1974 Barry White: You're The First, The Last, My Everything

Instantly recognisable in both sight and sound, Barry White's entire public persona has by now become a caricature or parody of the man himself. Just as a fancy dress Napoleon outfit always comes with a triangle hat, eye patch and a greatcoat to thrust your arm into, Barry White is forever remembered and portrayed as a fat, sweaty lothario gasping out his songs through gulps for air. Unfair and untrue - there was always far more to White than the 'Walrus of Love' image accorded to him both in his lifetime and posterity.

Gifted with a smooth bass vocal, White's seventies output married classic soul with the emerging disco sound, a convergence no better illustrated that on 'You're The First, The Last, My Everything'. Greased by a sweet orchestration, the swooping strings of romance are augmented with the clout of a straight disco beat whilst White's vocal effortlessly rides them both in the crossover. Basically a celebration of his love for his woman, ''You're The First' fair explodes with a delightful optimism for either dancing like a fool, or locking eyes with your partner and slowly swaying to; "I know there's only one, only one like you. There's no way they could have made two"- I think this is what Charles Aznavour was trying to say on 'She' but made a right pig's ear of. Then again, he was never the walrus of love, was he? (damn those accurate sobriquets)!