R&B

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles – 4 Albums

Posted on by jbass508

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles – 4 Albums

SoulMusic Records/The Second Disc

2CD/DL

Out now

Double CD set that compiles four early 1970s Tamla Motown albums by Soul legends Smokey Robinson & The Miracles plus two bonus items. Ian Canty writes…

While The Miracles had formed as a R&B vocal group back in the mid-1950s as The Five Chimes (later The Matadors), it was only when Claudette Rogers joined future husband William “Smokey” Robinson, Pete Moore, Ronnie White and Bobby Rogers that the classic line up was almost in place. This process was completed when guitarist Marv Tarplin, perhaps The Miracles’ counterpart to Ian Stewart of The Rolling Stones, was recruited in 1958.

Quickly they achieved success with the Got A Job single in 1959, the first of many hits over the next few years. As a result, they became a powerhouse on the newly formed Tamla Motown label, with both their 45s and 33s making their way high up the US listings. In 1967 their lead singer/songwriter Smokey Robinson started to receive separate billing in an acknowledgement of his importance as a key element in the group flourishing. More US and UK chart smashes followed, topped off by the classic single Tears Of A Clown reaching the summit on both sides of the Atlantic during the Summer of 1970.

The aforementioned single was released in the wake of What Love Has Joined Together, the six tracks of which starts off the first disc of this set. Clocking in at under 30 minutes, this record was a sign of the new times of the 1970s by being a concept LP without any singles pulled from it. In addition, apart from the stately, relaxed title track, all of these tunes were covers. A laidback version of My Cherie Amour, a hit for fellow Motown mainstay Stevie Wonder, shines brightly and Marvin Gaye’s If This World Were Mine is sensitively handled in similar fashion.

A joyful You’ve Made Me So Very Happy was first recorded by The Miracles’ labelmate Brenda Holloway and Bacharach and David’s This Guy’s In Love With You is given a silky smooth treatment. Finishing off What Love Has Joined Together is a short take of the Lennon/McCartney song And I Love Her, originally released by The Beatles on their LP A Hard Day’s Night. The lyric allows Smokey to draw out ample drama and conviction in his vocal performance. What Love Has Joined Together eschews the frantic pace of 60s Soul in favour of the kind of slow, layered grooves that would increasingly become a bigger part of R&B as the 1970s went on. In that way Smokey And The Miracles were ahead of the crowd, but the LP was a commercial flop despite its strengths.

Between this album and its follow up A Pocket Full Of Miracles were have a couple of bonus tracks. There’s an immediate contrast to what has gone before with the fine and near-Psychedelic Funk of You’ve Got Me (Looking Through The Eyes Of Love) and this is followed by a jaunty Paper People.

A Pocket Full Of Miracles emerged less six months later in September and as if stung by the reception for their previous long player, this one had double the number of offerings. Again outside writers were called upon for material, but Pete Moore and Marv Tarplin teamed up with Smokey for one of the most impressive entries, the excellent opening item Flower Girl. The Ashford and Simpson song Who’s Gonna Take The Blame was written from the viewpoint of someone who reluctantly becomes sex professional, which was certainly different subject matter for The Miracles to tackle.

I suppose the trouble with this LP is that while very listenable, it is perhaps a little short on truly memorable moments. Smokey Robinson produced The Temptations’ version of Get Ready that he also wrote. Four years after that was a hit, his own band tackle it here and as the source material was always strong, The Miracles couldn’t really go wrong with it. But the version of Simon and Garfunkel’s Bridge Of Troubled Water doesn’t add much other than a cool talk-over intro. I quite liked the Bluesy/Gospel feel to the George Harrison/Chris Kenner mash-up Something/Something You Got though.

Point It Out performed fairly well as a 45, reaching the US Top 40. The composition of this song predated What Love Has Joined Together and it is a nicely accomplished sound, with Backfire successfully upping the tempo with rhythmic bounce just right for early 1970s dancefloors. Marv Johnson’s Wishful Thinking is capably versioned to end an album that is respectable rather than essential for the most part.

At this point between these albums Smokey Robinson And The Miracles issued the throwaway Yuletide cash-in The Season For Miracles, which is not included here. 1971’s One Dozen Roses, the LP that starts out the second disc here, comes over as a return to form. A good sign was that two thirds of the songs came from the group’s own auspices. Tears Of A Clown, the 1967 song that was pressed into service as a 45 due to lack of material, had conquered the charts in 1970 and is featured as a remix here.

When Sundown Comes was mooted for single release and begins things on the album with a piano-led, shimmering cool and I Don’t Blame You At All, an easy-going Soul dance number, rode in the slipstream of Tears Of A Clown’s success as a single all the way into the UK and US Top 20s. Satisfaction and Crazy About The La La La didn’t perform quite as well on 45, but the steady lope of the former and the latter’s frills enchant. There’s The Miracles take on Paul Simon’s much-covered Cecilia and the moody Faces comes with finger-snapping charm. A very satisfying collection resolves itself with natty reworking of The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game, a Smokey-penned hit for The Marvelettes back in 1966.

