The beautiful and talented singer/actress, Philly native, Jill Scott, returns to the recording scene after a lengthy hiatus, to bless the world with an excellent rendition of the Bill Withers 1977 classic, "Lovely Day". ...... and what a lovely single it is ! This amazing version will appear on the forthcoming Hidden Beach Recordings release,"Just Before Dawn : Jill Scott From the Vault, Vol. 1"
She more than did the song justice as the rhythm arrangement is pretty much the same as the original. From her stellar vocal performance, to the live instrumentation, this will surely race up the R&B Singles charts and pick up more than a few new fans, to the previous ones that grew up listening to her. Let's take a quick peep of a song that will only put her BACK over and beyond the music industry's radar. The intro is very identical to the original, but it's performed with it's own unique flare and pizzazz. That "pizzazz" consists of a funky and happy bassline, accompanied with the snaky slivery high hit, with the shaker, rounded out by a warm Fender Rhodes piano. The lightly plucked grooving notes of the rhythm guitar supplements the overall feel good vibe of the tune. Jill's vocal delivery is very soft and whispery at first, but gradually builds to the strong powerhouse singer that she is. Her occasionally jazz like scats and fills is what really bring this track home. Her background vocalists sound just as on point, on key, and confident, as they magnificently support Jill lead vocal parts. Bill Withers will MORE than approve of this version when he hears it. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if he got a little upset at Jill for her NOT inviting him to sing along, as I'm sure he would've want to sing with the background vocalists. Of course I wouldn't know if Bill would get upset for not contributing, but you best believe he will probably give Jill and all involved his thumps up of approval. So go out and purchase the single at all fine digital and/or traditional retail outlets. Please remember NOT to download illegally and not to partake in the illegal file sharing of this song, as well as Jill's forthcoming album. You want to show your true love for Jill and her gift of song, do the right thing and purchase the right way, particularly the forthcoming full length project. Thank You. Musically Yours,
The late great tenor saxophonist, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native, Mr. Stanley Turrentine, best known as "Mr. T",delivered one of his finest albums in 1981 on the Elektra Records imprint, titled, "Tenderness Togetherness". He was the original "Mr. T" light years before the thick gold chained, mohawk wearing, former bodyguard turned "A" Team actor the past couple of generations now callMr. T. Stanley was indeed the first, and will ALWAYS be, "The Original Mr.T". This milestone recording was produced by none other than Denver, Colorado native, and former Earth, Wind, & Fire keyboardist/songwriter/co-producer, and musical director throughout the EWF era that mattered the most, {1972-1983}, the GOD BLESSED, and super talented, Mr. Larry Dunn. This nine selection "Rembrandt" of a recording run the gamut from funk, dance, part rap, ballads, to smooth jazz and R&B, DONE RIGHT !!! There's no better way for me to commemorate the 30th anniversary of this groudbreaking project, but to give this classic it's looooooooooong overdue props. ........ So ladies and gentlemen, I present to you ......... Mr. Stanley William Turrentine's "Tender Togetherness" ......... (((( This is where you applaud ........ C'mon now ! PUT THOSE HANDS TOGETHER !!!! )))
Besides Larry handling most of the keyboard duties, this album feature a wide variety of the best musicians the west coast had, and still, has to offer. They include session drummer great Leon "Ndugu" Chancler, super Contemporary Jazz group Fourplay bassist Nathan East, Larry's then fellow EWF bandmates, guitarist Roland Bautista, Freddie White on drums, Andrew Woolfolk on saxophone, Ralph Johnson and Philip Bailey on percussions and vocals respectively. In addition, Larry's brother Steven Dunn helped out in the drum chair, as well as percussion, as well as venerable session bassist, Byron Miller. Session monster Paulinho Da Costa came on board and graced this project on various percussions. Guest synthesizer wizards to lend their extraordinary talents included Tom Piggott, Denzil A. "Broadway" Miller, Jr. & Jeff Johnson. Also featured are the blazing brass and woodwind quartet of The Phenix Horns, consisting of the late Don Myrick on Saxophones, the late Louis Satterfield on Trombone, Michael Harris on Trumpet, and last, but certainly not least, Rahmlee Michael Davis on Trumpet. Many great 'first call' session musicians and singers contributed their God given talents to this record to help me it the creme de la creme recording that it is. Let me add that the strings are beautifully arranged and conducted by the virtuosic, Mr. George del Barrio. Now let's spotlight some of the highlights of this "8th Wonder of The World".
