Brother To Brother - Gino Vanelli (1978)

Ideated from: Some selections from Youtuber Rick Beato’s 40 Greatest-Sounding Albums video

I only know Vanelli from his 80s slickpop hit Wild Horses, so this is a new one for me.

It’s a pleasant surprise: Quiet Storm - style disco-y electric soul with a dash of jazzy sophistication.

The Vanelli family must have been close. The title track is an ode to brothers (as you might guess), and two other Vanelli brothers, Ross, and Joe, have production and performance credits here.

Feel Like Flying could easily have been a Steely Dan song from the same era, only Vanelli’s voice is better than Donald Fagen’s.

so does it sound great?

It does. The aesthetic is a bit dated, but it’s recorded well. The bass, especially in its higher registers, cuts cleanly through the tracks and gives it a really cool edge.