Johnnie Wilder, Jr. (1949-2006) was once the lead vocalist of the great Funk/Soul group Heatwave. They were famous for hits such as "Boogie Nights" and "Always and Forever." They also claimed the great Rod Temperton as a member, who is famous for writing every good song ever, including most of Michael Jackson's Off The Wall and Thriller albums.
In 1979, tragedy struck in the form of a dump truck, which hit Johnnie's car, paralyzing him from the neck down. He continued recording with Heatwave for a while, and eventually went solo and recorded this excellent A Capella Gospel album, along with another called One More Day a few years later.
The songs on My Goal are poppy and soulful, demonstrating Johnnie Wilder, Jr.'s history in secular music. The vocal arrangements sound almost like a funkier version of The Beach Boys, with bouncing vocal bass lines and Johnnie's smooth falsetto floating gracefully above every composition.
Unfortunately, my 50 cent bargain copy is plagued with all those tell-tale vinyl hisses and crackles, which I did my best to clean up. I couldn't use a noise cancelling tool without effecting the wide range of frequencies in these arrangements, and therefore destroying what makes the music so great. I did my best to get rid of most of the big pops and clicks, but otherwise, the audio is presented as-is. Hey, there's always Amazon.
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