Funk my Soul

A Southern Soul diamond.

Something Special is the only Stax album cut by singer Jimmy Hughes – an artist with a huge impact on southern soul in the 60s, but one who never got the push his career deserved, probably because he kept bouncing from label to label! The style here is kind of an update of the groove that Jimmy first recorded for Vee Jay and Atco – a more refined approach to bluesy soul that’s somewhat in the same space that Stax were hitting with Johnny Taylor at the time. Backings are sometimes nicely chunky, almost funky – and tunes are produced by Al Jackson, Al Bell, and Charles Chalmers – all good candidates for a set like this.

Tracks
A1 I Like Everything About You 2:54
A2 Let ‘em Down Baby 2:41
A3 I’m so Glad 2:57
A4 Lay It on the Line 2:34
A5 Sweet Things You Do 2:20
B1 Chains of Love 3:15
B2 I’m Not Ashamed to Beg or Plead 2:56
B3 It’s All Up to You 3:03
B4 Lock Me Up 2:02
B5 What Side of the Door 2:58
B6 Peeped Around Yonder’s Bend 2:34

Review by Soulmakossa

Jimmy Hughes, the man who practically kick-started the Southern Soul genre in 1964 with his legendary FAME-recording “Steal Away”, never attained superstardom; but the small legacy of music he left behind before quiting the business altogether in the early ’70s still stands as a goldmine of Soul.

His last album, recorded for Stax/Volt, is rightfully seen as the singer’s finest achievement. Although devoid of big hits, it is a perfect, soulful, at times funky listen all the way through.

Hughes’ gutbucket blues belting style of vocalizing immediately makes its presence felt on the slow grinding, delicately arranged country soul ballad “I Like Everything About You”. It’s really at its apex as Jimmy soars through the lowdown blues of “Let ‘em Down Baby”. Hughes shifts from velvety moans to all-out testifyin’ at the drop of a hat. Brilliant gospely backing vocals here as well.

The beat picks up on two hard socking Chalmers/Rhodes rompers: “I’m So Glad” features massive horn riffs as well as a jangling sitar, and the funk gets even thicker on the greasy soul jam “Lay It On the Line”. Jimmy at his wailing-est finest.

His rendition of labelmate Eddie Floyd’s “Sweet Things You Do” stays fairly close to the original, retaining the heavy horns, fatback groove and earthy guitars whereas “Chains of Love”, driven by the electric clavinet and chugging tambourine, betrays the Norman Whitfield influence that was dominating the Motown sound at the time. The mid-tempo “I’m Not Ashamed to Beg or Plead” returns to the country soul vibe, trading the clavinet for a warm, purring Hammond.

“It’s All Up to You” showcases Stax’ late ’60s transitional period quite well: this gorgeous, boppin’ tune keeps the groove firmly on the one, but it’s embellished with a truly wonderful string arrangement and lavish backing vocals.

The frantic “Lock Me Up” may well be one of the funkiest joints Hughes ever waxed, featuring bottom heavy rhythm, booming bass-lines and blaring horns. Then again, “What Side of the Door”, with its wailing harmonica and lurching, menacing groove undoubtedly ranks as Jimmy’s hardest funk excursion.

‘Something Special’ ends fittingly, with Hughes working up a sweat in a raw, shufflin’ blues bag with “Peeped Around Yonder’s Bend”.

A magnificent album, and very well-titled. This is a collection of grade A Southern Soul by one of the genre’s most underrated titans.

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I’ll be away on vacations for a few days. It’s time to reconsider to future of the blog. I might continue but I might stop. I need sometime to think of it more seriously.

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I know you’ve been waiting for this for a long time. Believe me it was worth it.

We have some great organic rhythm and blues for you. High Voltage may not be well known to many of you, but they are an outfit that incorporated key members from the bands ‘Rufus‘ and ‘Maxayn‘. And with Lalomie Washburn on vocals, I think you can begin to familiarise yourself with this important LP. Their sound is raw and funky - just like we know you likes it. So plug yourself in and sample some of that environmentally-friendly energy.

This is a @320 vinyl rip of the original CBS LP (supplied by Nikos) including covers.

