Search - Rotary Connection :: Songs/Hey Love

Two GREAT Albums On One CD! YES!

sundown_lady | Los Angeles, CA United States | 05/26/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am generally not fond of "covers", however, there are artists who can cover an original song with so much appreciation and adulation that one cannot help but love the cover as much as the original. Rotary Connection was such a group and their fifth album, "Songs", contains the best cover work I have ever heard. Starting with Otis Redding's "Respect", Rotary Connection adds a jazzy flavor to the original arrangement which is magnificent. Their soulful rendition of The Band's "The Weight" has a vocal depth you never realized was possible. The same can be said for their cover of Cream's "Sunshine of You Love" and "Tales of Brave Ulysses" (a personal favorite), albeit Clapton's sizzling guitar styling is missing. The blues classic, "I Got My Mojo Working" would make any blues fan smile with appreciation. The final cover on this fantastic album is none other than Jimi Hendrix's "The Burning of the Midnight Lamp". With the exception of Sting and Michael Hedges, most covers of Jimi's music makes me want to cry. I'm forced, however, to expand my exception list with Rotary's cover. I'm sure Jimi would have loved to do this duet... :) The original tunes remaining on this album are equally excellent. "We're Going Wrong" is a personal favorite. The Rotary Connection's final album, "Hey, Love" is, in my opinion, their very best. The light Brazilian "If I Sing My Song" will put a smile on the face of the most critical listener. Our heart strings are gently pulled by "The Sea & She" and we remember sweetly. The jazzy-funky "I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun" takes us back to a time of self realization and acknowledgment of human spirit. We are then intellectually reminded of the paradox and complexity of "Hangin Round The Bee Tree". The title track, "Hey, Love" is a bountiful and jazzy tune that is enjoyed just as much in 1999 as in 1971. "Love Has Fallen On Me" (covered by Chaka Khan in 1978) is an upbeat blues/gospel tune. And if all of this brilliance wasn't enough, Rotary Connection sweetly and lovingly covers the Dell's classic "Love Is". "Vine of Happiness" is the perfect final track as is "Hey Love" the perfect final group effort.Yes, two GREAT albums on ONE CD!"

Still their own, sound, but harder, bluesier, more intense

Phil Rogers | Ann Arbor, Michigan | 03/26/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Less of the sounds of the love generation, and less "theatrical", but still the same quality. Explores R&B, blues, and even harder rock (Cream) with their still indominable sound. We're seeing another side of the group, and of life.I myself like less theatrics, not being much of a theatre buff, so I prefer this. The renditions of some of these covers are so original it kind of astounds me, really. Though they can't replace the often stellar original artist's cuts in any sense of the word, there are moments when one clearly wonders if RC surpasses, and makes them into new songs.And the intensity is unbelievable - right down to the details of how the parts mesh, and how they really really drive the beat. THeir singing as usual is almost unimaginably perfect. [Note - for similar intensity on covers of old R&B and blues standards, as intense and flavorful - and tight - as some of the wildest Chicago blues, etc., by all means check out an unlikely source - early Moody Blues. The Moodys' original ethos/incarnation was as a band of incomparable British blues musicians. Their first album 'Go Now', in addition to including their two thoroughly gorgeous slow-rock singles (the hit "Go Now" and the vastly underrated "From the Bottom of my Heart") totally rocks out with possibly an even more true to the original blues sound than the Yardbirds and Mayall, etc. It's hard to believe they switched gears, seemingly so suddenly, and so radically/thoroughly.]"