Black Ivory - Mainline / Dance 12" DJ Promo Leroy Burgess Patrick Adams

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Black Ivory - Mainline / Dance 12" DJ Promo Leroy Burgess Patrick Adams Archival Sleeve
Fantastic Cut
Leroy Burgess’ temporary return to Black Ivory in 1978 yielded one of the most heavenly disco singles recorded. Burgess, who left the group just a year prior, had a pair of songs – “Mainline” and “Hustlin’” – that he intended to use for a project that didn’t pan out. He received a phone call from Black Ivory manager Leonard Adams, who asked him if he had any songs he could contribute to his former group’s next record. Not only did Black Ivory receive the two songs Burgess had kicking around, but they also wrangled Burgess to contribute arrangements and background vocals. “Mainline” is a song of devotion, and it’s one of those songs that speaks to a drug, or a partner, or any type of other dependent relationship. When it begins, with its opening swell of strings, a subtle piano vamp, and a twiddling bass line, it sounds like a classic Blaxploitation number is about to kick in. Instead, it opens into a wondrous disco song that is both elegant and gritty. Russell Paterson is responsible for the lead vocals, his meringue-smooth voice emoting all the thrill that comes with surrendering to his relationship. From the three-and-a-half minute mark on – the song’s midpoint -- the only vocals consist of the repeated line “Nothing is the same/Ever since you came, my baby.” Paterson, Burgess, and Stuart Bascombe proudly sing this phrase over and over as the song slowly shifts into a sweet breakdown of thumping drums. The song’s other elements – a pair of skeletal guitars, a thick-bottom bass line from James Calloway, that same string-swell – discretely come into play and fall back out. By the end, all that’s left is the vocals, bringing the potent song to its end.

Black Ivory is an American R&B group from Harlem, which had a number of hits in the 1970s, including "Don't Turn Around", "You and I", "I'll Find A Way", "Time Is Love", and "Will We Ever Come Together".
The group recorded several uptempo songs in the disco vein, such as "Big Apple Rock", "Walking Downtown (On a Saturday Night)", "What Goes Around (Comes Around)" and, later, "Mainline" but, not being known for the style, they were unable to compete when disco became the dominant music style. While he was with Black Ivory, Burgess frequently collaborated with Adams in writing songs. He also wrote the groups' hit, "Mainline", which featured Russell Patterson on lead and was recorded while he was on hiatus from the group. After Burgess left in 1977, Bascombe and Patterson continued on as a duo until the early 1980s before disbanding.