It's not very often that a group hits the top spot on any chart with their first record but Levert (Sean and Gerald Levert and Marc Gordon) did just that last year with "(Pop, Pop, Pop) Goes My Mind" when the record, taken from their debut album entitled "Bloodline", became a black music No. 1. A little over a year later, with a solid stint on the road behind them, Levert are threatening to repeat their initial success with "Casanova", the insistent, hypnotic ditty produced by Reggie Calloway.




It's not very often that a group hits the top spot on any chart with their first record but Levert (Sean and Gerald Levert and Marc Gordon) did just that last year with "(Pop, Pop, Pop) Goes My Mind" when the record, taken from their debut album entitled "Bloodline", became a black music No. 1. A little over a year later, with a solid stint on the road behind them, Levert are threatening to repeat their initial success with "Casanova", the insistent, hypnotic ditty produced by Reggie Calloway.

A morning call from Gerald confirms that the single (from the group's new LP, "The Big Throwdown") is already shaping up to be a biggie.

"You bet we're happy, enthuses Gerald. "Atlantic Records hooked us up with Reggie and the chemistry was just great. He was really aware of what we'd done on our first album and he knew where to take us musically. We told him what kind of groove we wanted and he came up with "Casanova", which not only has the sound but has the kind of lyrics we wanted. We can all get into what the song is saying ? makes me wish I'd written it myself!" jokes Gerald. But since Gerald, along with Sean, Marc and Craig Cooper (who worked on the group's' first album) all contributed to the songs and production of most of the album (Reggie produced one other song, "Temptation"), he's not complaining too much about not having written "Casanova".

Gerald agrees that it is unusual for a relatively new group to be given the opportunity to produce most of their second album, but he explains, "when Atlantic heard our demos, they flipped. But then, that's what we wanted them to do. In fact, we took the money we made from the first LP and spent it all on the demos. We did 10 songs in all and we knew it was risky. After all, if they hadn't turned out as good as they did, we'd have been crushed and broke at the same time!"

Gerald says that when the group told his Dad (a certain Mr. Eddie Levert of The O'Jays, father to both Gerald and Sean), even he was a little uncertain. "He's really like our best friend and he oversees pretty much everything we do and when we told him what we were planning, he asked us if we thought we should spend all of our money on doing these demos. We knew, though, that it was only a paternal concern."

Levert's plan has obviously paid off and they are justifiably I proud of "The Big  Throwdown". "Basically, we've written about subjects we know people experience and feel. Take "Don't You Think It's Time" which we expect is going to be a little controversial," says Gerald. "That's all about what happens between a man and a woman when they've been going out dating for a while. You might start out just kissing and then at some point, you both feel like whatever you're sharing is getting a little deeper and you know it's time to get a little closer."

A true life experience, Gerald?

"I just observe what's going on around me!" he counters. "The Big Throwdown" showcases Levert's obvious talent for some serious singing along with some miduptempo tracks like "Sweet Sensation" and out and out funky cuts like the title song and "In And Out".

"We wanted to cover every aspect musically," comments Gerald. "We knew we were capable of doing it all and I think this album expresses that."

Gerald is confident that this album takes off from where "Bloodline" began.

"We felt very good about that record and having a No. 1 hit was great. But then, we've seen what happens in the business just being around my Dad, so although we were happy about "(Pop, Pop, Pop) Goes My Mind", we didn't get carried away with its success. We all knew that what we had to do was keep generating
new music and not to stop.

"During their year on the road, Levert got a chance to work with a wide range of performers including Cameo, Freddie Jackson and Jeffrey Osborne.

"Freddie's  audience are more our crowd ? with all those women into Iromantic songs. They went  crazy when we came out and  we actually did a song with Freddie too. But then when we were appearing with Cameo, we were able to get over because we added a few more up' songs: their audiences are a little more energetic."

Levert also had the chance to do a couple of shows with The O'Jays and Gerald is pretty clear about how that was! "The roughest thing in the world, man! People said 'yound sound  just like your Dad'. I wanted to tell them, 'hey, give us a chance.' So appearing with The O'Jays means we have to really work hard!" Gerald says that  Levert will be doing a couple of dates with the group this month and although there are no plans to do do, he expects that at some point, the two groups might even sing together. "We're never in the same place long enough to rehearse anything together  which is why we haven't done that yet. But someday, maybe we'll get to it."

In support of their new album, Levert plans a quick dash to London for promotion and then another tour, with dates scheduled with acts like Atlantic Starr and possibly The Whispers, Stephanie Mills and The Force M.D.s. "We do love being on the road but one thing I do know: we never want to be out there because we have to, but rather because we want to. It's not much fun when you get older to be travelling and touring because you need to earn the money, so we're building our career and emphasizing production and writing so that we don't get caught in that situation. In fact, we intend to start producing other groups ?including our backing band ?through our production company, Trevel. Who knows, maybe in a few years, we'll be ready to have our own record label." Certainly if Levert continues on their current
hitmaking path, that's a real possibility; but until they become industry moguls, we
can all enjoy "Casanova" and the other tasty music to be found on "The Big Throwdown".    (DN B&S)