When people think of
Rhythm Heritage, they think of a 1970s disco act that recorded a lot of themes from movies and cop shows. But its third and final album,
Sky's the Limit, doesn't always live up to that stereotype.
Tom Scott's "Theme From 'Starsky and Hutch'" is the 1978 LP's only cop show theme, and the record doesn't contain a lot of hyper, exuberant disco.
Michael Omartian and
Steve Barri, the L.A.-based producers who led
Rhythm Heritage, evidently wanted to show their diversity in 1978, which is why
Sky's the Limit also contains everything from mellow quiet storm tunes ("Sail Away With Me," "Float on By") to laid-back pop-jazz instrumentals ("Hedge Hog," "Skippin'"). In fact, one of the musicians on this record is the late
Victor Feldman, a British jazzman who, like
Chuck Mangione, started out playing straight-ahead bop but eventually became known for commercial pop-jazz. Because
Sky's the Limit isn't all that disco-minded, it didn't get much support from the club DJs who had supported
Rhythm Heritage in the past -- and at the same time, it didn't win over the quiet storm and pop-jazz audiences that
Omartian and
Barri seemed to be going after in 1978. So
Sky's the Limit, which is pleasant but not terrible memorable, didn't sell, and
Rhythm Heritage ended up calling it quits without ever recording a fourth album. ~ Alex Henderson