Maze began the long-running love affair between a Philadelphian prodigy named Frankie Beverly and a cult of soul fans hungry for new personality in the disco-diluted Seventies. Beverly approached his music with a soft touch not seen since Marvin Gaye, yet he refused to let his band play warmed-over smooth soul. The crisp funk of “Color Blind” disguises a reflection on race relations, while “Time Is On My Side” presents a sound that is not disco and not quite rhythm’n’blues, yet more ingratiatingly danceable than either. Beginning with nothing more than a lone drummer, “You” takes its time opening up, but once it blooms you find yourself wrapped in a wave of warm energy. Of course, it was with Beverly’s own brand of sensuous black music that Maze made its name. Lush, hypnotic, and endlessly inventive, “Lady of Magic” and “While I’m Alone” are still transfixing listeners 30 years after their recording.