First Class 60's Sweet Soul (But Only Three In Stereo)
oxxo | san francisco | 06/06/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Of all the recent collections of lost R&B soulstresses (and I have most of them), this is one of my favorites. This set comprises all seven of Clydie's singles (A & B sides) released between 1965 & 1968 for Imperial & Minit, plus eight unreleased tracks from 1968. My Five Star rating is for the performances, not the mastering.
Track Listing:
1. The Thrill Is Gone
2. If You Were My Man
3. Missin' My Baby
4. My Love Grows Deeper
5. He Always Comes Back To Me
6. Soft And Gentle Ways
7. Ready, Willing & Able (with Jimmy Holiday) [Stereo]
8. We Got A Good Thing Going (with Jimmy Holiday)
9. One Of Those Good For Crying Over You Days [Stereo]
10. My Mistakes Of Yesterday [Stereo]
11. I'll Never Stop Loving You
12. Shing-A-Ling
13. One Part, Two Part
14. Love Now, Pay Later
15. Good Kind Of Hurt
16. I'm Glad I'm A Woman
17. If You Love Me Like You Say
18. Ode To Billie Joe
19. Something To Remember You By
20. The Way I Love My Man
21. When In Rome
22. You Can't Make Me Love You
Clydie King's voice is comparable to that of Barbara Lewis (Hello Stranger), and at times, Diana Ross. In fact, three tracks on this CD--"My Love Grows Deeper", "He Always Comes Back To Me" & "I'll Never Stop Loving You"--are as good as anything the Supremes were doing at the time. It's amazing that Clydie never really had a chart hit, especially with the Wall Of Sound-A-Likes "The Thrill Is Gone", "Missin' My Baby" & "My Love Grows Deeper", all penned by Jerry Riopelle.
The last eight tracks are unreleased songs recorded in 1968, and are more of a Muscle Shoals sound (except the oddly out-of-place "When In Rome", which is more of a pop arrangement.)
This CD is from the UK Stateside label, which unfortunately doesn't take the same care with mastering as rival Ace/Kent. As I noted in the track listing, only three tracks are stereo masters, which is disappointing. For example, the two duets with Jimmy Holiday; "Ready, Willing & Able" is a crisp stereo mix, while "We Got A Good Thing Going"--recorded at the same time--is a muddy mono version. The only track that might have been mastered from vinyl is the stellar "My Love Grows Deeper", which is so distorted that its almost painful to listen to.
Regardless, the music rates an easy Five Stars.
Two of these tracks are available on the Ace/Kent compilations "Phil's Spectre - A Wall Of Soundalikes"; "Missin' My Baby" is on Volume One, "Thrill Is Gone" is on Volume Two."
