Get Up / Perceptions (What's The Right Direction)
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Album Summary
Brass Construction, the Brooklyn-born funk and disco powerhouse led by the visionary Randy Muller, brought their signature sound back to the dance floor in 1978 with the single 'Get Up / Perceptions (What's The Right Direction),' released on United Artists Records. Muller, the creative engine behind the group's unmistakable horn-driven, groove-locked arrangements, produced the record during a period when Brass Construction had firmly established themselves as one of the defining acts of the era. This was a time when the dance floor was the church, and Brass Construction was preaching every Sunday — their dense, rhythmically complex funk was built for bodies in motion. The release arrived as the disco era was reaching its commercial peak, and Brass Construction, never a mere trend-follower, brought their own Brooklyn-bred soulfulness and musical sophistication to the moment.
Reception
- The single was directed squarely at the R&B and dance markets, consistent with Brass Construction's well-established presence among urban radio programmers and club DJs who knew the group's records moved crowds.
- Within the dance and Black music markets of the late 1970s, the release was warmly received by the loyal following Brass Construction had cultivated since their mid-decade breakthrough, performing respectably in club and radio contexts.
- The single did not replicate the crossover visibility of the group's earlier landmark recordings, but held its own with authority in the dance-floor niche it was crafted to serve.
Significance
- 'Get Up / Perceptions (What's The Right Direction)' stands as a testament to the late-1970s funk and disco moment when brass-heavy ensembles like Brass Construction were building the sonic bridge between jazz-rooted rhythm sections and the emerging club culture that would define a generation.
- The title 'Perceptions (What's The Right Direction)' signals the thematic depth that set Brass Construction apart — even at their most groove-oriented, Randy Muller and the group carried a socially conscious undercurrent, nodding to questions of community, identity, and purpose that resonated far beyond the dance floor.
- Randy Muller's layered production approach and the group's legendary tight horn section, showcased on recordings from this period, helped cement Brass Construction's catalog as enduring source material for the hip-hop and dance producers who would mine their sound in the decades that followed.
Tracklist
-
A Get Up —
3:59
-
B Perceptions (What's The Right Direction) —
3:48
Artist Details
Brass Construction was a funky, beautiful force of nature that rose up out of Brooklyn, New York in the early 1970s, blending funk, soul, R&B, and disco into a sound so rich and layered it could make a whole room levitate off the floor. Led by Randy Muller, this nine-piece ensemble hit the scene hard with their 1976 self-titled debut album, dropping the infectious groove anthem "Movin'" which became a cornerstone of the era's dancefloor culture and helped bridge the gap between funk and the emerging disco movement. Their dense horn arrangements, hypnotic rhythms, and communal energy made them one of the most influential acts of the late 70s, leaving fingerprints all over the future of dance music and earning them a well-deserved place in the soul music hall of legends.
