Is his version of Let's Straighten It Out the definitive?
nah, there can't be a better version than ov wright's
Not to take away from O.V., but Latimore did it first and best. There ain't much f*cking with the way he attacks the first line of that song - sit yourself down, woman, and talk to me.[/b] Direct, yet controlled.
evidence needed on this one, I know one really great song with Judy Clay, but everything else I've heard (the rest of the LP with Judy Clay & the "With Pen In Hand" LP & a few 80s things) has been
I like him, but admittedly the man does have a Billy Joel-ish "adult contemporary" pop streak that isn't for everybody. "With Pen In Hand" is a great song (when Billy does it - terrible by everybody else), but there's no getting around the soap-opera plotline (it's a song about divorce, in case no one else besides me and Holmes has heard it).
Here's my B.V. top ten, from a soul-man perspective: "My Heart Cries" (Billy Vera & the Contrasts - early '60s side on Rust) "Really Together" (from his album w/Judy Clay, even though he sings it solo) "Run & Tell The People" "So Good To Be Together" (w/Judy) "Here Comes The Dawn Again" (Billy & the Beaters) "Strange Things Happening" (Billy & the Beaters, written by Percy Mayfield, who should be in this discussion himself) "She's Not So Young Anymore" "Never Knew Love Like This Before" "The Shadow Of Your Love" (by Blue-Eyed Soul, a band Billy had on the Cameo label, just prior to teaming up with Judy) "Ever Since" (w/Judy)
ov wright thre memphis unlimited lp is one of my favorite records ever!
I'm not convinced O.V. Wright is underrated (amongst soul collector types) but that album sure is underrated! People climb over each other to grip a 70's ABC press of the "Nickle and a Nail" LP at $75 but leave sealed copies of "Memphis Unlimited" sitting in a box for $15. I realize a big part of it is that one is more scarce than the other, but I have had to make people buy that album at record shows, shove it in thier hands and insist.
I don't think she's underrated - I've probably had at least half of her albums and while she's got some cuts I didn't think any of the full-lengths were good.
So what'cha sayin?
The general public have her on the top 50 list?
None of her albums are good throughout, yet the girl can sang.
Her Slow bangers still get played in NYC on the Quiet Storm.
Because of her age during her "run" she's classified as a teenybopper and not taken as a serious Soul(Contemporary R&B/Modern Soul) vocalist.
Feel free to shoot it down.
Eh, I just think she gets about as much fame as she deserves.
evidence needed on this one, I know one really great song with Judy Clay, but everything else I've heard (the rest of the LP with Judy Clay & the "With Pen In Hand" LP & a few 80s things) has been
I like him, but admittedly the man does have a Billy Joel-ish "adult contemporary" pop streak that isn't for everybody. "With Pen In Hand" is a great song (when Billy does it - terrible by everybody else), but there's no getting around the soap-opera plotline (it's a song about divorce, in case no one else besides me and Holmes has heard it).
Here's my B.V. top ten, from a soul-man perspective:
"Really Together" (from his album w/Judy Clay, even though he sings it solo)[/b]
ill say that Soul fans rep his early Motown stuff since its obvious dude was doin str8 Soul in 71, but i wonder if cats regard his late solo career as examples of great Soul Vocals. I do.
There is a difference w/ I Dont Know Why I Love You compared to Butterflies.
There is a difference w/ I Dont Know Why I Love You compared to Butterflies.
True, but a soul singer is a soul singer. I don't know about MJ because he's such an anomaly. Yes, he sings incredibly. People know him as a great singer. But do they look at him as a great singer or as MJ? Hard question, right? If you can dig what I'm saying...
And you know, I kind of hear what the dude saying Frankie Bev means. It's like, of course FB&M isn't underrated. But is Frankie Beverly the vocalist underrated, or in this case overshadowed, by the entity that is FB&M?