Flying High Together was Smokey Robinson & The Miracles final studio LP together and perhaps a sense of general dissatisfaction can be perceived in the fact that none of the songs featured were composed by the band. A low point for me is the rum decision to cover Theme From Love Story. Better is a slick I Can’t Stand To See You Cry and Flying High Together itself comes with a serving of feelgood vibes. The Stevie Wonder/Syreeta Wright tune It Will Be Alright sways along lightly aided by a lush string section, but the sunny atmosphere dwindles a bit in the face of a few undistinguished efforts. A decent crack at The Stylistics’ Betcha By Golly Wow brings down the curtain on Flying High Together and 4 Albums.

After leaving Smokey The Miracles achieved more hits after recruiting Billy Griffin for the lead singer vacancy, particularly with the Disco smash Love Machine in 1975. For his part Robinson was jaded after over a decade on the Pop Music conveyor belt of live appearances, promotion and recording and decided to rest up. After a year or so he resumed his musical career as a solo artist, scoring notable successes in 1981 with the Being With You single and LP.

While maybe not including the band’s biggest selling collections, the four albums presented here do contain a lot to divert the listener. The accomplished One Dozen Roses is the star of this show for me, but What Love Has Joined Together’s interesting experimental form is also well worth hearing. The other two long players have their moments too, making for a very listenable compilation of Smokey & The Miracles’ final studio platters.

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The Cryin’ Shames – Please Stay

Posted on by jbass508

The Cryin’ Shames – Please Stay

Cherry Red Records

2CD/DL

Out now

2CD set in the Joe Meek’s Tea Chest Tapes series, this time focussing on Liverpool Beat band The Cryin’ Shames, who scored Meek his UK last hit with Please Stay in 1966. This collection also includes the 45 by their later incarnation Paul & Ritchie And The Crying Shames and couple of tracks by band member Derek Cleary’s act Friendly Persuasion. Ian Canty writes…

With advent of Merseybeat, Liverpool quickly became awash with Beat groups attempting to emulate The Beatles’ world conquering success. One of these outfits was the unflatteringly named The Bumblies, a six piece aggregation. They were led by vocalists Paul “Charlie” Crane and Joey Kneen, who were joined by a rhythm section of George Robinson and Charlie Gallagher, plus Phil Roberts on keys and guitarist John Bennett. The latter was replaced by teen hotshot Ritchie Routledge in time for their recording debut, leaving his band The Aztecs to join up. At the end of 1965 they auditioned for Joe Meek, and the results of this session can be found on the first disc of Please Stay.

Joe was impressed with the band, but not their name. They were rechristened The Cryin’ Shames and their first single Please Stay, a cover version cut at Meek’s insistence over the band’s own material, was issued in early 1966. Although a good example of Meek’s style, Please Stay itself shows why the producer was being left behind as the 1960s wore on. The customary queasy strings, reverb and ponderous pacing is substantially improved by a soulful vocal performance by Crane. But what would have been a cracking 7 inch back in 1963 must have sounded well behind the times come the dawn of 1966, but it was a UK chart success despite any misgivings.

The single’s reverse What’s News Pussycat is a fairly raucous R&B stomper though that demonstrated more of what The Cryin’ Shames were all about. Follow up Nobody Waved Goodbye asserts itself as a creamy, quality Pop ballad that doesn’t come over quite as dated as Please Stay, but somehow it stiffed as a single. But again the flip is the better of the two for me, a feel-good swinger in the form of You. Derek Cleary came in on bass for Robinson on this 45.

The name change to Paul & Ritchie And The Crying Shames came about when Crane and Ritchie bought in four new musicians. Their sole release was September In The Rain/Come On Back. Again outside material was used on the A side, with the band being allowed to write the flip. To be fair September In The Rain, with some cool organ frills, is the best of the three singles the band cut. It is a pity perhaps the finest effort they ever came up with, a feedback-enhanced and brilliant Come On Back, was relegated to making up the numbers, rather than being given its own chance to make waves on the UK Hit Parade.

Next on this first disc we have the aforementioned audition selection dating from when The Cryin’ Shames were still called The Bumblies. This ensues with a version of Bob Dylan’s She Belongs To Me. The same writer provides Mr Tambourine Man, which is given a treatment that is fairly close to The Byrds’ hit single reading and Van Morrsion’s Garage stomper Gloria is given a zesty performance. The touching voice and organ only take of Please Stay easily tops the 45 edit for me.

Following on is an album length selection of The Cryin’ Shames’ recordings with Meek that was readied for release but didn’t in the end make it to the shops. This section leans on heavily on other writers’ material and begins with I’ll Keep Holding On, the much covered R&B number Reg King’s band The Action famously did wonders with. The Shames do a creditable job though and along with Land Of 1,000 Dances seems to prove that they had what it took to kick up a rumpus live. Another take of Gloria and a nicely fuzz-laden No Good Without You proves that The Cryin’ Shames knew their Garage Mod feet movers.