...... but before we do that, I ABSOLUTELY AND POSITIVELY have to give an honorable mention to the recording/mixing engineer, Mr. Chris Brunt, and his more than competent assistant engineers, Mr. Dennis Hansen and Mr. Warren Weinberg, as well as the mastering engineer, Mr. Ken Perry, for blessing this record with their more than sharp ears and overall sense of musicality. Kudos to those gentlemen for making sure every instrument was miked properly, every 2 inch, 1/4 inch, and half inch tape machine was aligned properly, as well as to make sure the recording console was fully operational so that each track and their levels are at their maximum capability. A special acknowledgement goes out to Indigo Ranch Studio owner, Mr. Richard Kaplan and his wife (I don't know her name unfortunately, but I'd like to Thank her nonetheless for keeping Richard and the studio at their very best), and to their staff for making sure Stanley, Larry, as well as every participant on this record, feel at home and comfortable in order for them to give their 1,000% best to make this album possible. BRAVO EVERYONE !!!
"Hermanos"{Beautifully written & arrangedby Eddie del Barrio & Larry Dunn}: This 5:37 opusbegins with a haunting, yetethereal sounding landscape of sweeping percussions, sweet sounding chords of the acoustic piano, in tandem with the earthtonalnotes of the Mini-Moog, then breaks into funk throwdown that'll make it so hard for your feet NOT to move. Theonething I love about the track, besides Stanley's dark and husky performed tenor sax lines, is Roland Batista's funky chickenscratch rhythm guitar parts. Nathan East just kills it with his solid bass guitar fretwork and groove, as he plucks, strums, andbended notes on the Yamaha bass (I'm not sure if that was his brand of choice then, but it sounds like he used an Alembic, I'dhave to ask him) Of course Larry and Eddie del held it down on the electric piano and synthersizers, respectively. The song isa fantastic start to a more than above average album.
"I'll Give You My Love", is a nice drop top convertible, cruise along the Pacific Coast Highway, or I-95, type of song that'll have your hair blowing in the wind as you have it cranked to 10. Stanley and his tenor sax entertains with a soulful and jazzy vibe that coincides marvelously with the Phenix Horns' undeniable trademarked sound. The coo'ing, soothing, and beautifully tempered background vocals of session stalwarts, Ms. Marlena Jeter and Ms. Gwen Matthews, gives this track a well even balance. Another standout element you'll notice is the rhythmically dynamic Fender Rhodes and Clavinet performance of Denzil Miller, as Larry gives it the Mini-Moog Bass support that is felt, more than heard. Roland Bautista's, once again, lightning fast guitar licks, Byron Miller's thumping bass, and Ndugu's steady backbeat culminates to a party jam that you'll play for days on end. Great song !
"After The Love Is Gone". This 1979 Earth, Wind & Fire golden chestnut is MASTERFULLY,BRILLIANTLY, & VALIANTLY remade here that, to me, gave the original a serious run for the money. Don't get me wrong, I love the EWF version, always have, and always will ! .... Bu .... bu ...but I'd much rather listen to this version, than EWF's version. ...... and why, you ask ? ...... I'll tell you why. Well, simply put, it sounds better, sonically and arrangement wise, that's why..... and here are the other reasons why. Number one, some of the cats that played on the original, and made the original shine in the first place are playing keyboards, drums and horns ....... and we all know whom they are, so I DON'T have to say their names, Larry Dunn, Freddie White, and The Phenix Horns, accompanied by Jerry Hey on trumpet and flugelhorn, and Sidney Muldaow, David Duke on french horns ........ and two, Stanley's warm as a cup of hot chocolate on cold winter's night tenor sax performance. Now let's talk about some of the performances of the musicians that brought this spectacular version to life. This song benefitted from Roland Bautista's light and gentle pluckings, as well as his airy strums on the acoustic guitar, Nathan's superflous bass playing that added the 'meat and potatos', Freddie's 'on the one spit and glue' drumming that keep the musicians on point, and Larry's omnipresent Mini-Moog. The great percussion work of Steven Dunn added a feeling of 'completeness' to the song at large. Oh ! How could I forgot the heavenly sounding vocals of another session vocalist behemoth, Ms. Lynn Davis. She made this song an absolute joy to listen to. It's perfect ! ..... You don't have to take my word for it, just listen for yourselves at the botton of this review.
