Review: We'd say, "it's not you, it's me", but in the case of Eugene Smiley, we need not, because it really is, indeed, you. But this new, Miles Away-reissued release of 'Yes It's You' reminds us that this is a record that deals not in the theme of a breakup, but a makeup, as the grinning soul singer Smiley brings a confident disco-soul shimmy to the theme of conciliation. First released in 1978 on Kansas City's K-City Records (co-owned by Smiley himself, along with fellow recording artist and entrepreneur Keith Montgomery), 'Yes It's You' was one of several exemplary releases from the time to be backed by the K-City in-house band Essence Of Love, whose purported philtre - take it from us smitten folk - was no case of charlatanism. Brought up by the B-sider 'We're Lovers Day & Night', this release is a bright, string-steeped, fill-packed sunburst, with not so much as a hint of second-guessing or doubt about Eugene's love.
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