Unlimited!
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Unlimited!
| type = studio
| artist = Roger
| cover = RT-UnlimitedCover.jpg
| released = 1987
| recorded = 1986–1987
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = Funk
| length =
| label = Reprise
| producer = Roger Troutman
| prev_title = The Saga Continues
| prev_year = 1984
| year = 1987
| next_title = Bridging the Gap
| next_year = 1991
}}
Unlimited! is the third solo album by Zapp frontman Roger Troutman (credited as "Roger"), released in 1987.{{cite web |title=Roger Biography by Greg Prato |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/roger-mn0000305501/biography |website=AllMusic |access-date=5 May 2023}} It includes a cover of James Brown's 1965 single "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag", as well as Roger's biggest R&B and crossover hit (on the pop charts), "I Want to Be Your Man."
Critical reception
{{music ratings
|rev1 = AllMusic
|rev1score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite web |title=Unlimited! Review by John Floyd |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/unlimited%21-mw0000193610 |website=AllMusic |access-date=5 May 2023}}
|rev2 = Los Angeles Times
|rev2score = {{rating|3|4}}{{cite news |last1=Johnson |first1=Connie |title=Roger Troutman, the Techno Tease |work=Los Angeles Times |date=3 Jan 1988 |department=Calendar |page=66}}
| rev3 = New Musical Express
| rev3score = 9/10{{cite magazine|title=Roger: Unlimited |last=McCready |first=John |date=21 November 1987 |magazine=New Musical Express|page=35}}
}}
The Los Angeles Times called the album "a put-the-needle-anywhere LP that can only add to Troutman's still-growing reputation as a man with a solid plan for funk's future." The Orlando Sentinel labeled it a "funky, jazzy, rocking album."{{cite news |last1=Torres |first1=Agnes |title=Roger Catches Mainstream Current |work=Orlando Sentinel |date=7 Feb 1988 |department=Calendar |page=1}} The St. Petersburg Times deemed "I Want to Be Your Man" "one of the best records of '87."{{cite news |last1=Snider |first1=Eric |title=Roger: Unlimited! |work=St. Petersburg Times |date=3 Jan 1988 |page=2F}} The Sydney Morning Herald judged "Been This Way Before" "a dance track beyond George Clinton, a place where no other artist has gone before."{{cite news |last1=Barber |first1=Lynden |title=Equally noisy, but very different... |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=February 22, 1988 |department=The Guide |page=4}}
AllMusic considered Unlimited! to be Troutman's best solo album.
Track listing
{{track listing
| title1 = I Want to Be Your Man
| length1 = 4:14
| title2 = Night and Day
| length2 = 4:19
| title3 = Been this Way Before (rap)
| length3 = 5:11
| title4 = Composition to Commemorate (May 30, 1918)
| length4 = 4:48
| title5 = Papa's Got a Brand New Bag
| length5 = 3:45
| title6 = Thrill Seekers
| length6 = 4:50
| title7 = Tender Moments
| length7 = 4:19
| title8 = If You're Serious
| length8 = 4:24
| title9 = Private Lover
| length9 = 4:03
| title10 = I Really Want to Be Your Man
| length10 = 3:44
| title11 = Bedistguitarist-A-Rown
| length11 = 3:13
}}
Personnel
=Musicians=
- Roger Troutman: Lead vocals, talk box, guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, bass, congas, percussion, backing vocals
- Terry "Zapp" Troutman: Bass, keyboards, backing vocals
- Billy Beck: Keyboards, backing vocals
- Curtis Cowen: Keyboards
- Lester Troutman: Drums, congas, percussion
- Dale DeGroat: Keyboards
- Johnny Lytle: Vibraphone
- Carl Cowen, James Cameron: Horns
- Additional backing vocalists: Clete Troutman, Mark Thomas, Nicole Cottom, Ray Davis, Shirley Murdock
=Production=
- Producer: Roger Troutman
- Editor: Roger Troutman, Zapp Troutman, Curtis Cowen, Tony Jackson
- Mixing: Roger Troutman, Zapp Troutman, Curtis Cowen, Tony Jackson
- Engineer [Editing, Mixing, Recording] - Curtis Cowen, Lester Troutman, Charles Jackson
References
{{reflist}}
{{Zapp|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Roger Troutman albums
Category:Reprise Records albums
{{1980s-R&B-album-stub}}