Tracks
A1 Country Road 3:35
A2 Love Hate 2:57
A3  What Can We Do 3:03
A4  Save Me 3:36
A5  Crazy 7:25
B1  Limbo 3:00
B2 Be 3:05
B3  Crumbs Off The Table 3:47
B4  Everybody Is An Only Child 4:17
B5  Roller 3:08
B6  Let Me Ride 2:37

Review by Trakbuv

I must admit to being a little concerned this week. I had no idea who High Voltage were and I was struggling to find any information at the usual drinking holes. I was even beginning to ponder on submitting an article about how high voltage transmission using DC current over long distances saves on energy loss due to the lower current, but has a trade off of having to be converted back to AC for domestic use with higher potential maintenance costs. And while this may have been an engrossing article in these times of energy efficiencies and fossil fuel alternatives, I feel that it may have transgressed the boundaries that Nikos would normally allow me.

Fortunately, I discovered that among the band members of High Voltage were Lalomie Washburn, Tony Maiden and Bobby Watson. Which has given me an excuse to talk about a band I do know something about - Rufus. Yes folks, what we have here is a important link with Rufus minus the Ron Stockert influence. As mentioned here, after ‘Rags To Rufus’, the band lost three members, two of whom were replaced by - you guessed it - the bassist (Bobby) and guitarist/vocalist (Tony) from High Voltage. And to secure the link, Lalomie Washburn also wrote several songs for Rufus (with Tony Maiden), including the hit ‘At Midnight’, ‘I’m a woman’, and the gorgeous ballad ‘Your smile’. Of course, Lalomie Washburn released a solo effort in 1977 (‘My music is hot‘) that has become a sought-after funk goodie in recent times.

Hidden away on background vocals is Maxayn Lewis who was not shy of taking the spotlight with three early seventies releases with a band under her own name, Maxayn (her debut can be found here). Her husband, Andre Lewis, also an important member of Maxayn, plays organ with High Voltage. His keyboard skills can be truly appreciated when Maxayn metamorphosed under the weight of disco to the spacey funk-disco act Mandre (see their debut here) where Ms Lewis continued to write and perform vocals. To continue the link, the well-established session guitarist Marlo Henderson appears on both the Maxayn and High Voltage LPs. In addition, we have Fred Hall on drums and a tight horn section of Billy McPherson (sax, flute), Mark Williams (sax), Chuck Findlay (trumpet) and Chuck Garnett (trumpet).

So, although there is huge blank web-page with “High Voltage” as the heading, this is an immensely important find littered with cross references to better-known acts. In essence, we have a very strong old-fashioned rhythm and blues affair somewhat reminiscent of the debut by Rufus. A great band, great vocals, although the production feels uninspired in places. The brisk opener “Country Road” is a well-developed brassy bumper that serves Lalomie well. Tony shares the mike with her on the bright, uplifting “Love hate” with some great horn arrangements. “What can we do” keeps the tempo skipping with Tony holding his own. “Save me” is more my funk bag, a little less formula and a little more spice - a definite groove in the right direction. The exquisite “Crazy” slows the pace to an ethereal glow with mellifluous flute injections trading curiously with Lalomie’s slightly off key vocals - but somehow it all seems to work. “Limbo” is a lovely latin-flavoured gem, a credit to all concerned. Both “Be” and “Crumbs” are complex, guitar lead creditable funkers that are a little messy for my sterile ears. “Everybody is an only child” is an ambitious opus with great sentiments that really does put Tony’s vocal ability to the test. “Roller” is a decent instrumental track that has enough happening to merit its inclusion. The closer “Let me ride” reminds me a little of Rufus’s “Swing down chariot” - great, great track ! Considering the calibre of personnel, I can’t help wonder what could have happened if the production had been a little more adventurous on several tracks. However, there is an undoubted raw energy here that many of you would prefer to be left alone.

Fate determined that High Voltage was a one-off venture, with the various constituent members sprouting their wings further on other projects. Lalomie Washburn sadly passed away in 2004. However, she did release several singles in the nineties including a CD in 1997 (entitled ‘Lalomie Washburn‘). Rounding up this link-infested post, Lalomie also performed on Brigette McWilliams great CD ‘Too much woman’ of 1997. Brigette is the daughter of Paulette McWilliams, herself a respected soul singer who was the original vocalist with……you guessed it - Rufus, prior to Chaka taking the helm. You will all be pleased to know that I’ve now entangled myself in a link web of my own making that will take me a few weeks to unravel.

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Never released on CD. I can only find 2 vinyl copies on Groove Collector and Ebay. So hurry up to put your hands on the treasure.

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Mad props to Trakbuv who (once more) spent a whole week in researching and writing for this post.

