Some soul groups live in relative obscurity despite their fantastic music. Enter The Sylvers: supremely 70s, afros so large on this album cover that it becomes hard to tell where one ends and the next begins. Leon Sylvers III, up there in the top-right corner, was the brainchild of this Watts (LA) family act, writing most of their songs. Their early albums have provided legendary sample fodder and are killer soul LPs in their own right.

The small-time MGM subsidiary label Pride, who also released the probably unauthorized The History of the Grateful Dead album, signed The Sylvers in the early 70s for a string of soul records. By the time Pride folded in 1975, The Sylvers were recording for Capitol and had moved in the disco direction (their biggest hit, “Boogie Fever”, was released the same year).

Sylvers II features outstanding arrangements from David Crawford. The ballad “I’ll Never Let You Go” is both groovy and spooky. The string and horn arrangements on “Cry of a Dreamer” are beautiful and vault the song from good to great territory. B-side opener “Stay Away From Me” is bold and biting, and was sampled prominently on Ghostface Killah’s “Be Easy”. This song was also (perhaps strangely, since album-opener “We Can Make It If We Try” has more pop potential) released as a single by both Pride and MGM, with a contrasting B-side of the chill The Sylvers (1972) cut “I’ll Never Be Ashamed”, a harpsichord-laden groove.

“I remember when it was yesterday,” goes the chorus of the wistful “I Remember”, before the album closes, appropriately, with a cover of The Beatles’ “Yesterday”. This a capella cover is the most unique track on the album, showcasing the group’s full vocal range and plumbing the depths of the oft-covered song’s sorrowful melody. Though the “I Remember (Yesterday)” > “Yesterday” combo closes the chapter on The Sylvers II, The Sylvers would remain recording consistently until disbanding in the mid-80s. While they reunited for a live performance in 2017, it is unclear to me what the future holds for this overlooked group.

Listen to The Sylvers II here.