One of my favorites on this album, and quite honestly, one of my favorite songs of all time, is the Steven Dunn composition, the magnificent "World Chimes". With the author of this tune himself on drums, he knew exactly how to keep the good vibes flowing with his emotion filled, well paced feet and arm work. Larry's tried and true Mini-Moog Bass excursions is just what the doctor ordered, a funky flow, and cure for the bored foot wanting to get it's tap on. Roland's 'wall of sound' guitar fingered fretboard duties blended real nicely with Nathan East's 'stroke of genius' 4 stringed bass guitar performance. But what really sent me into orbit is the bass trombone notes of another session monster, Bill Reichenbach. He played sub octave notes rarely heard on a groovy sounding record. Another highlight for me was Larry's masterpiece performance of the higher registered played notes on the Mini-Moog in tandem with the string section. Together, they sounded one and the same, EXCELLENT ! .... and let's not forget Mr. T and the fine sax playing he displayed here. It's always in tune, and he's always challenging the tenor saxophone to produce sounds the instrument itself never knew could come up with.
To close this 'Eiffel Tower', 'Mt. Rushmore', 'Grand Canyon', 'Lunar Eclipse', 'Denver Eisenhower–Johnson Memorial Tunnel' of an album ...{Smile Larry} ... I present to you, the funk fused party, and Stanley Turrentine anthem, one of them at least, "Havin' Fun With Mr. T". This song is sooooooo funky, I can't even describe it ! Which means you'll just have to whip out the credit card and purchase the CD to hear for yourselves ...... Yes, I went there ! :-) ....... and don't even bother to try and find it on YouTube or Daily Motion, because you won't. Listen, ladies and gentlemen, I would NEVER steer you wrong when it comes to music. You just have to trust me on this one and buy this CD, you WILL NOT be disappointed, I GUARANTEE IT !! With being said .........
I'D LIKE TO DEDICATE THIS REVIEW TO GOD FOR BLESSING ME WITH GIFT OF LIFE, AND TO BE ABLE TO, ATTEMPT, TO WRITE REVIEWS TO KEEP TRUE MUSIC LOVERS OF THE WORLD INFORMED. SECOND, I'D LIKE TO DEDICATE THIS REVIEW TO THE WONDERFUL SPIRIT OF MR. STANLEY TURRENTINE. THOUGH WE'VE NEVER MET PERSONALLY, I FEEL LIKE WE HAVE THROUGH YOUR SONGS. THEY HAVE BEEN, AND WILL ALWAYS BE, A PART OF ME GROWING UP AS AN ASPIRING MUSICIAN. THANK YOU !
LAST, BUT DEFINITELY NOT LEAST, I'D LIKE TO DEDICATE THIS REVIEW TO MY 'BROTHER', MR. LARRY DUNN. LARRY, I'M TRULY HONORED AND BLESSED TO HAVE YOU AS A FRIEND. OUR FAMILYSHIP GOES BEYOND THE EARTH, WIND AND FIRE THING, IT'S A MUTUALLY SPIRITUAL BONDING I WILL CHERISH FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. YOU DID AN AMAZING JOB ON THIS ALBUM AND GOD WAS RIGHT THERE WITH YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY, HENCE THE RESULTS OF THIS MASTERPIECE. GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR LOVELY WIFE, MY SISTER, LUISA DUNN ! ..... AND GOD BLESS TO THOSE THAT TOOK THE TIME TO READ THIS REVIEW, I THANK YOU ALL !!