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A heartbreaking classic from Terry Huff and his Special Delivery group - a cool 70s harmony ensemble who deliver some wonderful backup on the set! The record’s a stone east coast classic from way back - arranged and conducted by Al Johnson, with a vibe that’s a slightly more polished take on the harmony modes used by George Kerr over at All-Platinum. Terry Huff has a high-end vocal approach that’s great - never cloying or too-sweet, but nicely crackling and almost in a Ralfi Pagan mode at points. Huff wrote most of the songs (Dusty Groove).

This is a @256 (Japanese Edition) CD rip including covers.

Tracks
A1. That’s When Love Hurts (4:45)
A2. The Lonely One (LP Version) (3:28)
A3. Why Doesn’t Love Last (4:55)
A4. When You’re Lonely (4:40)
B1. Where There’s A Will (There’s A Way) (3:38)
B2. Poochie (5:33)
B3. I Destroyed Your Love - Part 1 (3:32)
B4. I Destroyed Your Love - Part 2 (3:30)
B5. Just Not Enough Love (4:25)

The Lonely One (45 Version) [Japanese Edition Bonus Track]
Come Back With Love - Pt.1 - Special Delivery [Japanese Edition Bonus Track]
Come Back With Love - Pt.2 - Special Delivery [Japanese Edition Bonus Track]
The Lonely One (Inst.) [Japanese Edition Bonus Track]

By Chris Rizik
Originally called Act 1, the group Special Delivery was a rotating bunch of Washington D.C.-based singers that had a brief moment in the spotlight in 1976.   Led by falsetto singer Terry Huff, the group had its first hit around the Huff-written ballad “I Destroyed Your Love.”  The six minute song (split up into parts for both sides of the 45) only made it halfway up the Soul charts, but was an absolute gem, with excellent harmonies behind Huff’s sweet falsetto voice.  It may be one of the greatest sweet soul cuts of the 70s, with the appeal of some of the top Stylistics and Chi-Lites cuts. The song continued to live on after its initial run, and is still a regular on Urban Adult Contemporary radio 30+ years after its introduction.

The group followed “I Destroyed Your Love” with “The Lonely One“, another excellent Huff ballad that shot up to the Soul Top 10 and seemed to indicate another hot Soul group was in the makings.  Working with writer/producer Al Johnson, the group released the album The Lonely One later that year, and it briefly reached the Soul top 40.  All Music Guide asserts that by the time “The Lonely One” was recorded, Special Delivery had already broken up and that the single and subsequent album were actually recorded by Huff, Johnson and Huff’s brother, but were nonetheless credited to Special Delivery. Huff informed me that his split with Special Delivery occurred two weeks before the release of “I Destroyed Your Love” due to a dispute about songwriting credit for the song (Huff is generally credited as the sole writer of the song).
Special Delivery regrouped in 1977 without Huff, and charted one more time, with 1978’s “This Kind of Love,” before fading into oblivion with their 1981 release Living On the Run.  Though he entertained offers following his split with Special Delivery, Huff’s solo career never materialized, and his national notoriety wound up being limited to two wonderful Soul ballads.
The name Special Delivery was later used by a completely unrelated country/folk act, which released This Is Special Delivery in 1994.  You won’t find Terry Huff’s sweet falsetto on that disc. Just a whole lotta picking and strumming.

Article from http://www.soultracks.com/special_delivery.htm

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Buy a digital copy from Amazon and a lot of vinyl and CD’s from Ebay and Musicstack.

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Terry Huff kindly left a message for his fans and visitors of FMS :

” Greetings!

Wonder what I have been doing all of these years? Go to thesolutiontoallproblems.com and you will see the only thing that has kept me out of my first love: MUSIC!

It took 27 years to complete!

But now that it is, I hope to have new music this year or at the very most, next year!

LOVE YA ALL!  HOLLA AT ME “

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The classic LP by this stellar Chicago harmony group and a monster! Heaven & Earth had a wonderful falsetto harmony sound that reminds us a lot of east coast winners like Blue Magic or The Stylistics and like some of the best east coast groups, this group’s vocals work equally well on slow ballads or faster uptempo numbers, both of which are handled extremely well on the record by producer Clarence Johnson. The bulk of the arrangements on the record were done by Tom Tom 84,  one of Chicago’s true soul geniuses, and in perfect form on this record. The whole thing’s amazingly well put together for an indie soul group album and is a sure indication of the group’s later fame on Mercury.

This is a 320@ vinyl rip of the original Mercury LP including covers.

