Your Love Is A Miracle / One Look Over My Shoulder (Is This Really Goodbye?)
View on Discogs
Album Summary
Back in 1978, Average White Band dropped this double A-side single on Atlantic Records, and it was the kind of release that reminded the world these cats from Scotland were the real deal — no gimmicks, just pure, undeniable soul. Produced by the legendary Arif Mardin, whose golden touch had been shaping the band's sound through the heart of the decade, the single captured AWB at a moment of genuine artistic confidence. Both tracks were laid down with that signature blend of funk precision and soulful warmth that the band had been refining since their mid-seventies breakthrough, and Mardin's production gave the whole affair that lush, sophisticated sheen he was so renowned for. This was a group that never chased trends — they simply kept doing what they did better than almost anyone else.
Reception
- "Your Love Is A Miracle" achieved moderate chart success, reaching the top 40 in several territories and registering as a minor hit in both the UK and US markets.
- "One Look Over My Shoulder (Is This Really Over?)" demonstrated the band's considerable ballad capabilities and earned airplay across both pop and R&B radio formats.
- The single helped sustain Average White Band's commercial presence during a genuinely transitional moment in popular music, as the late 1970s landscape was shifting beneath everyone's feet.
Significance
- These two tracks stand as a testament to Average White Band's refusal to be swallowed whole by the disco era — they threaded the needle between commercial accessibility and genuine musical substance, and that took real craft.
- The double A-side format itself was a statement of artistic confidence, presenting the band's full emotional range — from uptempo funk electricity to tender, aching balladry — within a single release.
- This record sits as a meaningful chapter in the band's late-seventies story, reflecting a group of consummate musicians who trusted their instincts and their audience at a time when the industry was pressuring everyone to sound the same.
Tracklist
-
A Your Love Is A Miracle 79
6:04
-
B One Look Over My Shoulder (Is This Really Over?) —
3:55
Artist Details
Average White Band is a Scottish funk and soul group that formed in Dundee and Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1972, though they quickly relocated to the United States where they found their greatest success. The band, whose self-deprecating name humorously acknowledged their status as white musicians playing Black American-influenced music, developed a tight, rhythmically sophisticated sound rooted in funk, R&B, and jazz fusion. They achieved massive commercial success with their 1974 instrumental hit Pick Up the Pieces, which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of the defining funk tracks of the decade. Their ability to authentically master a genre largely pioneered by African American artists earned them widespread respect from both critics and peers, including legends like Herbie Hancock and Chaka Khan, who collaborated with them. Average White Band holds a significant place in music history as one of the few non-American acts to be embraced by the Black music community, and their catalog continues to be widely sampled by hip-hop producers and featured in film and television soundtracks.
