That cover pretty much tells you everything you need to know about Betty Davis: sexy, powerful, elegant, and yet ready to tussle at any time. It’s also somewhat of a bittersweet photo, as Crashin’ from Passion would be the last album she ever recorded before mostly disappearing into obscurity for decades and later dying February 09, 2022. She at least learned that her music had been rediscovered and that she was hailed as a Queen of Funk and influence to many.
Crashin’ was recorded with a powerhouse backing band of jazz and funk heavyweights, including The Pointer Sisters, Martha Reeves, Alphonse Mouzon, and Carlos Morales. Davis didn’t have much love for the recording industry by this point, as she’d been dropped by her previous label and the last album she’d recorded for them, Is It Love or Desire? was shelved…for thirty years. She moved to Hollywood, found some new funding for a new record, and put out the most diverse album of her career.
“Quintessence of Hip” starts off the record with a bold, funky ripper and Davis proclaiming that she “can be cooler than cool,” shouting out some of her influences (John Coltrane, Sly Stone, Stevie Wonder, and others), and also acknowledging her time in the spotlight might be ending (as a result of her decisions and no one else’s). “She’s a Woman” has Davis exploring dark disco and synth music. I would’ve gone nuts for a whole album of stuff like this. Mouzon’s drumming catches your attention right away on “No Good at Falling in Love,” and Davis’ vocals won’t let your attention escape as she effortlessly keeps up with him (or is it the other way around?).
The playful jazz of “Tell Me a Few Things” sounds like it could’ve been recorded yesterday, and it’s great to hear Davis being frisky (and the xylophone beats on this are a great touch). Just when you think you might know where this album is going, along comes “I’ve Danced Before” – a calypso-rock track. “You Make Me Feel So Good” is the type of track that Davis always delivers so well – a slow jam that practically makes you and your lover’s clothes fall off your bodies.
Chuck Rainey‘s bass groove on “I Need a Whole Lot of Love” is so tight and solid that it could hold down a rocket on a launch pad. “Hangin’ Out in Hollywood” is a fun tale of her new home, and “All I Do Is Think of You” is a solid disco track that should’ve been tearing up clubs in the late 1970s…but more on that later. Davis and her band go nuts on the title track, with everyone clicking together in perfection. Morales’ guitar sizzles throughout it and Rainey and Mouzon sound like they’re having a competition to out-funk the other. The closer is the soft, lush love / break-up song “You Take Me for Granted,” a poignant title as it turns out…
…because, as mentioned earlier, Davis disappeared after this record. She and the album’s mixers butted heads, her father died during all of this, and then Crashin’ was shelved, her second album in a row, for fifteen years until it was released without her permission to CD in the 1990s. Thankfully, this remastered edition had her full approval and she was able to see it (and Is It Love or Desire? for that matter) find her fans.
It’s a crime that Davis’ last two records went unheard for so long since they are so good. She didn’t have a bad album in her catalogue, and could’ve been packing houses, owning stages, experimenting with other genres, and being a coveted, cherished collaborator on others albums for the rest of her life. Instead, thanks to the record industry taking her for granted, she said, “Nah.” and walked away from all of it.
Do yourself a favor and discover her if you don’t know her.
Keep your mind open.
[I’ll be crashin’ from passion if you subscribe.]
[Thanks to Sam at Pitch Perfect PR.]