It's impressive that
Sylvia Vanderpool was able to successfully reinvent herself in the '70s after her string of hits as one half of
Mickey & Sylvia in the '50s and '60s, even if she had to resort to making soundtrack music in search of a porn flick.
Lay It on Me is a six-song, full-length album of long, slinky disco grooves that form a backdrop for
Sylvia's orgasmic moans and come-ons. The album is one of the last gusts from her commercial second wind, and the title track, "Lay It on Me," was only a very minor R&B hit. "The Lollipop Man (Kojak-Theme '77)" is a tribute to
Telly Savalas' television series Kojak, and gives
Sylvia the chance to milk some timeworn R&B double entendres, while "Stop (Boy)" ends with some of her most unrestrained panting. The disco remake of the old
Mickey & Sylvia hit "Love Is Strange" is moderately interesting, but "Fingers Do the Walking" is an exciting cut with funky, percolating fretwork almost robotic in its precision. Porn star
Marilyn Chambers made music like this in the '70s, too, but
Sylvia was the queen.
–
Greg Adams, Rovi