Garage Sale Vinyl 8-Track Edition: Lakeside
Fantastic Voyage / SOLAR / 1980
by Christopher Long
Like so many other installments in the Garage Sale Vinyl series, Fantastic Voyage is a record that I’ve owned in various configurations over the years, first on vinyl back in the day, then on CD in the ’90s, then from iTunes in the new millennium. I scored my latest LP copy, a super-clean slab, at a little joint in Vero Beach, Florida, in 2024 for just $6. Upon discovering a one-dollar 8-track copy during a recent record hunting expedition in Biloxi, Mississippi, I was prompted to (finally) also include it in this column.
An R&B-obsessed youth, I’d gone to see Shalamar in concert with some friends, a week before our high school graduation in May 1981. One of the opening acts was Lakeside, during the Fantastic Voyage tour, and HO-LEE-COW!
All adorned in outrageous pirate costumes, the numerous members stormed the stage like colorful, velvet-clad, plumed monsters. Wielding near-non-stop Hendrix-style guitar solos and pumping funk-fueled grandeur, the Lakeside live show felt (almost) more metal than Motown. My mind was blown, and in short order, the Fantastic Voyage record had found a “forever home” in my personal collection.
Produced by Lakeside, along with legendary music promoter and SOLAR Records founder, Dick Griffey, Fantastic Voyage sounded like a party, one that combined a rock-ish vibe with down-and-dirty funk, smooth grooves, and sweet soul-soaked melodies — polished by production perfection. The eight-cut collection even offered a glimpse into the future, sailing slightly into the as-yet, relatively uncharted waters of rap.
Of course, the record’s “money shot” was the now iconic title track. Another super-tall, standout, “Your Love Is On the One” oozed fresh-squeezed sunshine. While “I Need You” was a smooth groovin’ “sexy time” jam, “Strung Out” actually stunk from the funk. However, “Eveready Man” reflected the best and brightest aspects of the “SOLAR sound.”
In sum, as a passionate, decades-long R&B student, I’m more than qualified to suggest that Lakeside was one of the GOATs, and that Fantastic Voyage was one of the last truly great R&B records. It remains a vivid snapshot of what authentic soul music once was — before, well, you know.
5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Fantastic Voyage Track List
SIDE ONE
1. Fantastic Voyage (Lakeside) – 6:10
2. Your Love Is On the One (F. Alexander Jr., S. Shockley) – 6:20
3. I Need You (O. Stokes) – 5:50
SIDE TWO
1. Strung Out (T. Shelby) – 5:07
2. Say Yes (F. Alexander Jr., S. Shockley) – 5:16
3. Eveready Man (M. Craig, M. A. Wood Jr.) – 4:37
4. I Love Everything You Do (N. Beavers, T. McCain) – 4:30
5. Say Yes (Reprise) – 0:29
