It's no coincidence that
Mantra's self-titled debut album has such a strong
Cameo influence. In addition to producing and arranging this 1981 LP,
Cameo leader/founder/vocalist
Larry Blackmon and
Cameo guitarist
Anthony Lockett did most of the writing. So not surprisingly, the obscure funk band ends up being very
Cameo-sounding. The
Cameo influence is impossible to miss on sweaty funk jams like "Action," "Do You Wanna," "Boogie Just to Boogie" and "Doin' It to the Bone," and it doesn't disappear on the romantic soul ballads "Promise Me" and "Let's Stay Together" (not to be confused with
Al Green's early 1970s hit). Obviously, Blackmon and Lockett were saving their best songs for
Cameo. Although fairly catchy, none of the funk jams are in a class with
Cameo gems like "Shake Your Pants," "I Just Want to Be," "Your Love Takes Me Out" and "Keep It Hot." And while "Promise Me" and "Let's Stay Together" are pleasant ballads, they aren't on a par with
Cameo's best ballads, which include "Why Have I Lost You" and "Sparkle." Unfortunately,
Mantra fails to establish an identity of its own, and R&B journalists dismissed the band as a poor man's
Cameo. That isn't to say that
Mantra is a bad record-it's competent and generally decent, but there is no getting around the fact that
Cameo, not
Mantra, was receiving Blackmon and Lockett's best songs.