Visit and become a friend of Larry Dunn on MySpace ..... if MySpace is even relevant at this point, at {Once again, make sure you're logged on} : http://www.myspace.com/larrydunn
You can purchase "Tender Togetherness" for only $10.98 directly from CD reissue record company, ........... ((((gulp)))) ........ Wounded Bird Records : http://www.woundedbird.com/
When you hear the name Howard Johnson, the first thing that'll more than likely come to mind will be the budget hotel chain. Well, along with the other 10 million people of the same name, there's only one Howard Johnson with the "Golden Voice". A native of Coconut Grove, Florida, Howard set the worldwide dance floors on fire with his A&M Records single,"So Fine", which was taken from his magnificent Kashif, Paul Laurence, and Morrie Brown produced A&M debut, 1982's "Keepin' Love New". The album that followed, the overlooked and equally brilliant 1983 A&M release, "Doin' It My Way", produced by The System's David Frank & Mic Murphy, didn't quite catch on the way it should've. Still, "Doin' It My Way" contained many great songs that should've catapulted Hojo into the stratosphere.
On this particular album, his third A&M release, the brilliant and well crafted, 1985's "The Vision", Howard takes the funk and dance music to an entirely higher level. The tracks, though largely drum programmed and synthesizer driven, except for one song, the Jermaine Jackson produced, "All We Have Is Love", are sequenced like that of a storybook romance. They almost chronicle a young man's sheer will, determination, pursuit, and victory of a woman's heart ..... only to have it crash down when she dumps him, hence the last song, "Older Girl". Let's do an Average White Band and check out the "School Boy's Crush" adventures of that young man as told through the vocal chords of Howard Johnson.
Opening track to this CD EVERYONE should have in their collection, is the funky bounced and lively, "Stand Up", written by Hojo himself, along with the late great and talented, Jerry Knight of "Ollie & Jerry" fame, best known for their 1984 break dancing smash, "There's No Stoppin' Us", as well his solo 1980 roller skate classic, "Overnight Sensation". The bass synthesizer here takes our mind on a trip with it's staccato performed lines, as the snare patch whips our necks about mercilessly. The drum machine execution of the handclaps, high hat and kick drum does exactly just that, KICKS ! Hojo's vocals are nothing short of superb, as he flexes the muscles of his larynx with a combinations of runs, high notes, acrobatics, some of which would cause permanent damage to a lot of the new male singers out there now. ..... Hey! I'm only telling you truth !! ...... Oh ! You don't believe me ?!?! Then check out the song below this review and hear for yourselves ! Humph ! ........ ;-) LOL !!
Now, the next song, "Knees", was released in 1985, correct ? ..... Correct. ....... OK, Keith Sweat burst on the scene in 1987, correct ? .... Correct. ..... Keith should've hired Howard as a consultant as he was recording "Make It Last Forever", for some tips on how to PROPERLY BEG !! I could see it now, Hojo saying to Keith in the control room of the studio, ...... "Nah! Nah! Nah! Keith! Keith! Keith! you're doing it all wrong ! This is how it's done! Pay close attention" ..... then Howard would've ask the engineer to cue up "Knees" and have it blast through the monitors so it could soak in. .... But it worked out for Keith in the end as he himself mastered the art of begging as his career progressed ....... LOL ! ;-) ...... Now, I just gave you the lyrical subject matter of this song here of which Hojo pulled off like a true champ ..... particularly when he said, "While I'm down here ... what do you want me to do ??!!" ..... in a British accent !! ..... Me personally, I thought the brother was from the UK when I heard that !! But the Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis written and produced track itself kicked ass like a, well, Jam & Lewis track !! Those elements of a Jam & Lewis production, during that time period at least, consisted of sub octave bass synthesizer notes, Oberheim OB~X keyboard runs, sustained droned synthesizer soundscapes, heavy and bombastic snare and kick Linn LM-1 drum programmed sounds, and reversed handclaps, the usual suspects. Funk at it's finest, that's all.
