by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Shalamar's debut album Uptown Festival is a dated set of shamelessly pandering disco that became a hit on the basis of the title track, a clever medley of old Motown hits. &Uptown Festival& -- and its less-successful followup, a cover of Smokey Robinson's &Ooh Baby Baby& -- were hits simply because they grafted a familiar melody to a disco beat, not because they represented any innovation. The remainder of Uptown Festival suffers from a similar fate. Shalamar sing as if the lyrics met something, but the music on the record is so stilted, the album sounds lifeless. Occasionally, such as the opening cut &Inky Dinky Wang Dang Doo,& the music is kitschy fun, but more often than not, it is simply an artifact of its times.