In 1964 LPs crammed with covers and a few self-penned efforts were the norm. But by 1966 the lack of group efforts was a concern, with Only You and Wanna Be Loved being the songs that could have been Cryin’ Shames’ originals – but even in the expansive and informative liner notes that come with this set, there is still some doubt whether this is actually the case. Even so Only You is a case of blue-eyed Soul testifying that cuts the mustard and a rhythmic Wanna Be Loved is a reasonable attempt at danceable R&B.

They do a good job Trade Martin’s Take Me For A Little While and an energetic You’re A Wonderful One brings to an end the ill-fated Cryin’ Shames LP. Three more of the bands recordings conclude this disc. Let Me In adds a brass section, as does a dramatic and novel Breakout. Stringed-up MOR Soul ballad Feels Like Loving puts the full stop here on a disc that shows The Cryin’ Shames definitely had potential, even if it wasn’t always used to its best purpose.

Disc two is where Meek fanatics will really get their hit, as we are in the realms of alternate versions. Three further edits of Please Stay opens this selection box up. The Overdubs Only Take 2 edit is just lovely and I am bound to say each of these three I would take over the single cut. Then What’s News Pussycat is presented as an instrumental and also with an extended fade. Four Nobody Waved Goodbye alternates show the often painstaking development process well with the laidback instrumentation impressing and You’s Take 2 ensues with a studio count in, before some smart keyboard and guitar work takes centre stage.

Let Me In them gets a trio of different mixes, all of which come with plenty of percussive drive. There’s an endearing moment when Paul/Charlie Crane breaks down into giggles on Phase 1 Take 3 and the studio natter in the background is a vital touch of detail. Breakout in this guise has a rough guide vocal added to the backing track, something which produces an odd but not unpleasant effect.

We then get another take of the Paul & Ritchie And The Crying Shames’ 45 September In the Rain, which sounds really good in this form. Then The Cryin’ Shames return for two stellar goes at Come Back and the first version of I’ll Keep Holding On.

After that we have two cuts by Derek Cleary’s post-Cryin’ Shames outfit Friendly Persuasion. The End Of The World is pretty naff to be honest, but Cleary’s own Come On has a lot more hammer. Paul & Ritchie And The Crying Shames visited The BBC in the late summer of 1966 and cut a three track session, leading off with The Who’s Circles. Brian Matthew’s tones are heard at the outset of a lively cover of Sam Cooke’s Shake and the band’s single A side is given a run out. Finally we get a pair of The Cryin’ Shames tracks performed live at a date in France also during 1966. Please Stay inevitably features, but the take of Gloria gives one an idea of their rowdy on-stage prowess.

On Please Stay one can sense the power of The Cryin’ Shames and possibly also some frustration of being fed through the Joe Meek process too. I, like a lot of people, love that eerie Meek sound, but Joe’s distrust of the band’s own tunes seems counterproductive. There is proof here that The Shames could come up with their own hot material. Maybe they were short of songs, but the B sides of the three singles point to some talent in the field of composition.

The first disc of this set houses what could have been The Cryin’ Shames debut LP, which though respectable is thick with covers. Perhaps giving them their head at the early stage with a single A side would have resulted more original tunes? Plus an album that was truer to the band and also one that could appeal to the UK record buying public of 1966? We shall never know, but Please Stay is another pleasingly thorough delve into Meek’s tape archive and one shows The Cryin’ Shames strengths in tough R&B stompers as well as more reserved, soulful numbers.

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Nina Simone – Blackbird The Colpix Recordings (1959-1963)

Posted on by jbass508

Nina Simone – Blackbird The Colpix Recordings (1959-1963)

SoulMusic

8CD/DL

Out now

Expansive 8CD set that includes all of the albums Jazz/R&B legend Nina Simone recorded for the label, plus bonus tracks. Ian Canty writes…

When Tyron North Carolina local Eunice Kathleen Waymon became Nina Simone, it was with the express purpose of performing on the Atlantic City nightclub scene. She came from a family very involved with the Methodist church and she didn’t want her mother in particular to find out just what she was doing, hence the name change. Nina had been something of a child prodigy on the piano, playing from an early age and giving her first classical performance while she was still at school. She had applied for a place at the prestigious Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, but was unsuccessful and as a result Simone gravitated to work in the nightclubs as part of a busy schedule of jobs designed to pay for private music tuition.

Now singing as well as playing piano, Nina quickly became a hit on the live circuit and in early 1959 cut her debut album Little Girl Blue for Bethlehem record label. Success was almost immediate, as she scored a US Top 20 hit on 45 with I Loves You Porgy, a version of which is among the bonus tracks on disc one of this set.

Blackbird The Colpix Recordings joins Nina’s career logically enough at the point where she had signed for the New York imprint. She made her bow for Colpix with the follow up to the Little Girl Blue LP, The Amazing Nina Simone, which starts off this set. Even at this relatively early stage in her recording career, she cuts it as a highly accomplished presence and this rare combination of poise, style and aptitude was crucial in her making an impact.

