Search - Prince Phillip Mitchell :: Make It Good (Exp)

"I'm Gonna Make A Move That You've Never Seen Before..."

Mark Barry at Reckless Records, Lon | UK | 10/16/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This November 2007 release gives us the first and best of the Louisville soul man's albums for Atlantic Records towards the end of the Seventies - with two bonus cuts added on.



Here's the breakdown (54:07 minutes)

Tracks 1 to 8 are a remastered version of the LP "Make It Good" released in the USA on Atlantic SD 19160 in August 1978

Track 9 is a Long Single Version of "One On One" - the June 1978 USA 7" single on Atlantic 3480 - this is the rare DJ promo version, which extends the album's four-minute version by another 40 seconds

Track 10 is a duet vocal with RAY BARRETTO, which first appeared on his 1978 "Can You Feel It" album on Atlantic SD 19198



"Make It Good" has been remastered by Rhino's long-time tape engineer BILL INGLOT and the sound is typically great - warm, funky and with plenty of wallop without having to turn it up. There is hiss evident on some of the quieter tracks like "Only Smoke Remains", but its nothing too much to detract. The booklet has an essay on the album and artist by noted writer CHARLES WARING.



Highlights include the lovely ballad "You're All I Got In The World" which sounds like "Let's Get It On" Marvin Gaye - while his most famous song - "One On One" has become a huge Northern Soul dance floor filler in the UK - with a groove and lyrics to match (title above). "You'll Throw Bricks At Him" sounds like "Hercules" by The Meters - funky as James Brown's DNA - the strings then kick in - it's just so good. The two bonuses are excellent too - the ballad with Ray Barretto is very loverman territory, but still so soulful - and the extended version of the huge "One On One" is icing on an already very nice cake.



"Make It Good" is old-school soul - an album that's not that well known - and should be. Hopefully, this superb CD reissue will change all of that. Recommended.



PS: the girl on the cover is not a singer but a model - Lydia Lewis - a former Miss Kentucky



PPS: This release is part of Rhino's "CLASSIC SOUL ALBUM - REMASTERED & EXPANDED" Series.

Most titles are first time onto CD and are rare soul albums from the Warner/Atlantic/Cotillion/Elektra vaults.

Some other titles are:



1. Ace Spectrum - "Inner Spectrum" (see REVIEW)

2. Blue Magic - "Blue Magic" (see REVIEW)

3. Donny Hathaway - "Come Back Charleston Blue O.S.T." (see REVIEW)

4. Leroy Hutson - "Paradise" (see REVIEW)

5. Ronn Matlock - "Love City" (see REVIEW)

6. Gwen McCrae - "Gwen McCrae"

7. Gwen McCrae - "On My Way"

8. Prince Phillip Mitchell - "Top Of The Line" (1979, his 2nd album on Atlantic)

9. The Voices Of East Harlem [featuring Donny Hathaway] -"Right On Be Free" (see REVIEW)"

Make it Good

Michael Yarber | long beach, ca | 02/12/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've had this album (vinyl) for 30 years, wow. And I've always loved the A side. I read that "One on One", was the first single and also the highest charting song from the album. However, I remember "You're All I Got in the World" as being the first song I heard, and the best song on this side.



Now 30 years later I find this album (vinyl) in storage at my Mother's and take it home to digitalize and listen to once again. I'd never listened to the B side before for whatever reason. So when I finally listened to it, it just blew me away. It's just as tight as the A side. Starting with the first cut "You'll Throw Bricks at Him", an unusal title for a song. And when artists use unusal song titles most times the title is more creative than the song. But this is a very tight cut with a great hook, I love it. The second cut "Make it Good" is also the title of the album, and although it's a very nice track, to me, its the weakest song on this side. But the next cut, "If I Can't be Your Man", wow, I absolutely love this song. It's by far my favorite cut right now, off the whole album. Not so much the first half of the song which is a pretty basic mid-tempo dance track with a nice hook. But its the second half were he's rapping to the woman about let me be your friend first, yeah right, and singing in the background, that just does something to me. I play this track over and over and it overcomes me with emotion, it is so beautiful. Especially when it crescendos into "if you let me let me let me let me be your friend", Wow. The final cut, another unusal title for a song, "Only Smoke Remains", but a very beatiful ballad that ends the album perfectly.



With me considering myself a 70's soul music aficianado with probably a thousand albums (vinyl) in my collection, I don't say this lightly, but this is one of my all time favorites. Although his name is Prince Phillip Mitchell, he is definitely a King on this album. Wow.



"