Slow 'n' Moody Black & Bluesy & More

Overview

The rather awkward that's-a-mouthful title of this CD arose in part because it grew out of a couple of previous similarly named compilations on the Kent label. The company released an LP titled Slow 'n' Moody Black & Bluesy in 1983, and a CD of the same title in 1994 that took off a couple songs and added a dozen more. Not quite satisfied, in 2009 Kent rejigged it yet again by taking off some material, adding a couple more tracks, appending "& More" to the title, and finding (say the liner notes) "extra verses or longer fadeouts and [using] them wherever they sounded superior to the original releases." The whole (and kind of confusing) story is laid out in the booklet's introductory annotation. What's more important, especially if you're coming to this CD without having its predecessors in your collection, is that it collects 26 tracks in the "deep soul" style recorded for the Modern label between the mid-'60s and early '70s. Wait, you're saying: Modern was a Los Angeles label, how could there be much "deep soul" from L.A., as the style was so identified with the American South? Well, as the liner notes point out, "There was more Southern-sounding soul produced in Los Angeles than New York City, Detroit, or Chicago, where similar numbers of young blacks had migrated during and after the war years." So Modern did generate a lot of material in the emotive, richly arranged ballad style associated with deep soul, even if it had relatively little commercial success, especially when compared to Stax, Atlantic, Hi, Goldwax, and other such companies. Indeed, there aren't many names on here that will be familiar even to most soul fans, some probable exceptions being B.B. King, Johnny Copeland, Z.Z. Hill, and the Mighty Hannibal. But the sides are well produced, even if lacking in the kind of killer songs likely to either tickle the charts or find placement on more selective soul anthologies in the CD era. It's also true that the songs sometimes bear the influences of more distinctive greats like Otis Redding and Sam Cooke on their sleeves. But they're sincere, and fairly melodic more often than not. If Stacy Johnson's cliché-ridden "Consider Yourself" is the low end of this particular batch, there are enough better cuts, like Larry Davis' uncommonly bluesy and minor-key "The Years Go Passing By," to make the overall average come out a bit ahead of the specialist reissue pack. Also, the somewhat lighter production touch makes it a refreshing change from the heavier Southern-originating deep soul comps that dominate the reissue market for this genre, even though that might count as a strike against this particular anthology for some deep soul purists.

Product Details

Release Date:	08/11/2009
Label:	Kent Records Uk
UPC:	0029667232128
catalogNumber:	321
Rank:	70539

Tracks

1. Nothing Can Change the Love I Have for You
2. You Messed Up My Mind
3. I Can't Stand It
4. Let's Get Together
5. Darling I'm Standing by You
6. Baby I'll Come
7. If I'd Lose You
8. I Don't Wanna Lose You
9. (Baby) Come to Me
10. Ain't Nobody's Business
11. Every Dog's Got His Day
12. Weep No More
13. It's Real, Pt. 1
14. Whenever I Can't Sleep
15. The Last One to Know
16. A Woman Needs a Man
17. Everybody Needs Somebody
18. Farewell
19. Why Should I Be the One
20. I'll Come Back to You
21. Consider Yourself
22. The Years Go Passing By
23. I'm Falling for You
24. I'm in Love
25. Sweet Bitter Love
26. The Smartest Fool

Album Credits

Technical Credits

Hubert Sumlin   Composer
Floyd Tillman   Composer
Sam Cooke   Composer
Jimmy Holiday   Composer
Clay Hammond   Composer
Arthur Adams   Composer
Van McCoy   Composer
Jimmy Webb   Composer
Arthur Freeman   Composer
Tommy Youngblood   Composer
Mike Akopoff   Producer
Nick Ashford   Composer
Maxwell Davis   Arranger
Porter Grainger   Composer
Jerry Harris   Composer
Kent Harris   Composer
Lennie Johnson   Composer
Leo Kulka   Producer
Jimmy Robins   Arranger,Composer,Producer
Larry Sanders   Composer
Valerie Simpson   Composer
Joe Thompson   Composer
Kae Williams   Producer
Milton Smith   Producer
Miles Grayson   Arranger
Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis   Arranger
G. Benz   Producer
Ady Croasdell   Liner Notes
Oscar Perry   Composer
Lucy Walker   Composer
Everett Robbins   Composer
Robert Freed   Composer
Willie Gauff   Composer
Bill Silva   Producer
Bobby Martin   Arranger
Larry Perrault   Composer
Robert Freed   Composer
J.G. Barrett   Composer
Henry Houston   Composer,Producer
Harold Lee Grayson   Composer
G. Benz   Producer
Freddy De Mann   Producer
Freddie Lee Kober   Composer
Elder O'Neal   Composer
C.a. Alexander   Composer
Aaron Collins   Composer
Len Johnson   Composer
Bobby Martin   Arranger
Larry Lucie   Composer
Larry Sanders   Composer
Lucy Walker   Composer
P. Harris   Composer
Roland Roberts   Composer