Tracks
A1 Let’s Work It Out 4:56
A2 Distant Melody 4:42
A3 Guess Who’s Back In Town 6:12
A4 How Do You Think You’re Gonna Find Love 4:02
B1 Run and Tell That 5:58
B2 Dance-a-Thon 5:48
B3 No Limit 3:41
B4 You Area Part of Me 4:02

Chicago’s Heaven and Earth stand as a little known personal favorite.  They were one of those soul groups that should have been major stars, but due to unfortunate timing, lousy management, a never ending series of personnel issues and other misfortunes, never managed to break through outside of their native Chicago.

Brothers Dwight and James Dukes decided to form a vocal group in 1974 while attending Chicago’s South Shore High School.  They quickly recruited friends Michael Brown and Keith Stewart.  The quartet subsequently caught the attention of sometimes promoter Lil Schneider who brought them to the attention of label owner/producer Clarence Johnson.  Together with partner Lucky Cordell, Johnson was suitably impressed, signing the quartet to their new G.E.C. (General Entertainment Corporation) label. 1977 saw the group undergo a nasty personnel shakeup with original lead singer Brown being dumped in favor of former Soul Majestics lead Dean Williams.  The move was instigated by now-manager/producer Johnson and proved extremely unpopular with the Dukes bothers and Stewart.  At the same time, using his connections, Johnson arranged for the new line up to sign with Mercury.

The cleverly-titled “Heaven and Earth” found the quartet working separately with two production teams - Johnson and Ric Williams and Rodney Massey and Lawrence Hanks (the latter also contributed several songs to the project).  Gifted with a nice baritone, Williams handled most of the lead vocals, with performances such as ‘Let’s Work It Out’ baring a passing resemblance to Teddy Pendergrass.  Elsewhere, tracks such as ‘Guess Who’s Back In Town’ and ‘Distant Melody’ (one of the few tracks to showcase Dwight’s pretty falsetto) offered up a set of sophisticated urban contemporary-styled ballads. The lone exceptions to the formula were ‘Run and Tell That’ and the forgettable disco-influenced ‘Dance-a-Thon’.   While the production and performances were impeccable (check out the vocal harmonies on ”How Do You Think You’re Gonna Find Love), by the time the album was released old school soul was all but a dead as a musical genre.  Mercury pulled two singles from the album -1978’s ‘Guess Who’s Back In Town’ b/w ‘No Limit” and 1979’s ‘How Do You Think You’re Gonna Find Love’ b/w ‘Let’s Work It Out’.  The first one just missed the top-40 R&B charts (it peaked at # 42), but the second failed to sell. Even worse, album sales proved non-existent, even in hometown Chicago.

But… This is a fantastic album you should listen, especially those who love smooth soul groups.

(Review by BatCat Records)

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Buy the vinyl from ebay for 75$ or Music Stack from 39$ or BadCat Records for 50$ and listen the wonderful “Guess Who’s Back In Town”.

Download link

You can also listen their debut album “I can’t seem to forget you” here.

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Hodges, James & Smith were originally known as Hodges, James, Smith & Crawford (former Motown artist Carolyn(Caroline)Crawford).They later became a trio..Pat Hodges, Denita James & Jessica Smith… all originating from Los Angeles. Denita James had a solo single on Flip around ‘63 and Pat Hodges had a solo release Keymen around ‘66. The group was the brainchild of William “Micky” Stevenson and they were intended to rival The Supremes which is hard to believe because H, J & S’s sound was more aggressive and a lot more Soul/R&B oriented. Their first single was ‘Nobody’ on the Mpingo Label(previously a hit for Kim Weston on MGM). They updated it later for one of their 20th Century albums in the 70s. So there are two versions released by them.

This is a @320 vinyl rip of the original 20th Century LP including covers

Tracks
A1 Nobody (3:18)
A2 Power Of Your Love (3:12)
A3 Momma (3:05)
A4 Monkeyshine (3:18)
A5 He Did Me Wrong, He Did Me Right (3:04)
B1 I Who Have Nothing (5:35)
B2 Sexy Ways (4:20)
B3 Rusty Old Halo (4:27)
B4 West Virginia Symphony (3:31

Hodges, James & Smith (HJS) was the brainstorm of producer/writer William “Mickey” Stevenson, Motown’s A&R Director during their glory years. All Detroit natives, Pat Hodges, Denita James, and Jessica Smith were handpicked by Stevenson, though they each took different routes to get there. Hodges played the clarinet in a local band, then attended college and earned a B.A. in music. James studied ballet and tap dancing, while Smith had a gospel background.

