Bobby McFerrin – Bobby McFerrin Elektra Musician E1-60023 (1982)
On his debut Bobby McFerrin bore some resemblance to jazz singers like Al Jarreau and Betty Carter, but lots of this material is relatively straight 80s pop that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Hall & Oates album. Some of the pop stuff is actually decent, as on “Feline”. Unfortunately, there are only a few a cappella (or mostly a cappella) tracks that demonstrate the unique vocal abilities McFerrin possessed. His next album The Voice, recorded live, completely a cappella, was a major step forward, stripping away the overt commercialism of this debut.