No tittering at the back there! I bet many soul fans don't even give this guy a second thought. That's a pity as over the years he has notched up a fair few mega-soulful gems. His 70s work with Thom Bell is exemplary, and in the 80s he released a LOT of material which would have gone down a storm if many had given it a chance. I chose this album, released in 1984, as it is a great representation of what this Legend is capable of doing with the right backing and production. 1984 was also a classy year, and if albums released at that time by Deniece Williams, George Duke, Ramsey Lewis, Stanley Clarke and Rodney Franklin are to your liking then I suggest you add this to your collection. “Simple” is our first track, and has a great Jay Graydon feeling, although produced by Denny Diante. Check out the glorious backing music.
As I say, 1984 saw some serious money thrown at quality artists and Johnny Mathis was not discounted from that particular pleasure. Johnny duets with the amazing and beautiful Angela Bofill on the title cut, and this also appeared on her “Teaser” album. My favourite song on here is the mid tempo number, “Love Never Felt So Good” which features Nathan East on bass and Seawind's own Jerry Hey arranging the horns. I love this song to pieces, as I do on the beautiful “Priceless”. This beauty of a song was written by Leon Ware and features Larry Carlton and Paulinho Da Costa. This track is so typical of the timeless work we have come to expect from Leon Ware. This album really deserves your attention, and I'll be bringing a few more soulful gems from this great vocalist to your attention. This is available – if you search hard enough! - on CD but if you are happy to download it from iTunes then it's all there for you!
Barry Towler
The Vibe Scribe
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