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Bishop Joe Simon
Certainly
Lord I Love Everybody 
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Bishop Joe Simon:
Time To Change (Parliament) 
Yes,
this is that Joe Simon who cut soul classics
in the 1960's and 70's like "Nine Pound Steel,"
and the "The Chokin' Kind." Like many
before him, Simon became disenfranchised with the
music industry and the lifestyle, turning to gospel
music in the mid-80's. Simon's burnished, plaintive
voice sounds as good as ever on "Time To Change",
a soulful and thoroughly inspirational set of gospel
originals.
Simon began recording in the Bay Area in
the early 60's, but a switch in recording sites
proved beneficial, first landing at Muscle Shoals,
Vee-Jay and then to Nashville, upon signing with
disc jockey John Richbourg's Sound Stage 7 label
in 1966. Simon was able to merge R&B with country
resulting in major hits like "Nine Pound Steel,"
"(You Keep Me) Hangin' On,", "The
Chokin' Kind" and "Drowning in the Sea
of Love." Simon bowed out of the secular world
in the early 80's and is now known as Bishop Joe
Simon, Evangelist Ambassador of the World, for the
Mission Consortium of Churches International, and
the World Effort Ministries.
"Time
To Change" is a powerful slice of gospel as
Simon delivers a collection of all originals, wedding
both contemporary and traditional gospel into a
potent, rousing message. Simon sounds every bit
as good when he was delivering those great R&B
songs. It always struck me as a bit cynical the
well known comment (who said it first?) that the
difference between R&B and gospel is as simple
as changing the word baby to the word lord
but there is some truth in that. Certainly
Simon is committed to his new path but there's much
of the same feel in this material as in his old
R&B hits and of course that magnificent, rich
voice is still as singular as ever. In addition
background on a number of tracks is provided by
the Temptations - yes those Temptations!
As Simon notes "people always said the Temptations
sounded like they were straight out of the church
anyway, so for them to be a part of this is something
special." On the glorious opener, "Time
To Change", Simon recounts his conversion in
bold terms to a funky groove underpinned by the
marvelous background vocals of the Temptations:
"This lifestyle, ooh it's causing me pain/And
I ask myself what have I gained/Lord I heard a voice
and now I know." Simon delivers his message
with plenty of fire and conviction, not too mention
a good deal of funk, really tearing into songs like
"Lay My Burden Down (Glory Glory Hallelujah)",
"There's A God Somewhere" and the rousing
"Certainly Lord I Love Everybody."
Bishop
Joe Simon has vowed not to go back to secular music
but thankfully that wonderful voice has not been
silenced. "Time To Change" finds Simon
sounding as good as ever, the only thing he's changed
is the message. Soul and R&B fans with open
eras would do well to check this one out.
-Check
out these related links:
Parliament
Records Website
(Jeff
Harris)
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Marvin Sease: Live With
The Candy Licker (Malaco)
Floyd Taylor: No Doubt (Malaco)
It's
odd when you think about it that blues has gone from
a music made and listened to by blacks to an audience
now primarily made of white listeners. Blues is still
popular among black audiences although it's not the
type of blues most white listeners go for or are likley
to hear on their favorite blues station. Artists like
Rick Lawson, Sheba Potts-Wright, Theodis Ealey and Mel
Waiters ply a smooth brand of good time blues with a
heavy accent on soul and R&B, often delivering some
highly raunchy material. Artists like these remain very
popular particularly in the south and their latest singles
are played heavily in jukeboxes in black clubs across
the country. There's still a number of record companies
who cater to this audience and Malaco has been around
longer then anybody. Malaco's latest releases spotlight
both ends of the spectrum between Marvin Sease's salacious
southern soul/blues on the raucous "Live With The
Candy Licker" and Floyd Taylor's smoky brand of
mellow soul on "No Doubt."
Since his self-titled debut in 1986 on London/Mercury
Marvin Sease has been an underground favorite on the
chitlin' circuit. The song "Candy Licker"
became a huge success on jukeboxes across the South
and audiences - especially female ones - came out in
droves to witness Sease perform live. Sease went on
to cut a string of albums for London/Mercury, Jive and
most recently Malaco. Sease is famous for his raunchy
songs and incendiary live performances. He also happens
to be a superb soul singer drawing deeply from both
blues and gospel, much in the same mold as singers like
Johnnie Taylor and Tyrone Davis. "Live with the
Candy Licker" is basically a soundtrack to the
DVD that shares its name. Sease is in sweaty, explosive
form as he tears it up for a raucous Alabama audience.
