Bill, we hardly knew you! A great album from Dr. Huxtible..
D. Pawl | Seattle | 04/11/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Many of us know Bill Cosby best for dishing out infinite bowls of chocolate Jello pudding (during the 1980s), along with fatherly advice and whimsy (which was used with ample abandon on THE COSBY SHOW, from 1984-1992). Who knew that Dr. William Cosby was also a blues singer? Well, for the first time, we see a glimpse of his musical accomplishments on this great album, released for the first time on CD, in 2006. These songs were originally recorded in 1967, when we didn't even know who Dr. Heathcliff Huxtible (his character from COSBY SHOW fame) was!
Cosby keeps steady rhythm and expression on the blues hits featured on SILVER THROAT. Billy Cosby is one part country and one part blues, and it sounds smooth! I especially enjoyed "Bright Lights, Big City." It's got a little rockabilly thing going on, and I totally dig it. Also, I couldn't write this review and not at least MENTION "I Got a Woman," a song made popular by the late, great Ray Charles. What starts out as solid soul evolves into soft, understated guitar strums, with Bill adding his soft and understated vocals. Though, he doesn't wail, we still get a strong sense of his genuine joy on this, probably one of the most well-known tunes on the album. There really isn't a bad cut. Buy this today, if not for the fact that you like this kind of music, but for the sheer phenomenon that this is a BLUES recording by Bill Cosby. I mean, come on, now........it's infectious!"