Search - Marion Black, Hawkins, Tatum & Durr Johnson, Kool Blues :: Eccentric Soul: The Capsoul Label

What A Flashback!

Don Thompson | Los Angeles, California United States | 07/15/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Having been born and raised in Columbus during the 60's and 70's all I can say is that I'm flabbergasted. This music creates a visceral sensation that takes me back to the day when Bill Moss (The man with the red hot sauce) along with motivational speaker Les Brown (The man about town) were the voices of WVKO radio. Now living in Los Angeles after thirty years I thought I would never hear the sounds of "Johnson, Hawkins, Tatum & Durr" or "Elijah & the Ebonies" again. I feel like I'm crusin' down old Mt. Vernon Avenue again! Great CD."

GO ON FOOL !

J. Hoffman | dover, pa. United States | 06/19/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"At last, there is a cd with "Go On Fool" by the mysterious Marion Black which so little is known of him. With his beautiful voice, one wonders why he wasn't heard of time and time again. But nevertheless, it's so wonderful to find this song on a cd. Plus, the flip side "Who Knows". I still have the original 45 of it released on the Avco record label. The label, that featured stars like : The Premiers, The Softones, The Stylistics, Congress Alley, and Donnie Elbert."

Sock it to em Soul Brother!

Andre M. | Mt. Pleasant, SC United States | 05/24/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"At first, the listener may be put off by the sound quality and obviously low-budget production.



However, upon repepated listening, this can be very appealing as hardcore, grassroots, down-in-the dirt funky little-known underground soul. Granted, this stuff will never make oldies radio, but the overall rawness and lack of polish compared to the more professional soul recordings then made at Motown and Philly International gives the whole thing an appealing sort of ghetto charm.



This is particularly true with "Sock It To Em Soul Brother," where Capsoul producer Bill Moss himself talks about meeting Martin Luther King and other Black heroes of the day. The lyrics here are quite awkward (producer Bill Moss' talents lied elsewhere than performing), but the performance is infectious and the Soul Sisters' background chanting of the title has a cheesy appeal.



Lots of other good stuff here worthy of mention. Johnson Hawkins Tatum and Durr sadly only made a couple of records, but they were quite powerful! "You Can't Blame Me" opens with one of the most atmospheric basslines in Soul music history and is an underrated classic! Their "A World Without You" takes a while to cook upon your first listen. But the ending is dazzling with Virgil Johnson pleading "It's such a lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, world!" with powerful vocal percussion as the tune fades out that's enough to make you wanna throw up your hands and say YEAH!



The Kool Blues' "Can't We Try Love Again" is a minimalistic midtempo funk workout that is a nice soundtrack to a seventies summer afternoon in the 'hood. One could just see bellbottomed couples doing Soul-Train style dances to this one. Nice organ work, too. But funk fans and R&B trivia buffs will REALLY get a kick out of Elijah and the Ebonites' "Hot Grits," an admittedly so-tasteless it's hilarious funk spoof of the infamous true incident where a spurned lover threw hot grits on Al Green in the early 70s. The subject matter aside, it's quite the workout.



To the lovers of little known soul, "eccentric" is right! But give it a chance and you'll enjoy it. Such was the Soul music of this era that even it's low-budget variety still makes for enjoyable listening."