Simone’s assured and delicately judged delivery was already highly developed and her talents are applied here to a range of songs from Jazz ballads, to Gospel, to Blues and most work beautifully. Starting off with the sad but graceful Blue Prelude, there are in truth a few dog-eared standards present, but Nina’s voices things with such elan and brightness it doesn’t really matter. Benny Goodman’s Stompin’ At The Savoy gets a classy, big band shot of vigour and a fast moving You’ve Been Gone Too Long ably demonstrates Simone’s mastery of R&B raunch.

A gorgeous That’s Him Over There is conclusive proof that Nina was highly adept in reading an emotional slowie, with an ebullient Theme From Middle Of The Night later ramming home the fact. The Bluesy Willow Weep For Me and an orchestrated Solitaire puts the full stop off a satisfying opening Colpix compendium. Along with the LP, there are five bonus items added to this disc, with the lush hit I Loves You Porgy and a touching Spring Is Here standing out.

1959 also brought Nina Simone At Town Hall, which was recorded at the Manhattan venue and makes up the bulk of disc two here. Her piano skills are well deployed in the live setting, like on opening track Black Is The Color My True Love’s Hair and an easy-going Exactly Like You that follows in its wake. The stripped-down format, with sensitive accompaniment by the rhythm section of Jimmy Bond and Albert Heath, works very well to focus on Nina’s vocal craft and keyboard skills, both of which have the indelible mark of a maestro.

She shines on piano on Under The Lowest and the early flourishes and rolls of You Can Have Him. A two part rendering of George Gershwin’s Summertime constructs a finely-drawn air of drama, with a nippy Return Home thriving due to some nimble bass work. Nina sounds thoroughly at home on stage and it was no surprise that Colpix often went back to the well of live recordings for her albums. Wild Is The Wind is probably better known in the UK through David Bowie’s version, but listening to Nina’s take it is hard not to think of this as the definitive cut. Two bonuses in the form of single edits of Under The Lowest and You Can Have Him ends this disc.

The format of …At Town Hall, clearly paid off, so it was no real shock that another live selection followed in 1960. Caught at the famed Newport Jazz Festival, this set found Simone backed by guitarist Al Schackman, Bobby Hamilton on drums and Chris White playing the bass. The fine Blues of a brilliantly sung Trouble In Mind and a dreamy Blues For Porgy kicks things off in real style. There’s hints of the Soul Music to come amid the frantic pulse of Little Liza Jane and the self-composed pairing of the percussive Exotica of Flo Me La and a riffing Nina’s Blues fit in comfortably alongside the Cole Porter tune You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To.

Only consisting of seven numbers, Nina Simone At Newport is presented here with a further five bonus tracks. Among them are Nobody Loves You When You’re Down And Out and Trouble In Mind, both of which were minor hits on the US charts as singles. A doom-laden Since My Love Has Gone is a showstopper and the upbeat guitar shuffle of In The Evening By The Moonlight passes muster too.

In contrast to the three albums of 1959, 1961 only saw Forbidden Fruit released. This 10 track collection has been billed as a studio LP on the net, but is really an up close and personal live artefact. This is immediately apparent on an electric Rags And Old Iron, which ends with applause. Then there’s a segue into the late night Jazz of No Good Man and Gin House Blues again has a little feel of R&B’s transformation into Soul. A tender I’ll Look Around is just heart-breaking, while a hard-edged Work Song packs a punch. Just Say I Love Him features some sparkling guitar work and a very satisfying LP is rounded off by Hoagy Carmichael’s Memphis In June and the title track, where Nina fronts up a comic tale rooted in Gospel Blues.

10 bonus offerings appear on this disc. This section begins with an earthy Gimme A Pigfoot, which along with a few others here featured on the Nina Simone With Strings album released in 1966 some time after Nina had left the label. Dexterous piano enlivens a cool version of Try A Little Tenderness and Lonesome Valley is powered by more of the Rock & Roll beat than what has preceded it. Ira Gershwin and Kurt Weill provide the structure for an emotion-wracked My Ship and the exotic percussion, guitar and whistle of Od Yesh Homa provides a refreshing change in emphasis. Simone goes back to what got her a hit on Porgy I Is Your Woman Now, which closes out this disc.

Nina Simone returned to the NY live scene for Nina At The Village Gate, issued in early 1962. Opening up with some Jazz loose riffing, Just In Time then settles into a steady pulse and Nina in full seductive voice and lyrical piano mode. A few years before The Animals scored the hit version, she takes House Of The Rising Sun and makes it totally hers. A passionate Brown Baby signals Nina’s deep connection to the civil rights movement, something that was of vital importance to her, with the bare-bones elegance of If He Changed My Name and an extended Gospel rave-up take of Children Go Where I Send You completing another solid outing.

Two Israeli songs start the quartet of extras here. Eretz Zavat Chalav U’Dvash and Vaynikehu, the former with guest player Montego Joe on dumbek, are both lively and rhythmic outings, with the latter being solely instrumental. The busy Sinner Man and a rendering of another soon to be UK Beat band hit You’ll Never Walk Alone aren’t bad either.

