Initially, this writer viewed Harold Marvin Tillman (aka HAR MAR SUPERSTAR) with an uneasy mix of derision and fascination. I mean, you can only applaud a guy who's some way from being an oil painting positively demanding front covers and expecting to date the Kate Mosses of this world, but y'know, how much of his Y-fronted, sleazebag antics can we realistically stomach before he seriously outlasts his, er, 'creative' shelf life?
Well, while those questions remain to be answered in full, even if he totally loses the plot after his recent Manumission exploits, then he deserves to be remembered for this. "Brothers and Sisters" is one of the best, deliriously catchy dance singles you have heard/ will hear for many a moon.
It comes (no innuendo intended) in three versions. The radio edit is naturally the the snappiest and it's a hi-NRG treat, with the kind of totally irrepressible gospel chorus that can only leave scorched earth behind the territories it will undoubtedly conquer. In typically gauche, over-confident mode, it ends with our moustachioed hero slobbering: "In your grocery store, in your car it's Har Mar SUPERSTAR!" Well, you can't deny him this moment of triumph, that's for sure.
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For a change, both the remixes are handy, too. The 'Shanghai' mix is the more traditional club mix, with the usual fired-up bpm and house-y synth breaks all present and correct. Not really designed for consumption with coffee and cookies as I'm currently attacking it, but I can dream. Even better, though, is the lengthy, but brilliant 'Buzz Club' mix, which really nails the beat, adds some fractured, Talking Heads-style funk pulses early on and cranks up the gospel vibe to a degree rarely heard since Primal Scream cut "Come Together."
For all his hustling, I'm still not convinced Har Mar Superstar will hijack us for the long run, but for the duration of "Brothers And Sisters," you will surely succumb, my children. This is his fifteen minutes. You instinctively know he won't waste a second of it.
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