Zepherin Saint hits upon classic territory with the 100th release of Tribe Records: a cover of ‘Optimistic’ with Sounds of Blackness alum Ann Nesby.
Zepherin Saint’s Tribe Records, purveyors of fine Soulful House records, passes the century mark in releases with a classic: a cover (not an edit, not a “vs.,” not a mix or a boot but a cover) of the 1991 The Sounds of Blackness good vibes anthem “Optimistic.”
Also enlisted in the project are 3G and the glorious pipes of the legendary Ann Nesby, for whom this marks familiar territory as the most prominent ex-Sounds of Blackness alum.
“Optimistic” originally appeared on The Sounds of Blackness’ major label debut, the Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis produced LP The Evolution of Gospel. While less known than “The Pressure Part 1” off the same album (and which had the benefit of Ms. Nesby’s voice over a Frankie Knuckles remix), “Optimistic” has carved out a cult following for the positive message in the title and became a dancefloor classic in its own right in the sets of Timmy Regisford and the likes.
This was listed as being released in October in the materials I was provided with (and I almost skipped it for that reason), but that’s probably the global release date as information elsewhere says Zepherin Saint, 3G and Ann Nesby’s “Optimistic” will be released by Tribe September 25, 2015.