For her next album, a true studio set, Simone dipped into Duke Ellington’s songbook. Nina Simone Sings Ellington! debuted later in 1962 and the combination of the Duke and Nina was for the most part inspired. Do Nothing ‘Till You Hear From Me is prime Jazz Pop and a languid I Got It Bad, also released as a 45, drifts along marvellously. The Blues is invoked for Hey, Buddy Bolden and Something To Live For is delivered with customary aplomb.

On the second side of the original vinyl LP Nina imbues Solitude with slow and steady purpose and a soaring vocal styling, with a sinuous The Gal From Joe’s being stacked full of cool. I think it has all the ingredients of a successful single for 1962, if only it was released on 45 at the time. The instrumental Satin Doll will be familiar to anyone who has seen Police Squad! and Nina Sings Ellington gets a upbeat finale in a fast version It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).

There were two singles around the time of the above LP and three tracks from them are added to this disc. Come On Back Jack didn’t make the charts, but arguably deserved more, as it is a dynamic R&B creation. Its flipside, a fiery cover of the Sam Cooke number Chain Gang (Work Song), is also present. I Got It Bad’s reverse, the slow and suggestive I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl, comes over as a good Jazz/Blues ballad that makes a feature of dropping out to just vocals.

Despite not having much success in the US charts, Simone remained a firm favourite on the live circuit and Colpix issued excerpts from her debut at the prestigious Carnegie Hall as her next collection in 1963. Gian Carlo Menotti’s Black Swan offers something a little out there, as it is taken from its operatic roots and shifted towards a meditative, hypnotic groove with some near-Psychedelic testifying four years early.

It’s a very different record from Nina’s other live efforts in this set, as Nina Simone At Carnegie Hall finds her fulfilling her childhood dream of playing a classical concert in such a venue. As this is the case, the Blues is mostly side-lined here for the likes of piano exploration on the Theme From Samson And Delilah. A sweetly performed If You Knew follows.

The Exotica-tinged Theme From Sayonara is another curve ball, with a sparkling Twelfth Of Never being the first of two tunes made famous by Johnny Mathias. A take of Will I Find My Love Today, recording in 1957 by JM, comes next and the LP is concluded by a medley of piano and vocal tour de force The Other Woman and Folk oldie Cotton Eyed Joe. Two further tracks taped at the Carnegie, in the form of the audience participation-enhanced, Gospel-inclined Will I Find A Resting Place and another jumping version of Little Liza Jane, are added here.

For the last album of this set, eight other tunes played at the Carnegie Hall with Folk leanings were put out as the self-explanatory Folksy Nine LP. Twelfth Of Never was included again, but as it was on the Carnegie Hall record it isn’t duplicated on this disc. A relaxed, keyboard-enhanced boogie cut of Huddie Ledbetter’s Silver City Bound gets Folksy Nina underway and the acapella intro to When I Was A Young Girl is one to treasure.

Both Lass Of The Low Country and The Young Knight find Nina digging deep into the Folk archive, with the pair being flavoured by a restless acoustic guitar. The LP closes with two songs that could be termed lullabies. Mighty Lak A Rose segues into Hush Little Baby and forms into a suitably dream-like whole.

Yet another Carnegie Hall cut in a lengthy but stunning Work Song is the first of two bonus efforts and I liked the musical vamping at the end of it very much too. Lastly we get the wobbly yet sultry sound of the title track Blackbird, which sat on the reverse of the 1963 45 release of Little Liza Jane.

This set comes with each album housed in evocative mini-sleeves and a wealth of information is contained in the liner notes. It’s been put together with love for the subject, there is no doubt. Nina Simone’s years at Colpix perhaps weren’t her most commercially successful, but were marked by excellence all the way along. For me she really hit her peak around the time of the Forbidden Fruit album. From there this set is more of less a constant delight, with her voice and keyboard talents being given the ideal opportunity to be utilized to their best effect. As a study of the early part of Nina Simone’s recording career, it is difficult to see Blackbird The Colpix Recordings being topped.

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Archie Bell & The Drells – The Albums 1968-1979

Posted on by jbass508

Archie Bell & The Drells – The Albums 1968-1979

Robinsongs Records

5CD/DL

Out Now

5CD set compiling the work of successful R&B/Soul vocal group Archie Bell & The Drells, who got a second wind during the Disco years. Ian Canty writes…

Houston, Texas native Archie Bell was born in 1944 into a talented family that did not just specialise in music. Though sibling Jerry Bell led The Dazz Band during the 1980s, brother Ricky Bell made a splash in the NFL at American Football. For his part Archie was bitten by the music bug, joining Doo Wop groups while he was still at Junior High School. With the move up to the seniors he formed the vocal group The Drells with Billy Butler, James Wise and Cornelius Fuller.

Members came and went as time passed. But with Archie installed as the leader, he eventually received separate billing. They made their first record She’s My Woman on Skipper Lee Frazier’s East-West imprint in 1966. Just as Archie & The Drells appeared to be making real headway, they received a real setback when Archie was drafted by the US military.

