WSM RECORDS
scroll down for reviews of the following
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Satisfaction
Guaranteed – The Very Best of Teddy Pendergrass |
The Definitive Drifters |
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The Best of Summer 2003 |
The Very Best of George Benson – The
Greatest Hits of all |
Satisfaction Guaranteed – The Very Best of
Teddy Pendergrass WSMCD 166
For a mainstream highly commercial CD this is
mega, top notch. Oozing pure soul
from start to finish. Teddy is
always in the top 10 vocalists on any soul fan, anywhere in the world. A Philly
genius starting with his Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes material- if you
don’t know me be now is an absolute tearjerking classic. It’s a shame that the other HM &
BN’s slower material is excepted in favour of the more popular disco
material. But even on the more
uptempo material the voice is distinguished, unique and powerful.
For me the ballads are the best, they are so
strong, for sure a Quiet Storm – The whole towns laughing at me, Come Go with
Me, Let me be closer, In my time, You’re my latest.
Includes duets with Whitney and Stephanie Mills.
More latterly after recovery a fine beat ballad in Joy. His vocal prowess remained intact with
a fine set in 1990 with tracks like She knocks me off my feet.
The Gamble Huff Philadelphia International tracks
are the tops for me but the best track – the one that has everything, style,
vocal, Philly production is Close the Door.
32 tracks of pure magic and who knows how big this
guy could have been had it not been for such tragic circumstances –
Satisfaction Guaranteed.
The Very Best of George Benson
– The Greatest Hits of All – WSM 8122736932
"A collection of the living legend George benson's greatest
songs – released 30 June 2003 – a 20 track compilation featuring all his
greatest hits. In a career spanning 40 years the eight time Grammy winner has
sported a variety of musical styles from jazz guitarist to R&B/Pop
superstar but best known as the guitar playingvocalist responsible for his
hits"
I don't know what it is
but those unforgettable opening bars of Give me the Night just evoke happiness.
Happiness of a great song, or the memories of the time, or memories of buying
it first time on 12". A superb and probably the best track of it's kind on
the album. It's got the beat of the day, yet it has got and is unmistakenly George
Benson, an underrated singer up to this point but also has room for his style
of jazz guitar, which is where george came from.
Turn your love though
marginally stands the test of time and it is easily the sort of track that
could still be played out now. Conversely Never give up on a good thing is more
out and out disco and the type of track that would get plays at a retro night.
Love x love also has
the Rod Temperton hallmark stamped on it (like Give me the night) but has the
guitar a bit more up front, but a super catchy chorus and haunting backing
vocals.
I tended not to like
the out and out ballads so much despite George having a good voice, but sales
for tracks like Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You, In your eyes and The
Greatest Love of All prove me wrong, and thinking back these were tracks that
had very broad universal appeal. All of these tracks were written (in part) by
Michael Masser. For me a better ballad was Lady Love Me (One more time) but it
went into another level with his collaboration with Narada Michael Walden on
Kisses in the Moonlight.
I was more at home with
the jazzier vibe and fortunately George didn't desert his roots, he used his
popularity to enable his material to include his distinctive stylings. Tracks
like Feel like Making Love, This Masquerade, Being with you and particularly
Breezin'.
George also was partial
to a duet and tracks included here are with Roberta Flack (You are the love of
my life), Aretha Franklin(the great Sam Dees song Love all the Hurt Away) and
Patti Austin (Moody's Mood).
Nature Boy is a
classic, a bit funkier (but not particularly upbeat) with Phil Upchurch and
George on guitars and ralph McDonald on percussion, how could it not be! Love
ballad is a bit more uptempo and is a great track, retaining a percussive beat
(again Ralph McDonald) and what a guitar line up Phil Upchurch again but this
time Earl Klugh as well. Lots of the typical GB skat too.
Mora Narada production
on the track Shiver from While the City Sleeps and closing on what has become a
trademark sound, this time a live version, On Broadway.
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Track Listings |
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1. Give Me The Night |
11. You Are The Love Of My Life |
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The
Definitive Drifters- Warners - WSMCD137
"58
Track definitive collection of The Drifter's highlights the groups 25 years of
almost unbroken chart success, featuring all their top 10 hits." "This
isn't just the portrait of a legendary group, featuring a galaxy of star
performers, writers and producers, who all contributed to make the name of the
Drifters into a trademark of quality and soul" – Peter Doggett Editor of
Record Collector
A
beautifully packaged showcase of a huge amount of Drifters material. Of course
all the well known pop soul hits are here, and I would urge you to listen to
some of them again, as they really are good. Possibly overplayed and some are a
bit too commercial but they ceratainly were groundbreaking.
