Michael Orr - 1976 - Spread Love
Posted by nikos1109
“Spread Love” was originally released in 1976 on the Detroit based Sunstar label. Largely ignored when it was first issued, it has since gained cult status among soul collectors worldwide. Inspired by the musical vision of Quincy Jones, Michael Orr and bass player Carey Harris assembled a cast of musicians and vocalists to create a timeless masterpiece which effortlessly blends soul, jazz, funk and gospel influences.
This is a @320 vinyl rip of the Counterpoint reissue LP including covers.
Tracks
A1 Ecstasy, Fantasy & Dreamland 3.32
A2 Let Me Be With You Awhile 4.12
A3 Here I Go (Through These Changes Again) 3.08
A4 Feelings 5.06
A5 A Piece Of Mine 5.34
B1 Spread Love 5.21
B2 Keep My Fire Burning 5.24
B3 You Opened My Eyes To The World 6.38
B4 Afterwhile 3.05
A gem of a smooth soul album completely rare in the original, and a completely honest soul testament from singer/songwriter Michael Orr and Chris Harris! The record’s got a sound that reminds us of a lot of the tracks you’ll hear on the Modern Soul comps on the Goldmine label a smooth approach at the base, with touches of soul jazz, and handled with a bit of roughness that makes things sound a lot more real than some of the other soul coming out at the time. Orr’s got a real talent for a song and his commitment to strong vocals can be heard in his mix of styles that recall bits of Andy Bey, bits of Jon Lucien, bits of Gil Scott-Heron, and bits of DJ Rogers.
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Love is the message…finally: Musician Michael Orr has waited 25 years to Spread Love.
Honey drips from Michael Orr’s rich baritone voice much like that of his musical idol, Lou Rawls. And that baritone sweet and smooth is omnipresent on Mr. Orr’s album Spread Love, originally released in 1976.
Many remember the `70s as the platinum age of R&B. Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind and Fire, The Spinners, Curtis Mayfield and Norman Connors were among a myriad of musicians at peak power. Indeed, it was a great time for beautiful Black music.
Michael Orr probably should have been part of that party too, but it wasn’t meant to be-at least not then.
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Original copies sold from 85$ to 380$ here. You can buy the original vinyl here and the cd here.
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The Originals - 1969 - Baby I’m For Real (aka Green Grow The Lilacs)
Posted by nikos1109
I guess you all know Mr.Moo and his great What Da Funk private blog. This is another great contribution of his.
A classic set by The Originals one of Motown’s best second-generation soul groups, with a sound that rivalled the best of the indie sweet soul groups of the late 60s and early 70s! The album’s a delight throughout with a crackling, honest approach to group soul that was a refreshing change from some of Motown’s too-tight, more famous groups of the 60s. This set was probably the group’s biggest album, and it includes the hit slowjam title cut “Baby I’m For Real”, plus “Green Grow the Lilacs”, “Moment Of Truth”, “One Life We Live”, and “Love Is A Wonder”. For some reason this album was also called “Green Grow The Lilacs” in other pressings!
Tracks
A1 We’ve Got A Way Out Of Love 3.03
A2 Green Grow The Lilacs 2.45
A3 Baby I’m For Real 3.21
A4 I’ve Never Begged Before 2.43
A5 Red Sails In The Sunset 2.28
A6 One Life We Live 3.13
B1 Moment Of Truth 3.15
B2 Why When Love Is Gone 2.47
B3 When Will We Learn 2.31
B4 You’re The One 3.15
B5 Love Is A Wonder 2.50
B6 You, Mysterious You 3.09
A Detroit soul vocal group led by Freddie Gorman, the Originals took the RB world by storm in 1969, although they had worked at Motown for years as invaluable background vocalists. Gorman recorded as a solo for Berry Gordy in 1961 and co-wrote “Please Mr. Postman” for the Marvelettes, and the Originals cut a version of Leadbelly’s “Goodnight Irene” for Gordy’s Soul subsidiary in 1966 with ex-Falcon Joe Stubbs as lead. But Stubbs had split to form 100 Proof (Aged in Soul) by the time the quartet waxed the beautiful doo wop throwback “Baby I’m for Real,” an RB chart-topper in 1969 that was co-written and lushly produced by Marvin Gaye. The same combination also produced “The Bells,” another major hit in 1970. Former solo act Ty Hunter joined the group in 1971, and the Originals continued to chart into the next decade.
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The group found modest success in the latter half of the 60s, often working as backup singers for recordings by artists such as Jimmy Ruffin (”What Becomes of the Brokenhearted”, 1966), Stevie Wonder’s “For Once In My Life” in 1968 and David Ruffin (”My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)”, 1969). The Originals found their biggest success under the guidance of Motown legend Marvin Gaye, who co-wrote and produced two of the group’s biggest singles, “Baby I’m For Real”, and “The Bells”. This latter disc sold over one million copies, and received a gold disc awarded by the R.I.A.A.[1] Both songs became seminal soul music recordings, and both songs have since been covered: 1990s R&B group After 7 re-recorded “Baby I’m For Real” and made it a hit again in 1992, while another 1990s R&B group Color Me Badd re-recorded “The Bells” for one of their albums. While the group went on to have more modest success in both the soul and disco fields near the end of the decade, including “Down To Love Town,” a #1 dance chart hit, the songs they made with Marvin Gaye are their most memorable and notable.
O.V. Wright - 1973 - Memphis Unlimited
Posted by nikos1109
A masterpiece of deep Southern soul.
Listen to O.V. wail over the fading bars of Nothing Comes To A Sleeper - spine-tingling stuff. Simply amazing that no one has sought to rerelease any of his albums on CD yet. Hard-driving soul produced by Willie Mitchell.
This is a @320 vinyl rip of my original Back Beat record with covers.
Tracks
A1. I’ve Been Searching 2:34
A2. Nothing Comes to A Sleeper 3:14
A3. The Only Thing that Saved Me 2:30
A4. He’s My Son 2:45
A5. You Must Believe in Yourself 2:41
A6. Lost in the Shuffle 3:24
B1. I’d Rather Be Blind Cripple and Crazy 2:42
B2. Please Forgive Me 4:04
B3. Are You Going Where I’m Coming from 3:08
B4. Ghetto Child 3:29
B5. Memory Blues 3:29
B6. I’m Going Home 2:42
O.V. Wright is part of the Pantheon Of 1960s Soul, up therewith Solomon Burke, Aretha Franklin, and Otis Redding. He’s not as well known as them–at least in America–but his songs have been covered by Redding, the Rolling Stones, Robert Cray, and Ann Peebles. Like Burke and Franklin, his vocal style was heavily based in Southern gospel music, passionately balancing the sacred and the secular. Wright fervently implored, pleaded, and howled his tales of love lost, strayed, thwarted, or shattered. The music is prime Memphis rhythm & blues: full of sharp, terse guitar, rich Hammond organ, and gospel-informed background vocals–tight and funky but never slick.
Memphis Unlimited was released on Back Beat Records and distributed by ABC, but it was arranged and produced by Willie Mitchell and has that classic southern Soul sound of Hi Records. Mitchell’s amazing production made everyone he worked with sound like Al Green like on I’ve Been Searching, You Must Believe In Yourself, I’d Rather Be Blind, Cripple, And Crazy, Are You Going Where I’m Coming From, and I’m Going Home (To Live With God). The other songs are decent as well, making Memphis Unlimited one of those few records you can listen to from beginning to end.
From the book “The Rough Guide to Soul and R & B” : Considered by many to be the greatest deep soul singer of em all, O.V.Wright may have crossed over from gospel, but he never truly left behind. More than the records of any other soul singer, Wright’s best releases were straight gospel records with different lyrics and they had an inensity of feeling that could be matched only by some of James Carr’s best sides.
The O’Jays - 1973 - Ship Ahoy
Posted by nikos1109
An absolute masterpiece and a peak in 70’s soul-music. “For The love Of Money” is a definite track of the period and a good example of how ambitious the architects behind the so-called Philly Sound actually were. The title track is a hair-rasising account of the ships that brought over the slaves from West Africa and it is definitely another carer high.
One of the most important albums of its era.
A2 Ship Ahoy (9:39)
A3 This Air I Breathe (3:52)
A4 You Got Your Hooks in Me (5:34)
B1For the Love of Money (7:19)
B2 Now That We Found Love (4:41)
B3Don’t Call Me Brother (8:57)
B4 People Keep Tellin’ Me (4.00)
The Reviews
1
The “other” O’Jays album masterpiece, Ship Ahoy combined shattering message tracks and stunning love songs in a fashion matched only by Curtis Mayfield’s finest material. From the album cover showing a slave ship to the memorable title song and incredible “For the Love of Money,” Gamble and Huff addressed every social ill from envy to racism and greed. Eddie Levert’s leads were consistently magnificent, as were the harmonies, production and arrangements. “Put Your Hands Together” and “You Got Your Hooks In Me” would be good album cuts, but on Ship Ahoy they were merely icing on the cake.
3
Ohio Players - 1975 - Honey
Posted by nikos1109
Tracks
1 Honey (5:17)
2 Fopp (3:52)
3 Let’s Do It (5:12)
4 Ain’t Givin’ up No Ground (1:42)
5 Sweet Sticky Thing (6:12)
6 Love Rollercoaster (4:48)
7 Alone (4:38)
There is an urban legend about the song Love Rollercoaster. About two minutes into the song, a faint scream is heard. the urban legend states that the scream is that of the model on the cover of the album. Allegedly, the model was kneeling on fiberglass and pouring honey onto herself. The honey bonded her to the glass, and her skin was ripped off in the effort to unstick her. She confronted the manager during the recording of the song, who then proceeded to stab her to death,
This myth is false, however. The scream was made by keyboardist Billy Beck. A local DJ made up the rumor, and the band kept with it to boost sales of the album.
The Review
By the time of 1975’s HONEY, the Players had streamlined their album covers from HUSTLER-ish to PLAYBOY-ish, while keeping their music still delightfully funky & sexy beyond description. 1974’s FIRE contained their first #1 pop hit with the title track, and the music was definitely what its title stated: blazing! While HONEY hints at something a little more, well, smooth, it’s still a fantastic album with enough grit to rock the dance floors before putting on the slower stuff when you get back home.
“Love Rollercoaster” was the Player’s 2nd #1 pop hit, and is probably their most famous song thanks to cover versions like that from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. While the Peppers’ version was a good White-boy version of it, the Players’ one is still the funky king, one to get you up & moving no matter how many times it’s been played at parties, sporting events or oldies radio.
“Fopp” is another chaotic funky delight with the opening drum line indeed sounding reminiscent of the opening to Guns N’ Roses’ “Paradise City”. Maybe Axl Rose needs to pay some restitution to the Players, who knows?
As has been proven time & time again, ballads were always the Players’ secret weapon, and they remain underrated with all the loud, screaming funk that was their trademark. “Sweet Sticky Thing” was lucky to be released for it is indeed much smoother-edged than what the Players were known for at the time. The fact this jazz-grooved tune (man, that saxophone!) did so well really says something.
The opening title track was a brave way to start out the album, especially after just having a massive #1 hit with “Fire”. I can easily imagine this song coming from Earth, Wind & Fire, who were probably the only other group the Players could really compete with in the funk sweepstakes (Parliament/Funkadelic were already the kings, so they were out of the running).
“Let’s Do It” is another romantic jam to melt your lover’s heart with, and hopefully you won’t find yourself singing the closing ballad “Alone” before long. The man singing this song is all-too-obviously heartbroken and, as my good friend Nathan says, it definitely is a forgotten treasure of ’70s R&B balladry with Leroy “Sugarfoot” Bonner’s lead vocal just tear-inducing. Even the spare musical back-up on the song heightens its emotional nakedness.
HONEY was produced, written & performed by the Players themselves, so you know the album is exactly how they would have wanted it. Even those ever-present covers were their brainchild, with HONEY’s being the undoubtedly the most famous of all (the inner photo is a true “how could they do it?” affair).
While the Players have been sampled like mad by hip-hop artists for years, and are still adored by R&B lovers today, they have been sort of overlooked in the overall pantheon of popular music. Earth, Wind & Fire have been inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, as has Parliament/Funkadelic, so why not the Players? Until that day comes, we can be sure that an album as fantastic & funky as HONEY will be one of the things that gets them in there.