Mickey Stevenson had a great vision for HJS and groomed them to play the top, plush clubs. He created a snazzy nightclub act for them that rivaled the Supremes. They played the sweet gigs throughout Europe and recorded Incredible on 20th Century Fox in 1973, but the only thing incredible about it was the speed it reached cutout bins at discount record stores. Although a solid album, it just didn’t get a decent push. Another 20th Century album, 1975’s Power in Your Love, disappeared so fast that most people can’t recall its title. The lack of recording success though, didn’t douse HJS’ flame; they continued traveling, doing the plum gigs.

In 1976, they signed with London Records. What’s on Your Mind received quite a bit of promotion and acclaim that, unfortunately, didn’t transform into sales. A second London release What Have You Done for Love, met a similar fate. During 1977, they had a few singles that nested in the nose-bleed section of the charts: “Don’t Take Away Your Love,” and a medley “Since I Fell for You/I’m Falling in Love,” but no major busters. Other artists including Bobby Womack, and Sylvester used them on sessions, but after a few more years of the same the trio disbanded, never having achieved the success they and Stevenson tried so hard to obtain.

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You can buy their vinyl from Groove Collector or Music Stack. Listen up the erotic, beautiful, and soulful “Sexy Ways”

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Brother Raphy always brings the hot stuff and here he is with his own words about his latest contribution :

SIMPLY HOT!!!!!

Need not to say anything more….This album is known by almost everyone, but yet still able to elude as many.
Now it’s finally HERE!….although it’s an old worn-out lp, with an equally diplorable cover, it sure gets an F for presentation…

Nevertheless, What counts it is content, and we all know the big tune from it…

So my friends, GET IT WHILE IT IS HOT!!!

Hot was a vocal trio from Los Angeles, California, United States, formed in 1976. Its members were Gwen Owens, Cathy Carson, and Juanita Curiel.They released three albums for Big Tree Records, and scored a Top Ten hit single in 1977 with “Angel in Your Arms”, which peaked at #6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

This is a @256 vinyl rip (supplied by Raphy) of the original LP including covers.

Tracks
A1. Angel In Your Arms 2.51
A2. The Right Feeling At The Wrong Time 2.48
A3. You Brought The Woman Out Of Me 3.06
A4. If You Don’t Love Her (When You Gonna Leave Her?) 2.55
A5. Who’s Gonna Love You 3.01
A6. Mama’s Girl 2.49
B1. You Can Do It 3.13
B2. You’re The Reason For All The Songs 2.49
B3. Why Don’t You Believe In Your Man 2.43
B4. Don’t Let Me Leave You Behind 3.29
B5. Just ‘Cause I’m Guilty 3.43

Information from Gwen Owens Myspace Address:

Gwen Owens Born and raised in Detroit, Gwen started singing in church and school. She became a professional singer while in her mid-teens when she recorded her first record “Mystery of Love,” followed by “Mystery Man,” “I Lost a Good Thing,” and “Just Say You’re Wanted and Needed.” Two more recordings were made, “Make Him Mine,” and “Keep On Living,” before moving to Los Angeles. While still in Detroit, she appeared on stage with Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Edwin Starr, Al Green and The Originals. After moving to Los Angeles, Gwen worked with Jose Feliciano, Ann Margret, Raquel Welch, Bill Cosby, Ed McMahon, Wolfman Jack, Nancy Sinatra, The Ojays, and Lou Rawls to name a few. She was on Diahann Carroll’s television show, Bill Cosby’s Variety Show as well as background studio recordings for Billy Preston, Al Wilson, Donny Osmond, Wayne Newton, Sammy Davis, Jr., Randy Crawford, Stanley Clarke and many more. She has recorded for Motown Records, Casablanca Records, and Atlantic (Big Tree) Records. While an artist on Casablanca Records, Gwen recorded “You Better Watch Out.” which became her first UK release. In 1971, Gwen was invited to the VI Festival Internacional Da Cancao Popular in Rio De Janeiro Brazil as a guest singer, and won the “Best Singer” and “Best Lyricist” award for the song “Song Without Love,” with composer and now an Academy Award winner Gabriel Yared. She is a dynamite vocalist as well as a strong lyricist as can be heard from the songs she has written on the albums recorded by her singing group HOT. In 1977 Record World Magazine named HOT Top New Female Group. As lead singer for the popular 70’s group HOT, Gwen received a certified gold record award from RIAA for the groups million selling single “Angel In Your Arms,” which was nominated for Song Of The Year on the Billboard 1 award show. She co-starred with the other members of HOT in the movie Smokey and The Judge (Running Hot) and was a finalist on the TV show “Star Search.” For the past fifteen years, she has been working as a musician as well as a singer.

