A "gem" that even those who recorded it forgot for years, and that funk/soul friends who listened to it don't easily let go of.
Do You Hear Me Talking To You? is one of the strangest miracles of the 70s American soul-funk scene. There's no big label, no serious production budget, and even its historical record isn't properly kept—but the music carries such warmth that today it holds the status of a "lost album sought after for years" in the collector's world.
Who are they? People’s Pleasure & Alive & Well?
The group is a collective of young, energetic, local soul-funk musicians who recorded in independent studios along the Indianapolis/Gary/Chicago line in the mid-70s.
People's Pleasure is primarily the name of the vocal group; Alive & Well is the rhythm section backing them. These types of regional collectives were common in those years, but they weren't this good. This lineup clearly grew up with James Brown's sharp funk and the gospel-soul vein of the Midwest.
Why is the album so good?
Because even though everything seems "small," the emotion is "big."
The production is simple, the arrangements are clean and direct.
The groove flows continuously; the rhythm section is smooth, and the vocals seem to enter from the living room. It's a kind of “house-party funk” feeling.
And of course, that line at the beginning of the album:
“Do you hear me talking to you?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYYT6It_7Cs&list=RDAYYT6It_7Cs&start_radio=1
A straightforward question that carries the entire spirit of the album—establishing an unmediated relationship with the listener:
