Bobby Caldwell

It is hardly an exaggeration to say that Bobby Caldwell is known in Japan as ‘Mr AOR.’ Released in 1978, this was his debut and remains a representative work even in the twenty-first century. Born in New York but raised in Florida, he released it on Miami's TK label. His voice, rich in soul and R&B, is moderately mellow, with a pleasingly smooth touch. The album climbed to No. 21 in America and spread his name, but its appeal went beyond its AOR sound: a faint, relaxed Miami atmosphere also set it apart.

The unhurried rhythms of ‘My Flame,’ ‘Come to Me’ and ‘Kalimba Song’ are almost like a siesta. Naturally, the emotional vocals of the big hits ‘Special to Me’ and ‘What You Won't Do for Love,’ and ‘Take Me Back to Then,’ carrying Stevie Wonder's influence, offer plenty to hear too. This is an album in which an urbane sensibility meets the atmosphere of a resort.