But even at this low point, hope was on the horizon. In an effort to cheer Archie up, band colleague Billy Butler put on the radio and started to dance. Bell asked him what he was doing and the reply was “I’m doing the Tighten Up”. They soon got down to write an irresistibly bright Funk jam/song of that title. This would became the band’s breakthrough hit, with the fluid bassline designed by Bell himself.

The 45 was released in 1967 on another Frazier label Ovide. Alerted to the disc’s potential, Atlantic Records picked up the distribution and would eventually issue the band’s first three LPs. Tighten Up is still the song Archie Bell & The Drells are best remembered for and hit the top spot on the US Billboard charts during 1968, despite originally being considered by Atlantic as the flipside of Dog Eat Dog. DJs couldn’t get enough of Tighten Up though and as a result of the record’s growing popularity, the Army allowed Bell leave in order to cut The Drells’ debut album.

Disc one of The Albums 1968-1979 contains the first two LPs by the band and they are both solidly entertaining, if brief, collections of vibrant late 1960s R&B. Two sheer bundles of danceable joy really, with a mixture of original material and proven Soul floor-fillers. This gives one a fair idea of what Archie and Co offered were like on stage at the time, powering through their set full of thrills with irrepressible energy and verve.

Archie & The Drells’ debut starts of course with the hit title track and its second part. Breezy versions of Soul standards like Knock On Wood and In The Midnight Hour rub shoulders with originals such as When You Left Heartache Began. The latter seems to pre-empt the Philly sound of the 1970s, which is fitting as The Drells would become part of that scene. A cool take of You’re Mine, written by Cal Thomas of The Drells’ backing band T.S.U. Tornadoes, is also excellent. Bell’s spell as a draftee powers Tighten Up’s closing track Soldier Prayer (1967).

Archie’s stay in the army was ongoing, live performances were often covered by other singers in his absence. This was much to the chagrin of promoters who found out, but unavoidable. With Archie still in the barracks apart from recording dates, 1968 also saw release of the I Can’t Stop Dancing album. This record brought them into the orbit of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, who produced the record. They also provided the feel-good groove of title track and a smooth dance beat in Do The Choo Choo, the former of which was another big hit in the US on single release. This LP followed the template of the debut, with a mixture of covers and self-penned tunes. Curtis Mayfield’s archive yielded three numbers, with the pick being a soulfully performed I’ve Been Trying.

A personalised version of Otis Redding’s (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay features and Bell’s You’re Such A Beautiful Child swings along with carefree abandon. Do You Feel It? is a powerful cut that shows the band’s fast-moving strengths and a natty, Bluesy stomp through another Curtis Mayfield offering Sometimes I Wonder finishes what is a second satisfying collection.

Disc two of The Albums 1968-1979 begins with Archie Bell & The Drells 1969 LP There’s Gonna Be a Showdown. Gamble and Huff increased their input here, with eight of the twelve tracks featuring their writing involvement in one way or another. Opening track I Love My Baby is a bracing way to start that displays some subtles shift in the formula and the band’s hometown gets its props on the harmony vocal bonanza Houston, Texas. Again The Drells come up trumps with a fine title track that also performed well as a single, with the Gamble And Huff production style really paying off on a majestic Giving Up Dancing.

Bell’s own Mama Didn’t Teach Me That Way matches strings to Soul in a way that feels natural and R&B shuffle Do the Hand Jive goes back to that old standby of the Drells, the driving Dance effort. Here I Go Again sounds just built for the Northern Soul that would take off in the next decade and scored The Drells a hit in the UK in 1972 as a result. An irrepressible Go For What You Know and an elegant Just A Little Closer helped make There’s Gonna Be a Showdown another very good selection, but it was a relative failure commercially.

It was six long years before the next Archie Bell & The Drells album emerged. Although various singles filled the gap, Archie returned to Civvy Street just as The Drells’ career was cooling off. In a positive move they signed to TSOP Records in 1975, returning to Gamble & Huff after a period working with other producers. In the same year they cut the Dance Your Troubles Away LP, which makes up the final part of this disc.

By this point in time Disco had rose to prominence, with the upshot that there is quite a contrast in sound between 1969’s Just A Little Closer and the McFadden And Whitehead song Let’s Groove that opens up Dance Your Troubles Away. It’s a good tune though that restored Archie & The Drells to the upper end of the US R&B charts, as did the LP itself. They easily transitioned over to Philly and Disco, something that is brought home by the lightly swinging I Could Dance All Night and a thudding, self-explanatory Let’s Go Disco respectively.

A grandstanding, testifying ballad in the nine minutes plus of I Won’t Leave You Honey, Never gives ample opportunity for The Drells’ vocal chops to shine and Dance Your Troubles Away the song comes packed with a neat serving of smart Funk moves. The dancefloor-ready, catchy Soul City Walk was also a minor success as a 45 and this long player concludes with the stately slowie I Love You (But You Don’t Even Know It).