The
album kicks of way back in 1953 with the awesome and great Clyde McPhatter, in
a Boogie Woogie fledgling rock'n'roll style, Clyde is distinctive but less
prominent on these uptempo offerings. However, the killer cuts are the easy
doowop and gut wrenchingly soulful ballads like The Way I Feel. It was these
tracks that enabled Clyde to obtain such a great reputation. A subtle change in
early 1954 when Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters became the Drifters featuring
Clyde McPhatter. The change was less subtle in style as the group became more
prominent and the material more commercial, they were starting to crossover.
By 1955
it was The Drifters, Clyde ha d been called up and Johnny Moore came in, the
sound was smoother but nonetheless distinctive and commercial success beckoned,
hitting the R'n'B charts big first wwith Adorable and Ruby Baby before starting
to crossover Fools Fall in Love.
Then
Johnny was called up but the momentum was maintained with Drip Drop before a major
change took pace and a whole new era, the Benny Nelson era, of course, Ben E
King.
'There
goes my baby' was the result, and as I said above, listen to this again.
Wonderful deep soulful vocal, complete with string arrangement. Pop
superstardom beckoned. Hits followed culminating in the pop number 1 Save the
last dance for me. But King only remained for one hit after that before
embarking on a solo careerin 1960.
Rudy
Lewis was recruited and the next period showed a move away from Doowop to
Uptown big production emerging Soul, with full productions and highly at the
commercial end of the spectrum. Hits followed after hit, some like Some kind of
Wonderful stay true but others simply become commercial pap (to a purist like
me!), like Sweets for my sweet. But popular they were and enduringly popular
they are, Up on the Roof, On Broadway and so on will be known to everyone. Big
name writers were used, Goffin King, Bacharach David but principally Leiber and
Stoller who moved on in late 1963. A great track included here is a minor hit
If you don't come back.
In May
1964 Rudy Lewis tragically died and the following day they recorded the
wonderful Under the Boardwalk and I don't want to go on without you. Johnny
Moore returned and the hits continuedSaturday Night, At the club, Come on over
to my place. All the major hits are included here and some of the lesser ones
to. You shouls remeember that in these days there were far more releases by a
group per year than you see these days.
Another
moderate hit with great clean and crisp horns is I'll take you where the music
is playing. The next cut Up in the streets af Harlem failed to chart in either
R'nB or pop (1966) and there were no more US hits although they stayed with
Atlantic for a few more years.
This
package recommences in 1973 when there was a reemergence, particularly in the
UK of Drifters and some new tracks were cut and some more hits came, they were
very much retro in style and similar in style to their major hits with a pop
edge.
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Track Listings |
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1. Money Honey |
16. If You Cry |
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Disc: 2 |
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1. Only In America |
15. Come On Over |
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Best of Summer 2003 album – 40
of the Hottest Summer Hits – Warner Music www.summer2003.net
This
is one of those Summer Groove albums, compiled from the current and recent
charts with a few extras and oddball items thrown in. Basically a pop dance
goodtime singalong album, tracks that you will hear all over in the forthcoming
mad crazy Summer. For the purist a chance to pick up on one or two missed items
or those that are OK but do not justify buying the single or album, or looking
at it the other way round it may entice you to buy a complete album but I doubt
it.
There
are quite a number of tracks on here of no relevance to this site, but others
that are. An illustration of the way Black Music once again breaks through into
popular culture. For example a good deal of Hip Hop. Best of which is Missy
Elliott and Ludicrus with a wonderful bassline on a Fatboy Slim Remix, Run DMC
and Blazin Squad. Sean Paul's Gimme the Ligt which is still mashing up and is
going to be enormous, probably all the way through to Carnival. On the popular
R'n'B side we have Destiny's Child from a couple of years back, and last years
J-Lo. The worst being Big Brovaz of which they, although still young, have done
so much better.
On a
mellower vibe is the fine 3SL feat Est'Elle. And for twostep there's Mr Reds vs
DJ Skribble nd Shy FX ft Kele Le Roc. Nice cut as always by Anastacia and some
fun Old Skool with the currently popular Oliver Cheatham, the Jacksons perennial
Can you feel it and Prince's lets go crazy. Saffron Hill's track is powerful
through it's sample of the Sylvers Come Back Lover.
Including
bits of many genres or sub genres of popular Dance, Hip Hop, R'n'B, a bit of Two
Step, bit of Trance, bit of Old Skool through to the power of advertising and
current TV Adverts, and more, there will doubtless be something to please, but
indeed other tracks that really do grate, when you get to the banal holiday
resort party stuff.
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1. BIG BROVAZ – FAVOURITE
THINGS 1. D Side - SPEECHLESS |
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