"So Tuff", produced by the extremely talented, but yet underrated, and music industry accolade overlooked production team of Vincent Brantley & Rick Timas, is yet another head bobbing funk throwdown that fits like a hand in glove with the other well crafted songs on this album. It's worth noting that Vincent & Rick wrote and co-produced the 1984 New Edition hit, "Cool It Now", as well as N.E.'s 1985 hit, "Count Me Out". The production values heard here are nothing short of spectacular. Along with the well layed synthesizers, and drum programmed hi-hat/snare/kick drum/cymbal crashes, you'll hear the sleek and downright funky licks of the electric rhythm guitar. Another fantastic element of this song that stands out to me are the background vocals. Their presence is pretty much in your face as they're mixed much louder than normally would be allowed, according to most recordings we hear ..... and who's to say they should or should not be ?! WHO ?! They're in tune, in harmony, and blend really well with Howard's powerhouse vocal delivery. Once again, Hojo sings the verses and choruses effortlessly as only a REAL singer could ! Homes sung a high registered falsetto run in the bridge that would've, once again, sent a lot of these male singers out today into cardiac arrest. ..... and if you're one of those singers reading this, please, don't try to replicate what Howard does on this album. I don't think your record company will flip the bill for your hospital stay. Besides, you're probably already knee deep in debt to them anyway, so why go there ? :-( ....... Just leave it to the pros, OK ?! :-/ ........... Good ! I thought so :-)
Now comes heartbreak time. Here's where it all come crashing down for a brother that was turned out, turned in, and spat out. I'm referring to the Monte Moir written and produced cougar anthem, "Older Girl". The mid range sounding, and not so bottom endy bass synth performance, pretty much carried the melody throughout the song which gave it the "umph" it needs. In addition to the same types of synth's more than likely used by Jam & Lewis, and the oh-so-ever-present drum programmed grooves of the "hi-hat/snare/kick drum/cymbal crash", they meshed very nicely with Howard's emotion driven storytelling performance. His doubled background vocal parts, fills, and overdubs were recorded and mixed very nicely. Kudos to engineer Steve Weiss for that. A great ending to a great album.
After this recording, Howard returned to scene 4 years later with, YET ANOTHER, overlooked project, 1989's self titled album, "Johnson & Branson" on A&M Records. It's reassuring to know Hojo is still to this day recording and performing, ..... and sounding better than ever ! ....... Once again, you don't believe me ?! ..... This is really getting tired :-/ ..... Go see for yourselves in the live performance clip below the "Kness" video. Like many solo male, and female R&B singers during that time in '80's, Hojo never really got his just due. Yes, he's had hits, but they were mainly relegated to urban radio ... and nothing else beyond. But what's really sad, to me at least, urban radio at the time, didn't even support this record. I didn't hear not ONE song from this album on the radio here in NYC in 1985 ..... Hell, they didn't even play any songs from the "Doin' It My Way" album in 1983, and it's a damn shame !! .... and NYC is suppose to be the world's largest radio market ?! YEAH RIGHT !
But thank God, we have internet and satellite radio to play those songs terrestrial radio, politically, did not program during that time .... and STILL to this day, not programming. So I strongly encourage those reading this review with Funk, R&B, Soul, Hip Hop, or whatever, internet radio shows worldwide to play, not only Howard's recordings, but other artists that weren't given the time of day during their so-called, run. Please reintroduce, and in some cases, introduce Howard to a new generation of listeners and aspiring singers. Cool ?! ........ COOL !! :-)
Here at Ran Man's Reviews,
I will be reviewing music that fell below the radar at the time of it's original release. Just because an album, or song, was NOT a "Hit" during that time, it doesn't mean that album/song is not worthy of wider recognition. To me a HIT RECORD is what touches YOUR heart.
Enjoy !
Musically Yours,
Ran Man
EMAIL : RANYAWORLD2@YAHOO.COM