Case in point - nobody would say that The Whispers is an underrated group by any means. But ask someone to rate the dude Wallace Scott[/b] as a singer and they'll give the Scooby Doo face. Fact is, dude is unbelievable when it comes to singing, such an amazing voice with such control...
evidence needed on this one, I know one really great song with Judy Clay, but everything else I've heard (the rest of the LP with Judy Clay & the "With Pen In Hand" LP & a few 80s things) has been
I like him, but admittedly the man does have a Billy Joel-ish "adult contemporary" pop streak that isn't for everybody. "With Pen In Hand" is a great song (when Billy does it - terrible by everybody else), but there's no getting around the soap-opera plotline (it's a song about divorce, in case no one else besides me and Holmes has heard it).
Here's my B.V. top ten, from a soul-man perspective:
"Really Together" (from his album w/Judy Clay, even though he sings it solo)[/b]
x 1,000. This record is criminally slept on.
Absolutely, this is the "one really great song" I was on about above. Luckily it's on 45 so I don't have to file that snoozy ballad-fest of an LP......
I think The Whispers have been my #1 favorite group these past few weeks, and Walter Scott just kills it.
Definitely way underrated: for awhile I was just thinking how much I loved The Whispers until I realized how damn good Walter Scott was.
I probably asked this before but I forgot, was the Walter Scott who recorded for Pzazz the guy from the Whispers or that white guy from Bob Kuban's band who got murdered or another soul singer entirely??
ov wright thre memphis unlimited lp is one of my favorite records ever!
I'm not convinced O.V. Wright is underrated (amongst soul collector types) but that album sure is underrated! People climb over each other to grip a 70's ABC press of the "Nickle and a Nail" LP at $75 but leave sealed copies of "Memphis Unlimited" sitting in a box for $15.
...and they leave behind his even later albums like The Bottom Line and Into Something (Can't Shake Loose) for $5, which is a criminal mistake - those elpees stand toe to toe with the classic Back Beat sides.
I've never heard that third Hi album he did (We're Still Together), nor that gospel album he did on Nashboro right before he passed, but I'm basically caught up on everything else. In general O.V. is one of those Celebrate The Entire Catalog-type guys, to me.
most underrated: Prince Phillip Mitchell Randy Brown
and some more: Eugene Record David Sea Rance Allen Booker T. Jones Al Johnson Ronn Matlock Jeff(rey) Perry Johnny Bristol G.C. Cameron Lou Courtney General Johnson Garland Green
There are too damn many right answers to this question.
Underrated like Solomon Burke, who had a bunch of hits all throughout the 60s, but is totally ignored by radio and mainstream recollection?
Underrated like James Carr and Nolan Strong, who had respectable hits (and for Mr. Carr, one unassailable Classic), but are appreciated mostly in Europe?
There are plently of examples like Renaldo Domino and Steve Parks and Annette Poindexter who should have made it bigger, but didn't. The Brothers of Soul not only did not have a bad song, but didn't produce one either.
Others, like Rosco(e) Robinson, were trapped by bad business and Gospel. For that matter, there are multiple hundreds of Gospel singers that never crossed over to the secular side.
There are also perfectly imperfect singers like Lee Moses, Cresa Watson, Sammy Roberson, and Joe Brown who never had logical staying power on the charts (though Moses had a hit in "Time And Place."
...and poor William DeVaughn, whom everyone still thinks is Curtis Mayfield.
Comments
Thank you.
Some of yall need to have dinner at some Black homes for real.
D'Angelo.....
I do, and they don't like to play hockey.
I've always loved Allen Toussaint's voice, but his role as singer is NEVER given anywhere near the same due as his songwriting and production.
Also, what about T-Pain?
Not to take away from O.V., but Latimore did it first and best. There ain't much f*cking with the way he attacks the first line of that song - sit yourself down, woman, and talk to me.[/b] Direct, yet controlled.
peace, stein. . .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YNvy8E3NPY
especially for his work with marvin
ov wright
thre memphis unlimited lp is one of my favorite records ever!
I was watching King Of New York last night and realised how smooth Freddie is...
I like him, but admittedly the man does have a Billy Joel-ish "adult contemporary" pop streak that isn't for everybody. "With Pen In Hand" is a great song (when Billy does it - terrible by everybody else), but there's no getting around the soap-opera plotline (it's a song about divorce, in case no one else besides me and Holmes has heard it).