Dance Your Troubles Away was Archie Bell & The Drells’ best selling collection and they had transferred over the Philadelphia International label in time for 1976’s Where Will You Go When They Party’s Over. This was very much a case of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, with the seven tracks being produced and written by the same team. A classy Don’t Let Love Get You Down reveals itself as a fine item of chilled Philly sound and the lush but feisty title track then enhances that sense of quality.

A creamy ballad Right Here Is Where I Want To Be perhaps lacks real distinctiveness, but punchy single Everybody Have A Good Time is just the kind of speedy number that Archie & The Drells always excelled at. I Swear You’re Beautiful oozes style and orchestrated Disco cool, with the album climaxing with the streetwise Funk sound Nothing Comes Easy and I Bet I Can Do That Dance You’re Doin’, another fine Funky piece.

Unfortunately Where Will You Go… fared less well that its predecessor, but The Drells did made small inroads in the UK again with the accompanying singles. The Hard Not To Like It LP followed in 1977, boasting eight new tracks. Glad You Could Make It acted as a business-like introduction to this LP and this is followed up by an exotic groover in Disco Showdown. By having Disco Fever following straight after it feels a bit like Archie & The Drells were overegging the pudding a bit, but a more subtle and Jazz-flecked On The Radio certainly does pass muster.

There’s No Other Like You shows what they can do with at a slower pace and with Real Good Feeling’s warmth and vigour, they make for an enchanting pair. A delicate, late-night I’ve Been Missing You ends a long player that doesn’t do much wrong in terms of pairing real Soul and danceable tunes.

Strategy from 1979 takes up disc four of this set and is the last full LP included. Archie Bell & The Drells go back to their core strengths of slickly performed but gutsy Soul on the convincing Show Me How To Dance and adeptly balance these with the Disco sound on I Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love. There’s some nice guitar work on the latter too. Disco was reaching the end of its run by 1979, but Strategy performed better in the charts than the last couple of LPs and the Funky and energetic title track single was a minor US hit on the R&B listing.

There’s good use of the string section on the LP’s big ballad How Can I and a memorable We’ve Got Something continues the impressive first side of the album. They revisit/rebuild Tighten Up purposefully for 70s dancefloors on Tighten Up At The Disco, with a tender You’re The Only One and the brass-driven groove of We Got Um Dancin’ putting the full stop on Strategy. That it bucked the downward trend for Archie Bell & The Drells can easily be explained – it is simply a fine record and the best of their Disco era recordings.

The final disc of The Albums 1968-1979 rounds up some of the singles sides that weren’t released on any of The Drells’ albums. A jaunty A World Without Music dates back from The Drells’ early days in 1967 and the following number Deal With Him is brilliantly constructed R&B. 1969’s Dog Eat Dog was originally pushed ahead of Tighten Up before common sense prevailed and to be fair to Atlantic, it is a sunny enough tune. A dramatically-styled Wrap It Up was recorded around the same time as A World Without Music, but was issued on 45 to a decent level of success during 1970 and the cool Dance drift of Don’t Let The Music Slip Away is drawn from a similar timeframe.

We return to 1969 sounds for a Gospel/Doo Wop item in I Wish and a dynamic Love At First Sight, which again sounds like something that The Northern Soul crowd might go for. A novelty Country intro for Archie’s In Love gives way to another fast-paced gem, which is followed by Let The World Know You Got Soul, where the band re-tread Tighten Up in part before switching tack to something overlaid with swish strings.

1975 offers the single cuts of Let’s Groove and The Soul City Walk and then we jump forward a year for the Blues mood of Dancin’ Man. This set ends with Old People, an easy-going 1977 track where Archie Bell & The Drells perform with The Philadelphia International All-Stars.

Although Archie Bell & The Drells aren’t quite considered alongside the very top of Soul vocal groups, The Albums 1968-1970 demonstrates what a hard working, lively and enjoyable act they were. The 1960s album are stuffed full of groovy R&B fun for practically their entire durations. While the Disco-era platter weren’t quite so consistent, they yield a fair amount of energetic and danceable offerings, with Strategy being a real ace. The bonuses are nice to have and along with the usual attention to detail that is a trademark of Robinsongs, it all makes for what is a very tempting selection box indeed.

Track down Archie Bell & The Drells – The Albums 1968-1979 by clicking here

Randy Crawford – You Might Need Somebody

Posted on by jbass508

Randy Crawford – You Might Need Somebody

SoulMusic Records

3CD/DL

Released 17 March 2023

Subtitled “The Warner Bros Recordings 1976 – 1993”, this new boxset seeks to pick out the best from Street Life singer Randy Crawford’s heyday. Ian Canty writes…

1979 was a great year for the humble 45, across a wide range of activity. In the UK charts the phalanx of Punk and New Wave acts were joined to the sheer vitality of Two Tone, some Mod Revival groups full of vim and the early developments of Synthpop. All these categories would yield outstanding singles. Coming from a totally different direction but definitely worthy of a mention was Street Life by The Crusaders.

