.  rating: *** stars

2.) Checking You Out   (Billy Young - Buddy Hankerson - Mike Young) - 5:26

With Thomas on lead vocals, musically there wasn't a lot to 'Checking You Out' - kind of a bubbling slow groove with a bass line I'd swear I've heard before - maybe an old Heatwave song ?.   I did like the chic-styled guitar.  Be prepared to hear the title repeated time after time after time ...   rating: ** stars

3.) Party Jam (instrumental)   (Billy Young - Buddy Hankerson - Mike Young) - 1:09

More a song fragment than anything, at least 'Party Jam' was mercifully short.   rating: * star

4.) Got To Be Free   (Billy Young - Buddy Hankerson - Mike Young) - 5:29

Is there such a thing as a disco ballad ?   Well, that's an apt description for this amazingly bland and forgettable number.   For goodness sake, it even had an extended flute solo ...  Easy to picture people falling asleep in each others arms.   rating: ** stars

(side 2)
1.) Love Me All Night   (Billy Young - Buddy Hankerson - Mike Young) - 4:56

Though she had a bright and crystal clear voice, Thomas' has a tendency to sound stilted and borderline shrill and 'Love Me All Night' was a perfect example of those tendencies.   While the song had a nice breezy groove, her delivery had about the same sex appeal as a toothpaste jingle.   rating: ** stars

2.) Mellow Mood   (Buddy Hankerson) - 2:52

3.) Waiting On Your Love   (Billy Young - Buddy Hankerson - Mike Young) - 6:46

To be honest, Hankerson's bass stole the show on 'Waiting On Your Love'.   Other than his bass and some tasty fuzz guitar (mixed way too love), there simply wasn't a lot going on this mid-tempo ballad - basically another track that repeated the title over and over and over ...  rating: ** stars

4.) I Like What You're Doing To Me   (Billy Young - Buddy Hankerson - Mike Young) - 4:22

Sounding like they'd been listening to way too much Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, I can see why 'I Like What You're Doing To Me' was a dance floor hit.  The song wasn't particularly original, but had a breezy groove and charm that the band never came close to matching.   YouTube has a clip of the group lip synching the tune in Dutch television: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbyWfNDMJnE   The song's been sampled a couple of times including Black Sheep on the song 'Strobelite Honey' and Faith Evans on 'Lucky Day'.    rating: **** stars

As mentioned, the LP was tapped for a follow-on single:

- 1980's 'Strut Your Stuff' b/w 'I Like What You Do To Me) (Brunswick catalog number 55554)

Largely on the strength of the earlier single, the parent LP sold well, but that was it for the band.

They also seem to have re-issued the album with new cover art and a pair of bonus tracks ('Do You Want My Love' and 'Finally Got Your Love').   From the reviews I've seen, the reissue has terrible sound quality so you might want to look for an original copy of the LP.

That's Right Classic CDs catalog number 634479208454

There isn't much to it and it doesn't seem to have been updated in years, but the band appear to have  a small web presence at: http://youngandcompanymusic.com/

Curiously the website makes mention of a "new" LP entitled "Much Love" scheduled for release in 2006.  As far as I can tell, it never seems to have been released.