The System and the emoto-electro of Sweat

Introduction

In 1983 the American The System released their Sweat album. Fairly unknown in Europe, but huge in the US.

The System

Early 1980s David Frank and Mic Murphy met while working with soul-funk band Kleeer. Sometime later David Frank worked with a young and unknown Madonna on the song It’s Passion. After Madonna pulled out, Frank contacted Murphy and asked him to finish the song with him. The result was good, so good in fact that they were offered a contract. Within a few weeks It’s Passion garnered a lot of attention. The band was granted money for an album. The next song, You Are In My System, was doing equally well, especially in the clubs.

The System – Sweat

Sweat

On June 19, 1983, The System’s debut album, Sweat, was released, which, next to the aforementioned songs, contained 5 more songs, most of which turned into successes in the clubs.

In Europe Sweat was virtually invisible and (thus) unknown, but in the US the album fared quite well. It reached the Billboard charts, and performed great in the R&B charts.

In 1982 Prince had introduced a new sound with his 1999, but he wasn’t the only one. Zapp was also pioneering in the electro funk, just as funk maestro George Clinton was. The System was dabbling in that area as well, but the combination of the black singer/guitarist with a family Jackson vibe and the white encyclopedia salesman was unique. Musically it was a bit different as well. Partly because of Mic Murphy’s emotional way of singing the music was labeled emoto-electro.

Review

The combination of electronic rhythms, keyboards, analog guitars and the warm voice works like a charm on this album. The album is influenced by funk and soul music as well as by new-wave. The first 3 songs are particularly catchy, swinging, and just ridiculously well crafted. The remaining 4 songs may seem a bit more dated nowadays, but at the time they were the pinnacle of innovation and excitement. The intro to I Won’t Let Go strongly resembles Roxy Music’s In Every Dream Home A Heartache.

So, based on just the first 3 songs alone, this album comes highly recommended.

The System – Sweat – The singles

Singles

The album contained 3 singles:

• It’s Passion
  (released in 1982)
• You Are In My System
  (released early 1983)
• Sweat
  (released early 1983)

Songs

All songs written by Mic Murphy and David Frank.

• Sweat
• You Are In My System
• It’s Passion
• Stand Up And Cheer
• I Won’t Let Go
• Go For What U Know
• Now I Am Electric

Musicians

• Mic Murphy – vocals, guitar
• David Frank – keyboards, synthesizers, digital sounds

The System – Live 1987

After Sweat

The song You Are In My System was quickly covered by Robert Palmer and it became a hit for him as well. In 1983 The System wrote songs for Attitude, whose Khris Kellow was added to the live incarnation of The System, just as session guitar player Paul Pesco. Both newcomers would also occasionally be part of studio recordings.

In 1984 The System released the album X-Periment, in 1985 followed by The Pleasure Seekers. In 1987 The System scored a US number 1 hit with Don’t Disturb This Groove, coming off the album with the same name. In 1989 the group released the album Rhythm & Romance, after which the group disbanded.

In the meantime The System had become an in-demand unit for contributions and/or production duties. They worked on songs like Phil Collins’ Sussudiuo, Chaka Khan’s Prince cover I Feel For You and This Is My Night and Mtume’s Juicy Fruit. They also contributed music to soundtracks of movies like Beverly Hills Cop and Coming To America.

After the disbanding of The System Mic Murphy released a solo album and David Frank focused on writing songs and production work, among them was Christina Aguilera’s Genie In A Bottle. In 2000 The System reconvened for the ESG album. In 2009 that was followed by Unreleased Unleashed, a collection of outtakes. The last outing of The System is 2013’s System Overload.

In closing

What’s your take on The System and Sweat? Let me know!

Video/Spotify
This story contains an accompanying video. Click on the following link to see it: Video: The System and the emoto-electro of Sweat. The A Pop Life playlist on Spotify has been updated as well.