Monday, July 23, 2012

NEW RELEASES - BENNY SPELLMAN, JOEY GILMORE, OTIS CLAY

BENNY SPELLMAN - FORTUNE TELLER: A SINGLES COLLECTION 1960 - 1967

Massive sounds from Benny Spellman – one of the greatest singers on the New Orleans scene of the 60s – and one of the most unique, too! Benny's often got a groove that's different than some of the more R&B-inflected sounds of his contemporaries – sometimes sophisticated enough to almost suggest a jazz approach, sometimes this sinister snakey style that comes across with a moody edge we really love! And although Benny's work has been been brought together over the years, this may well be the best compilation we've ever seen of his music from the 60s – a set of 30 great tracks pulled from his singles for the Minit and Alon labels, with a few unreleased numbers too – often with some key studio help from Allen Toussaint. Titles include "10 4 Calling All Cars", "Life Is Too Short", "I Didn't Know", "Fortune Teller", "Lipstick Traces", "Sinner Girl", "If You Love Her", "Stickin Whicha Baby", "Talk About Love", "You Got To Get It", "No Don't Stop", "The Word Game", "Every Now & Then", and "I'm In Love". ~ Dusty Groove

JOEY GILMORE - JOEY GILMORE

An overlooked gem from the glory days of the TK soul empire – a mix of sweet soul steppers and more upbeat groovers – all set to tight arrangements from Snoopy Dean! There's a great Miami groove to most numbers – especially that modern soul style that started coming in during the Lew Kirton generation – almost more of a Philly sense of sophistication at times, which comes through especially well on the midtempo numbers! Joey's vocals have a nice sort of rasp to them – a bit less polished than the arrangements, which makes for a nice sense of balance – and titles incude "Let's Boogie On Down", "Get All You Want", "Give Me Your Love", "Rhythm In My Bone", "It's Here", and "Funny Feeling". ~ Dusty Groove

OTIS CLAY - I CAN'T TAKE IT

A great mix of modes – and a set that represents a real turning point in the career of Otis Clay! The rougher edges of Clay's Chicago soul are warmed up here substantially by producer Willie Mitchell – bubbling up some Memphis soul for Otis, in a style that's similar to some of his backings for other singers on the Hi Records label – in a style that makes for a great step forward from Clay's singles of the 60s! The shift is a big one – the sort that helped make Otis one of the standout singers of his generation – really knocking it out of the park on tracks that include "House Ain't A Home", "Slow & Easy", "Born To Be With You", "Home Is Where The Heart Is", "Pussy Footing Around", and "Too Much Mystery". ~ Dusty Groove

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