Good shit man
Cameo is one of my favorite bands of all time. Been listening to them since I was a kid since my cousins were super into them and had all their records on vinyl.
"Word Up" and "Candy" are just the tip of the iceberg, the commercial hits. It's kinda like getting into MJ via "Billie Jean" and "Thriller". Great songs, but definitely written to be hits.
Cameo is a real interesting band, because they are one of the few bands that successfully navigated all the changes that happened in R&B/Funk from the 70's to the 80's. So on their 70's albums, you'll see album covers where there's like 10 people on the cover, they had a full horn section, live drums, basss, guitar, multiple vocalists, the songs were heavy on live instruments, horn sections, massive harmonies with lots of singers, etc.
Then by the time you get to the mid 80's and the "Word Up" era, it's literally just three people in the band, because the sound had changed, heavy on drum machines, sequencers and synths and you didn't need all the folks that were there before.
If you're looking for a few suggestions as to what to check out next, some of my all time faves are:
- Flirt
- I Just Want To Be
- Sparkle
- Pretty Girls
- She's Strange
- Back & Forth
- Attack Me With Your Love
- Single Life
- Style
Also, 2Pac sampled the fuck out of them. You probably already clocked that "All About U" is based on "Candy" but he sampled loads more as well, as did many other hip-hop acts.
I finally got to see Cameo live last December, but unfortunately it was a slightly disappointing experience, but not due to the band. It was at a festival in LA, and the act before them (which was SOS Band, another fantastic band who I recommend) had technical difficulties and had to stop for 20 minutes or so to fix the issues. This meant that Cameo only ended up playing for 10 minutes instead of 30, and I guess they made the executive decision to go with the hits since it was a festival. They played..... "Candy" and "Word Up" lol
Luckily though, there's a festival happening literally down the street from me here in July, which is a funk/r&b festival which in previous years has had Public Enemy, Chaka Khan, Parliament Funkadelic, The Jacksons, and Earth Wind& Fire perform. And Cameo are on the bill this year! Hoping to buy tickets this week and I'll get to see a full set from them that's almost literally in my backyard!