Backed by a fine funky band complete with horns, Sease
shows why he's such a crowd pleaser kicking off with
the rollicking "Hittin and Runnin" and delivering
hits like "Candy Licker", "Ghetto Man",
"I Ate The Whole Thing" and "Double Crosser."
Sease even goes to church on the nearly seven minute
"Marvin's Testimony" and soulful "Please
Take Me" as he reminisces about his mother's advice,
laced with plenty of gospel wisdom. "Live with
the Candy Licker" is a great live document capturing
the dynamic Marvin Sease at his best. Sease hasn't gotten
much support from the blues community but depite that
he's built up a loyal fan base and one listen to this
live album will tell you why.
Up
until his untimely death in May of 2000 there wasn't
a bigger or more dynamic figure in southern soul than
Johnnie Taylor. JT held the spotlight for decades and
now Malaco is grooming his son Floyd to fill some mighty
big shoes. In 2002 he made his aptly titled debut "Legacy."
Floyd is a fine singer bearing a striking resemblance
to his father with a smooth, aching voice and strong
delivery. For his sophmore outing Malaco has surrounded
Floyd with some polished, if a bit slick, production
featuring the talents of veterans like bassist David
Hood, guitarist Reggie Young and Jimmy Johnson, Clayton
Ivey on organ plus some solid horn arrangements and
occasional background vocals. Floyd is mostly in a mellow,
late night mood outside of a couple of uptempo numbers
like the funky, infectious opener "We're Goin'
Out On The Town." Some of the material sounds a
bit too slick and generic like the single "Baby,
I've Changed" and "Go Upstairs." Floyd
comes across better on silky soul like the aching "Slipped,
Tripped, Stumbled And Fell", "Here's A Flower
(4 The Lonely Woman)" and absolutely kills it on
the churchy, old school feel of "I've Got To Love
Somebody's Baby" sounding uncannily like his old
man who cut the song for Stax back in his early days.
There's no doubt Floyd's got the chops he just needs
some better production, more variety and shouldn't feel
constrained to cut loose a bit more.
-Check
out these related links:
Malaco
Records Website
(Jeff Harris)
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Betty LaVette: I've
Got My Own Hell To Raise (Anti)
Among
soul aficionados Bettye LaVette is held in high regard
despite having little in the way of commercial success
in a career that's spanned over forty years. LaVette's
profile is on the rise with the bold "I've Got
My Own Hell To Raise" a potent, radical departure
from her previous recordings.
Despite a strong body of work over the years
LaVette has only cracked the R&B charts six times
none of which broke into the pop Top 100. After signing
with Atlantic, she scored an R&B Top Ten hit in
1962 with her debut single "My Man--He's a Loving
Man," only to fail to reach the same commercial
heights again.
She cut her signature classic "Let Me Down Easy"
in 1965 which was her only other record to crack the
R&B Top 20. She continued recording up until the
1980's and 90's and performing live. 2003's "A
Woman Like Me" for Blues Express was a stunning
return to the studio (her first American release in
over 20 years). For "I've Got My Own Hell To Raise"
Lavette teamed up with producer Joe Henry (notable for
producing Solomon Burke's fine, if a bit overrated,
"Don't Give Up on Me") for a radical reworking
of her sound that for the most part works extremely
well.
I'm
not sure what soul traditionalists will think of this
record but I think Rob Bowman nails it when he writes
that "there are no actual soul compositions on
the record and the band certainly isn't a soul band,
and yet the record is so unremittingly soulful."
Lavette remains a wonderful singer, a master of phrasing
who can shade her vocals in countless ways. She has
an inbred soulfulness that just can't be taught and
an uncanny knack for getting to the very heart of a
song. On this album she uses that ability to interpret
ten numbers from a diverse group of woman songwriters
such as Rosanne Cash, Sinead O'Conner, Lucinda Williams
and Dolly Parton among others. The production has a
contemporary, funky feel which works best on the more
stripped down numbers like the gutsy and gorgeous Joan
Armastrading cut "Down To Zero", the simmering
funk of Rosanne Cash's "On the Surface" and
the stunning "Just Say So" with just acoustic
guitar backing LaVette's aching vocals. The other stunner
is the lead track, an a cappella reading of Sinéad
O'Connor's "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got,"
transforming the song into a mesmerizing gospel performance.
While the production may not be to everyone's taste,
producer Joe Henry has put LaVette's vocals way up top
where they should be and the result is an intimate,
vulnerable and deeply personal recording.
"I've
Got My Own Hell To Raise" is a soul record, albeit
not in the traditional sense, and serves notice that
Bettye LaVette is a singer still to be reckoned with.
LaVette is a great live performer and recent reports
have been glowing.
-Check
out these related links:
Anti
Records Website
(Jeff Harris)
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