The band became a fixture on the R&B circuit after forming way back in 1960 as The Jazz Crusaders. They dropped the genre-derived prefix in 1971 and before Street Life itself was issued had long been regular visitors to the US Rhythm And Blues and Jazz listings. Their albums had made respectable showings in the Pop charts too, but Street Life would be their most successful single. Joe Sample of the band wrote it along with Will Jennings and the tale of the tough life at the bottom of the heap had its unlikely genesis in a chaotic incident Sample witnessed on a ski slope.

But what really made the song work was the totally committed performance of guest vocalist Veronica “Randy” Crawford from Macon Georgia. Her delivery really gave the lyric the stamp of authenticity. She had been recording as a solo artist since debuting in 1972 with the single Knock On Wood, so she could hardly be classed as an overnight success, but this hit propelled her into the limelight. An early link-up with Joe Sample of The Crusaders was him working on her first album Everything Must Change, which was issued by her label Warner Brothers in 1976.

It is at this point that the earliest material of this set You Might Need Somebody is drawn from, but the three discs are thematically linked rather than linear. Although Randy recorded other writers’ material widely, she also was a writer herself of consummate ability and seven of her own songs feature too.

Disc one is entitled Rain and seeks to corral the R&B and Jazz sides of her stint at Warners. This section begins with a cover of The Eagles’ Desperado. If you are impervious to the works of Frey, Henley and Co as I am don’t be worried, because Randy imbues the song with pure Soul that along with a sensitive arrangement shifts it far away from its origins. The Butler brothers’ classic I Stand Accused is next and is given an outing that is electric, with the Jazz Funk of Same Old Story (Same Old Song) being a Joe Sample effort that isn’t that far away from Street Life in tone and mood.

Tony Joe White’s Rainy Night In Georgia was the source material for big hit for Randy, with a cool and thoughtful reading of it resulting in a UK Top 20 hit during 1981. Tender Falls The Rain was pretty much thrown away on the flipside of One Day I’ll Fly Away, another biggie which closes out this disc. Which is a shame as it is a tender Blues ballad with much to recommend. It is also the first of the self-penned tracks to feature on this set, being joined not long afterwards by the fast-moving sound of Randy’s excellent I Got Myself A Happy Song. Her Jazz smarts are on show on a live Gonna Give Lovin’ A Try and the tough Funk attack of Lift Me Up works really well.

Don’t Come Knockin’ is a feisty number that is shot full of believable attitude. The rueful piano-led I Let You Walk Away could almost be its companion piece and a silky sound masks a hard-mosed lyric on I Hope You’ll Be Very Unhappy Without Me. It’s everything magical Ms Crawford could do with a ballad, wrapped up in one delightful package. Everything Must Change’s title track is essayed in show-stopping live form and as referred to above this disc ends with Randy’s definitive take of One Day I’ll Fly Away.

The second section of this box focuses in on the more romantically-themed items from Randy’s back pages. The laid-back, late night feel of Time For Love provides an ideal opening, which a piano Jazz workout of the oldie I’m Glad There Is You following up well. She teams up with Al Jarreau on the R&B chill of upbeat live snapshot Your Precious Love and the title track from the Secret Combination LP comes packed with feelgood vibes. The Womacks’ song This Ole Heart Of Mine is given a fine interpretation, with the dance beats picking up on a Funk-toned A Lot That You Can Do.

Coming from the 1979 collection Raw Silk, Someone To Believe takes the pace right down and then Randy’s own Almaz reveals itself as a wonderfully observed song of empathy that is just as relevant in 2023 as when it was recorded. A collaboration with Yellowjackets yields a dreamy trip through John Lennon’s Imagine and a very satisfying disc ends with a delightful All It Takes Is Love.

The final part of You Might Need Somebody explores the variety of Randy’s work, beginning with the modern Electrofunk of Don’t Wanna Be Normal and a sharp dance number with a hint of Chic influence called Blue Flame. An edit of Street Life follows and if that song has been near-played to death over the years, it still retains most of its emotional pull.

Subway Sect producer Robin Millar and Colin Vearncombe of Black wrote the song Rich & Poor, where a prime smooth groove is blessed with an ebullient and expressive vocal and Go On And Live It Up is a dreamy hymn to resilience. Nightline shows Randy moving with the times by utilising Synthpop beats in its an unusual structure, before going back to her Jazz/Blues roots on a cover of Give Peace A Chance. Why presents the opportunity for Randy to really cut loose and the big hit single title track still sounds ace to my ears, a textbook example of a real talent at the top of their game.

He Reminds Me is given a treatment not too far away from that applied to Rainy Night In Georgia and the easy going Higher Than Anyone Can Count sparks with life and a real sense of all-round good vibes. It is left to sedate and lovely Just A Touch to end this disc.

I found You Might Need Somebody a refreshing and enjoyable set. Coming from a solid Jazz/R&B base Randy Crawford showed an admirable spirit of adventure by not sticking solely to those fields, dipping in and out of a number of areas. She could be relied upon to bring emotion, pure talent and imagination to most everything that she touched. After suffering a stroke in 2018, Randy is I hope enjoying a well earned rest and she left a wealth of stuff to enjoy, a lot of which is present here.

You can pick up Randy Crawford – You Might Need Somebody by clicking here