For this second fall-winter instalment, our friend and music collaborator Claude Lemaire has selected six soul albums to warm us up through these cooler temperatures and difficult challenging times. Peace to all. “As always, if you find my recommended pressings too expensive, you can usually replace them by other more affordable pressings but be aware that the sound quality may differ quite a lot from my sonic descriptions and be wary of any digital intermediates in the complex chain.”
2- Isaac Hayes – Presenting Isaac Hayes.
Enterprise – S 13-100, Atlantic – SD 13-100 (Feb. 1968), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: sultry soul, blues, jazz.
Hailing from Tennessee, the self-taught singer, songwriter, producer, musician, and actor was one of the principle architects of the Memphis sound and Southern soul, spearheaded by Stax, Volt, and Hi records. Along with writing partner David Porter, they composed and arranged some of the biggest soul hits of the 1960s and early-1970s including Sam & Dave’s 1967 smash single “Soul Man” to name but one. The following year, Hayes released his debut album–a totally improvised session combining a blend of blues, jazz, and sultry soul–organically original and a precursor to symphonic soul maestro Barry White, a full five years prior to. Produced and supervised by Alvertis Isbell–aka Al Bell–and recorded no doubt ‘live’ without overdub at Stax Studios in Memphis, TN; the relaxed atmosphere has him talking, singing, and sparsely playing piano, while bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn and drummer Al Jackson Jr.–both from Stax’ house band Booker T. & The M.G.’s–spontaneously enter and exit, accompanying him along the way. The latter group’s guitarist Steve Cropper and Atlantic’s Arif Martin mixed the album’s five tracks, keeping the raw realistic recording very intimate, and highly dynamic. It is very impressive-sounding, especially the lightning fast drum strokes panned to the right of the piano which have a natural tom skin resonance rarely heard on record. The only minor quibble would be a slight cymbal lack of finesse. It was released both with the Enterprise logo on the front cover as well as the Atlantic logo at the same time. My copy is the latter, probably pressed by Presswell in Ancora, New Jersey.
3- Isaac Hayes – Hot Buttered Soul.
Enterprise – ENS-1001 (May 1969), MoFi – MFSL 1-273 (2005), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: cinematic soul, symphonic soul, sultry soul, psychedelic soul.
4- Barbara Acklin – Love Makes a Woman.
Brunswick – BL 754137 (July 1968), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: Chicago soul, Northern soul, romantic soul, sentimental soul, R&B, ballads.
Isaac Hayes isn’t the only soul singer songwriter that reappropriates Bacharach-David compositions. In effect, the album opens with two of these–a cover of Jackie DeShannon’s “What the World Needs Now Is Love”, followed by Dusty Springfield’s “The Look of Love”. On her debut album released in summer 1968, the Oakland-born, Brunswick-signed artist, presents eleven soulful songs incorporating beautiful bass, brass, piano, and string arrangements. She sings with great control and class, and her voice is very well captured with wide natural range. Produced by Carl Davis and Chi-Lites lead vocalist Eugene Record, the uncredited musicians and backup singers recall Aretha Franklin’s early-Atlantic period in style and engineering choices such as hard-panned drums, bass, guitars, strings, and vocals, bringing great clarity to the musical phrases which I always welcome. The Brunswick tonal balance is simply lovely as is so often the case with this truly historic label going back to the beginning of the twentieth century and recording era. It is pressed by MCA Pressing Plant, Gloversville in NY. Simply an incredible album and ambiance. Barbara Acklin continued to release musically interesting material into the early-1970s until leaving Brunswick in 1973.
5- The Impressions – This Is My Country.
Before launching a successful solo singing, producing, and composing career, Curtis Mayfield was the main driving force behind the The Impressions. Stemming from Chattanooga, TN, in 1958, the group soon switched to Chicago whilst for a brief stint, singer Jerry Butler was the lead with Mayfield taking over when Butler began his own solo path two years later. Throughout the myriad membership, they recorded twenty albums during a two-decade run, releasing This Is My Country smack in the middle of the pack in november 1968–the first LP featured on Curtis’ own Curtom label. I was lucky to find a second hand copy twenty years ago in a country thrift shop during a sunday stroll where I stumbled upon the Pusherman’s prior period. Nine out of the ten short tracks are written and produced by maestro Mayfield, creating a musically-rich driven album. No recording engineer is credited. It was mastered at the Customatrix plant with the lacquer cut at Bell Sound Studios in New York. The sound falls in line with the production style of the late-1960s and what you could expect from a Motown release, which is slighly light in the bass registers while the rest of the spectrum is quite nicely rendered, especially so regarding Mayfield’s distinctive vocals. A sleeper of an album worth seeking out.
6- Stevie Wonder – My Cherie Amour.
To explore in further detail visit: Claude Lemaire/soundevaluations