Double Exposure

Album Review

If obtaining "Ten Percent," "Everyman," and "My Love Is Free" through a various-artists Salsoul compilation or two doesn't give you enough Double Exposure, there's always Charly's The Best of Double Exposure. The group's filler-prone albums don't offer enough buried gems to make investment in those a recommendable action, so it would be best to go for this single disc. Beyond the opening trio of songs, which respectively hit number one, number one, and number four on the disco singles chart, it's easy to be struck with the thought that Double Exposure shot its wad early on. But plenty of disco groups released consistently fine material without ever tasting the type of chart success enjoyed by this group; it's only comparing the lack of popularity of later songs (such as "Fallin' in Love With You,""I Got the Hots for You," and "Handy Man") to the big hits that makes what followed seem lackluster. This group thrived on group harmonies and tough rhythms and took a page from Philly soul with its sense of sophistication. One aspect that made the group different from most disco acts was its forthright lyrics, best exemplified in "Everyman."