PICK OF THE HOT U.S. RELEASES
RAY CHARLES: If You Were Mine (abc/Tangerine)
Track One, Side One of Ray’s brand new ‘Love Country Style’ album, the title of which would have been enough to put me off had not Simon Stable played me Track Two, Side One. This is a fantastic version of Johnny Cash’s ‘Ring Of Fire’, on which it could truly be said that Ray Charles gets his own back at Joe Cocker, and proves who’s the boss.
Anyway, returning to the single, it’s a joyous Jimmy Lewis composition that lightly skips along to a breezy backing of guitar accented beat and tambourine chinking, and features Ray in fine voice (including a telling delayed break near the end). As you can just hear him say on the fade-out, “That’s all right”.
EDDIE FLOYD: The Best Years Of My Life (Stax)
Eddie’s wife has given to him the best years of his life, says he, so that he doesn’t seem to mind over much when she also gives him a baby son who just don’t look like him. (Shades of the old Ska hit, ‘How Come A Chinese Baby Calls Me Daddy?’) Certainly, Eddie has given to us his best single in a while, full of nice flow funk.
JOE SIMON: That’s The Way I Want Our Love (Sound Stage 7)
Back in ’64 Joe made a bitch of a record called ‘Say (That Your Love Is True)’ on Vee-Jay (available here ILP 943, a compilation album called ‘Doctor Soul’). Since then few of his records have been anywhere near as good or exciting, certainly not this one. Fast for a change, it is however his best for about a year, even though his voice is as expressionless as usual.
THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY: I Think I Love You (Bell)
Now America has its own telly series about a “carbon-copy Cowsills” family singing act, and Bell Records proudly proclaim this single from it is already their fastest selling record in history, since Genesis yet. They’ve moved over 300,000 units in the first few weeks, wow! Just be careful when and if it is released here – don’t add “Lie Down” to the title. Ring-a-ding-ding?
ANDY WILLIAMS: Home Lovin’ Man (Columbia)
A Greenaway/Cook/Macaulay slowie, ultra relaxed and smoochy, all about a home-returning nautical type.
GARY PUCKETT: I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself (Columbia)
Well, for starters, you can do a straight Pop revival of the oldie that Isaac Hayes recently resurrected. How’s that grab ya? Then once you’ve made that sound like ‘Young Girl’, you can go do the other thing.
THE BOX TOPS: Let Me Go (Bell)
Randy Newman wrote this husky-voiced heavily plodding slowie, and the boys do it in the upcoming ‘Pursuit Of Happiness’ flick.
MAC DAVIES: I Believe In Music (Columbia)
… in which case, you’d have thought that the ‘In The Ghetto’ writer could have come up with a rather more musical item than this incredibly dull dirge.
ROBIN McNAMARA: Got To Believe In Love (Steed)
Another bloke with conviction, Robin (who’s from the cast of ‘Hair’, as must be several thousand other aspiring young show-biz types throughout the world by now) has dropped his castrato ‘Lay A Little Lovin’’ voice a bit but stays on the Bubble Gum route.
UK American Singles
WILSON PICKETT: Engine No. 9; International Playboy (Atlantic 2091032)
If ‘Cole, Cooke & Redding’ was Wilson’s best slowie since 1964, then this superb slab of Gamble & Huff funk is his best dancer in nearly as long. What’s more, since the British kiddie-winks are finally catching up with the modern sound of Soul (witness ‘Ball Of Confusion’s success), this might even do well here, even though it IS the sound and not the song that is strong in this case. Straighter beat flip, with great verbal imagery.
NEIL YOUNG: Only Love Can Break Your Heart; Birds (Reprise RS 20958)
mmmm, mmmm, mmmm, MMMM! The only one of CSN&Y that matters, on two self-penned tracks from his new solo album — since all discerning record buyers will be after the “Gold Rush” at their neighbourhood record mart anyway, these two slowies (purposeful, lurching top; delicate flip) will be hits as part of the album if not as a single.
STEVIE WONDER: Heaven Help Us All; I Gotta Have A Song (Tamla Motown TMG 757)
Slow plodding start before a big chorus build-up on a rather spiritless itemisation of all the things that could do with help from up above. Decidedly lack-lustre, whereas the flip is altogether brighter and breezier.
THE CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARD: You’ve Got Me Dangling On A String; Patches (Invictus INV 504)
Ho, ho, ho! Seen what the flip is? Yup, the original version, so that this really is a double shot of Soul. Nice fast top, but I fear it may be a bit too messy and indistinct to make a big impression here. Wait for 100 Proof’s ‘Somebody’s Been Sleeping’.
ROBERTA FLACK: Reverend Lee; Business Goes On As Usual (Atlantic 2091-033)
Yeah! Goosebump-raising Roberta lets us know “this is a song about a very big, strong, black, sexy, Southern Baptist minister”, the “Country Preacher” himself, and she sure can raise the temperature too once she quits rapping and slides into this slinky subtle slow funker. Atmospheric is the death-march flip’s best description.
ELVIS PRESLEY: I’ve Lost You; The Next Step Is Love (RCA 1999)
Well, this Howard/Blaikley-penned tremulous-voiced stop-go slowie isn’t exactly ‘Lawdy Miss Clawdy’, but then the latter was cut fifteen years ago. This’ll be fine for his newer fans. Why don’t we get his current U.S. hit treatment of ‘You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me’?
JOHNNY CASH: 25 Minutes To Go; I’m Gonna Try To Be That Way (CBS 5252)
Cash is not exactly subtle in his many attempts at getting the inmates of the various prisons he’s played at to love him, so that this condemned man’s song must have made him plenty of fans at Folsom (from which album it comes). Quite a jolly tempo.
JAMES STEWART & HENRY FONDA: Rolling Stone (Stateside SS 2179)
If you haven’t seen “The Cheyenne Social Club,” why not? It’s the most endearing flick I’ve seen for many a moon, and this excerpt from the soundtrack is a lovely memento, full of character. Who knows (other than the Shadow), it could be another ‘Wandering Star’.
TONY BENNETT: MacArthur Park; Eleanor Rigby (CBS S 5255)
Almost a completely different song in Bennett’s hands, it might just as well BE any old song (albeit well sung). Exciting brass and suspenseful arrangement on the excellent flip.
GRAND FUNK: Closer To Home; Aimless Lady (Capitol CL 15661)
Capitol’s “Heavy” group, a three-piece, makes all the right noises on both of these tracks from their new elpee. As were Blues Image recently, they seem hung up on being “Captain of your ship” … what aspect of the new subculture am I missing in failing to dig the relevance of this expression? Anyway, nice seaside sound effects, and even moog strings later.
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