Mitch Ryder Socking It To You – The Complete Dynovoice/New Voice Recordings (Take A Ride / Breakout / Sock It To Me / Sings The Hits / What Now My Love / 45s) (3CD set)

Five full albums of work from the mighty Mitch Ryder – plus a fair bit of rare singles as well – all brought together in a package that features the first full look at his years at the New Voice label! 

First up is Take A Ride – a classic set from the mighty Mitch Ryder and his smoking Detroit Wheels combo! These guys might have been a garage band in another side of the universe – and you can definitely hear that style on some of the guitars and keyboards in the set – but they also drunk deep of the Motown sound of their hometown, and listened to plenty of soul from Chicago and Memphis too – which they draw on to great extent for the grooves in this classic set! Years before so many other groups would cop 60s soul style and hit it big on the charts, Mitch and the boys made their move – much closer to the ground at the time, and with a lot more grit in their grooves too – so much so that we've always been unsure as to whether to file this record in the rock section or in soul. The whole thing's great – and titles titles that include "Jenny Take A Ride", "Shake A Tail Feather", "Come See About Me", and "I Hope" – plus three James Brown songs – "I'll Go Crazy", "Please Please Please", and "I Got You". 

Next is Breakout – a record that's steeped in styles borrowed from Memphis and Muscle Shoals, and given a bit of a color-blind twist on the Detroit scene of the late 60s! Mitch clearly loves the motor city sound of the 60s, but also takes things to farther points south, too – using elements that would be right at home on Stax or Atlantic Records, and coming up with a crossover sound that had his recorded almost ending up in more soul collections over the years than rock ones! Production is by pop maestro Bob Crewe, but it's surprisingly unadorned compared to some of Crewe's other work of the time – and the album bristles with sock-soul instrumentation from the Detroit Wheels, and loud, proud vocals from Mitch. There's a bit of garaey guitars in the mix, too – making for a mighty nice hybrid of styles – and titles include "Shakin With Linda", "You Get Your Kicks", "Any Day Now", "I Need Help", "Little Latin Lupe Lu", "Walkin The Dog", "I Had It Made", and the classic "Breakout". 

Sock It To Me is a smoking third set has the group breaking out with a fierce and funky sort of style! Most songs are by producer Bob Crewe – but Mitch and the group deliver the goods with a strong dose of Detroit soul influence – mixing Motown inspirations with lots of rougher garagey touches on the instrument – all with nonstop energy that makes the record a cooker all the way through! Titles include "I Can't Hide It", "Sock It To Me", "Shakedown", "I Never Had It Better", "Slow Fizz", "A Face In The Crowd", and "Wild Child". 

Sings The Hits is a record that has Mitch Ryder singing the hits of other big soul and rock artists of his generation – but with that crackling Detroit Wheels blend of fuzzy rock and funky soul! Arrangements are by Hutch Davie, and Bob Crewe produces the group to perfection – but it's really Mitch and the group that make the real magic – with titles that include "Come See About Me", "Walk The Dog", "Sticks & Stones", "I Got You", "Let Your Lovelight Shine/Turn On Your Lovelight", "Stubborn Kind Of Fellow", and "Please Please Please". 

On What Now My Love, Mitch Ryder takes a bit of a turn from the garagey funk and Detroit soul of previous records – and works in territory that's maybe a bit more familiar for longtime producer Bob Crewe – Mitch in the lead, ala solo Frankie Vallie – working through tunes made popular by other artists, but with all these unusual inflections in both the arrangements and vocals! The vibe isn't the same rollicking party as early records by Ryder, but the album has all these sublime elements that make the whole thing stand up there with some of the best on Dyno Voice – a list that would also include the Barbarella soundtrack – almost like Mitch is trying to go into solo Scott Walker territory. Titles include "Born To Lose", "If You Go Away", "Let It Be Me", "Sally Go Round The Roses", "Brown Eyed Handsome Man", "I Need Lovin You", and "That's It I Quit I'm Moving On". 

CD also features loads of rare tracks from 45s – including "Joy", "Ring Your Bell", "One Grain Of Sand", "Personality/Chantilly Lace", "Lights Of Night", "Blessing In Disguise", and a special "Radio Promo". ~ Dusty Groove