Sexual Harrassment

I Need A Freak

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• 01 I Need A Freak
• 02 If I Gave You A Party
• 03 You Are My Sexual Connection
• 04 Exercise Your Ass Off
• 05 K-I-S-S-I-N-G
• 06 We Didn't Say It
• 07 We Want Prince
• 08 These Are The Things That I Like

Dark Entries announces a deluxe reissue of Sexual Harrassment?s 1983 opus I Need A Freak. Lynn Tolliver, DJ/Program Director at Cleveland?s WZAK, adopted the pseudonym David Payton in order to keep his musical endeavors separate from his public persona. Sexual Harrassment (misspelled deliberately) was formed as a concept band, with members selected based on appearance and choreographic skill rather than musical ability. Tolliver?s explicit lyrics focused on the central themes of desire and sexual relations. Working at a studio in Akron, he recorded an album of quirky-yet-lurid electro funk, which was released on Heat Records. Tolliver remarks, ?I learned as a youngster, sex sells! The things that are rated the worst ? violence, horror and sex ? are the things people want to see or hear about.? I Need a Freak was a surprise hit, selling over 100,000 copies. I Need A Freak is presented here for the first time on double LP, pressed at 45 rpm for maximum DJ-friendliness. While the album?s naughtier moments seem quaint by contemporary standards, the fusion of lo-fi funk and disaffected vocals still stuns today. On the eternal electro-raunch anthem ?I Need a Freak?, minimalism serves to highlight the lasciviousness of the deadpan lyrics, which were inspired by Lourdes Figueroa, Tolliver?s girlfriend at the time. Tolliver?s whimsy shines on tracks like ?If I Gave You a Party? and ?K.I.S.S.I.N.G.?, which contrast nursery rhyme structures with decidedly R-rated lyrics. ?Exercise Your Ass Off? lampoons the home exercise craze, but with a more-than-suggestive sexual bent. Also included are two bonus cuts, ?We Want Prince? and ?These Are The Things That I Like?, previously released as singles in 1984 and 1986, respectively. ?We Want Prince? is both a homage to the Purple one and a gentle satire of obsessive fandom. I Need A Freak has been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. The album comes in a gatefold sleeve featuring the original artwork. Included are lyrics, photos, and liner notes by Lynn Tolliver and drummer Dale Jackson. Tolliver?s sly provacateurship is best captured by the quote: ?It?s funny ? without sex, mankind is dead, yet we hide the very thing we need.?