Search - Johnny Bristol :: Strangers

Japan's P-Vine label! None deeper!

William Blackshear | West Orange, NJ USA | 03/29/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The muscles in one's fingers would shut down first, prior to typing in all the reissued onto cd, rare soul & r+b albums brought forth by the Japanese reissue lables (specifically P-Vine) over the past 25 years! Won't spend much time on who Johnny Bristol is, and his long term, various talents in the industry, don't have that kind of time. For those who are not aware of his legacy, should look him up, and enjoy reading a very intersting music history. Regarding the volume of soul & r+b reissues onto cd, let's call it easy - "P-Vine don't play"! For the benefit of old-school music collectors, between the UK & Japanese reissue companies, the large percentage of Johnny Bristol's albums have been reissued onto cd. This particular reissue of the original album happens to be the writer's favorite Johnny Bristol album (we all have our favorites, don't we?). The production tone of the lp catches Johnny in the latter 70s time frame, and being the versatile writer/producer he is, the touch he puts on these original tracks justifies why P-Vine had no hesitance when contemplating the reissue of. Some may be familiar with the Tavares rendition of "Stangers In Dark Corners", killer ballad, well here it is first, with Johnny's mellow voice. This entire album is good, Johnny made sure he employed ample background assistance, the female group adding the perfect compliment. Hard to pick a favorite song, but when the writer pulls out the lp to play one, it's "I'm So Proud Of You", story-telling the singer's acknowledgement in song, how so proud he is of the way his non-biological son has turned out to be, coming up under his guidance also, in the shared household of he and his mate, great song! Another album of numerous, that clearly shows how difficult it was/is to obtain airplay in the business of radio music broadcasting. Several of the songs on this lp should have received such! Yes, radio play-callers at the time slept it by, but not the soul music gurus in Japan & England. P-Vine has made it availible worldwide. Yes, pricing reflects the nature of, import, however when it comes to the acquisition of reissued rare soul & r+b on cd, in many cases, as is on song "gotta pay the cost, to be the boss"! 4 Star lp."