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Never released on CD. You can buy a copy from Discogs or Groove Collector.

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While a lot of you are away on vacations or enjoy the summertime,  it’s time for another fine musical offering by Mr.Moo, the ultra rare awesome soul album from a sub Motown label : “Stop the World -We Wanna Get Off” by Hearts Of Stone.

An excellent and obscure group soul record - the group’s only full LP, recorded in 1970 for the Motown subsidiary VIP! The general feel is a mix of pop and soul - but with arrangements by Wade Marcus, Paul Riser, and Henry Crosby, the groove is nice and strong, and the band’s tight vocal style makes the record work where you’d least expect! The sound is a bit harder than the usual Motown effort - more rough edges and a deeper vocal approach overall, a bit like The Originals, but not as smoothly harmonic.  Also contains some nice covers such as “Thank You Fallettinme Be Mice Elf Again” and “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy”.

This is @320 vinyl rip of the original VIP LP including covers

Tracks
A1 It’s A Lonesome Road (2:34)
A2 If I Could Give You The World (2:57)
A3 Would You Take A Dime From A Poor Man (2:33)
A4 Rainy Night In Georgia (4:05)
A5 You Gotta Sacrifice (We Gotta Sacrifice) (2:34)
A6 What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) (2:59)
B1 Yesterday’s Love Is Over (2:54)
B2 “Thank You” Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin (3:45)
B3 He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother (4:05)
B4 You’ve Made Me So Very Happy (3:25)
B5 One Day (2:52)

Some info from AMG

The Hearts of Stone popped up unexpectedly on Motown’s VIP label in 1970 with the album Stop the World: We Wanna Get Off. Surprising, since artists like the Velvelettes, Carolyn Crawford, Barbara Randolph, the Satintones, Kim Weston, and others hadn’t been honored with album releases, yet this unknown group gets one produced by Henry Cosby. The album wasn’t Motown and sounds as if it would have fared better in the late ’50s or early ’60s than 1970. The members were John Myers, Lindsey Griffin, Floyd Lawson, and Carl Cutler.

Myers had been around, first with the Five Pennies on Savoy on “Mr.. Moon” b/w “Let It Rain” (1955), “My Heart Trembles” b/w “Money” (1956), and unreleased tracks on the Herald label; the Chimes, with Freddie Scott on Arrow Records, who made “Please Call” b/w “The Letter Comes This Morning” and “Lovin’ Baby” b/w “A Faded Memory” both in 1957; the Four Jokers “Written in the Stars” b/w “The Runaround” on Sue in 1958; and the Four Pennies “You Have No Time to Lose” b/w “You’re a Gas With Your Trash,” on Brunswick in 1964. The Five Pennies consisted of Clifford Curry, Constance Holloway, Benjamin Washington, and Herbet Myers, John’s brother. The Five Pennies backed Big Miller on his 1955 Savoy release “All Is Well” b/w “Try to Understand.” Herbert also sang with James in the Four Jokers.

VIP Records issued two singles by the Hearts of Stone from their album: “It’s a Lonesome Road” a fast upbeat number with a gospel flavor and secular lyrics, and “If I Could Give You the World” (1971), a mid-tempo song with a sluggish beat that came out ten years too late. It’s unclear what happened to the group after their stint with Motown, but it’s believed that John Myers drifted into gospel music.

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Background info (prior Hearts Of Stone era) here.

John Myers on MySpace

Floyd Lawson on MySpace -  Floyd Lawson & The Hearts Of Stone recorded a second album titled ‘Coming Out’ in 1976 on Lawson’ private press label (FLO-89) which was reissued in 2007 on the Afro-Kats Reocrds label (Canada).

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Buy the CD Japanese 2002 exclusive reissue, on Amazon for 49,99$. The only vinyl copy on Ebay costs 99,98$ but you can also have a chance on Discogs for a VG copy (35€) and a NM copy (70€).

Before you head for the music, listen up the classic “If I could give you the world”

Download link

Props to Mr.Moo for the contribution and the listening experience. It’s a great privilege to be part of the FMS family.  I’ll be away on vacations for two weeks. Trakbuv is currently working on one of our favorites 80’s albums, to be posted next week. Meanwhile, enjoy the music! There’s a lot of great stuff in our back pages you might miss. I will be back very soon with : The Dutch Rythm Steel and Show Band and more.

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