Sunshine

by Andrew HamiltonThe Emotions never really established themselves at Stax as they should have -- yet their Stax sides are more pleasing to many than their later, more successful recordings on Columbia Records under the auspices of Maurice White. Sunshine has some excellent cuts and some that don't quite fit the Chicagoans' style. If Stax hadn't been close to folding, "Shouting Out Love" would have raced up the charts; this sweetie has everything -- a good beat, a great hook, and sensational vocals from the Emotions on a song equally suitable for the Staple Singers. Then you have songs like "Runnin' Back (And Forth)," contributed by Eddie Floyd and Mack Rice, which should have been cut by someone else. Lambert and Potter's "Put a Little Love Away" departs from the Emotions' sound and is overbearingly pop. Group member Sheila Hutchinson contributed three of the better songs here: "Baby I'm Through," "I Really Miss You," and "I Wanna Come Back." And don't forget the perennial Christmas favorite "What Do the Lonely Do at Christmas?"