Here's my B.V. top ten, from a soul-man perspective:
"My Heart Cries" (Billy Vera & the Contrasts - early '60s side on Rust)
"Really Together" (from his album w/Judy Clay, even though he sings it solo)
"Run & Tell The People"
"So Good To Be Together" (w/Judy)
"Here Comes The Dawn Again" (Billy & the Beaters)
"Strange Things Happening" (Billy & the Beaters, written by Percy Mayfield, who should be in this discussion himself)
"She's Not So Young Anymore"
"Never Knew Love Like This Before"
"The Shadow Of Your Love" (by Blue-Eyed Soul, a band Billy had on the Cameo label, just prior to teaming up with Judy)
"Ever Since" (w/Judy)
yes. he's outrageous and all that, but the man has some PIPES
I'm not convinced O.V. Wright is underrated (amongst soul collector types)
but that album sure is underrated! People climb over each other to grip a
70's ABC press of the "Nickle and a Nail" LP at $75 but leave sealed copies of
"Memphis Unlimited" sitting in a box for $15. I realize a big part of it
is that one is more scarce than the other, but I have had to make people
buy that album at record shows, shove it in thier hands and insist.
Eh, I just think she gets about as much fame as she deserves.
ill say that Soul fans rep his early Motown stuff since its obvious dude was doin str8 Soul in 71, but i wonder if cats regard his late solo career as examples of great Soul Vocals. I do.
There is a difference w/ I Dont Know Why I Love You compared to Butterflies.
True, but a soul singer is a soul singer. I don't know about MJ because he's such an anomaly. Yes, he sings incredibly. People know him as a great singer. But do they look at him as a great singer or as MJ? Hard question, right? If you can dig what I'm saying...
And you know, I kind of hear what the dude saying Frankie Bev means. It's like, of course FB&M isn't underrated. But is Frankie Beverly the vocalist underrated, or in this case overshadowed, by the entity that is FB&M?
Case in point - nobody would say that The Whispers is an underrated group by any means. But ask someone to rate the dude Wallace Scott[/b] as a singer and they'll give the Scooby Doo face. Fact is, dude is unbelievable when it comes to singing, such an amazing voice with such control...
... dig me?
(PS - I just added Wallace Scott to this list
such an enormous
I think The Whispers have been my #1 favorite group these past few weeks, and Walter Scott just kills it.
Definitely way underrated: for awhile I was just thinking how much I loved The Whispers until I realized how damn good Walter Scott was.
...and they leave behind his even later albums like The Bottom Line and Into Something (Can't Shake Loose) for $5, which is a criminal mistake - those elpees stand toe to toe with the classic Back Beat sides.
I've never heard that third Hi album he did (We're Still Together), nor that gospel album he did on Nashboro right before he passed, but I'm basically caught up on everything else. In general O.V. is one of those Celebrate The Entire Catalog-type guys, to me.
most underrated:
Prince Phillip Mitchell
Randy Brown
and some more:
Eugene Record
David Sea
Rance Allen
Booker T. Jones
Al Johnson
Ronn Matlock
Jeff(rey) Perry
Johnny Bristol
G.C. Cameron
Lou Courtney
General Johnson
Garland Green
Margie Joseph
on general johnson. one o' my fav's!
peace, stein. . .
Is that a slight on his songwriting?
not sure about that but then again, did you know James Gadson used to wear a a PaJama live !
Underrated like Solomon Burke, who had a bunch of hits all throughout the 60s, but is totally ignored by radio and mainstream recollection?
Underrated like James Carr and Nolan Strong, who had respectable hits (and for Mr. Carr, one unassailable Classic), but are appreciated mostly in Europe?
There are plently of examples like Renaldo Domino and Steve Parks and Annette Poindexter who should have made it bigger, but didn't. The Brothers of Soul not only did not have a bad song, but didn't produce one either.
Others, like Rosco(e) Robinson, were trapped by bad business and Gospel. For that matter, there are multiple hundreds of Gospel singers that never crossed over to the secular side.
There are also perfectly imperfect singers like Lee Moses, Cresa Watson, Sammy Roberson, and Joe Brown who never had logical staying power on the charts (though Moses had a hit in "Time And Place."
...and poor William DeVaughn, whom everyone still thinks is Curtis Mayfield.
Billy Griffin