Vocalists — All Formats  

There weren't many vocal albums on the Mainstream label during the early 70s, and this rare soul side is a real overlooked gem! Alice Clark has a rich soulful voice, with a style that sounds a bit like Esther Marrow, mixed with some of the lead vocalists in Voices Of East Harlem – a really right-on sort of sound that's totally great, and way hipper than most 70s chart soul! Arrangements are by Ernie Wilkins, who brings in a touch of jazz – but again, with a much hipper feel than most of his other backings – and most of the tracks are quite obscure, well-written tunes – of the sort of material you might expect to hear sung by Gil Scott-Heron or Donny Hathaway. Titles include "Never Did I Stop Loving You", "Looking At Life", "Charms Of The Arms Of Love", "Don't You Care", and "Hey Girl".

A gorgeously and lush batch of material cut with the Peter Matz Orchestra – with a surprisingly intimate feel! The strings soar, but the percussion is fairly spare and often a little bit off kilter – while Carmen emphasizes her phrasing and more earthy tendencies with any empty histrionics! Titles include "In The Love Vain", "The Music Makes Me Dance", "Too Good", "Once Upon A Summertime", "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes", "Cloudy Morning" and more.

There weren't many vocal albums on the Mainstream label during the early 70s, and this rare soul side is a real overlooked gem! Alice Clark has a rich soulful voice, with a style that sounds a bit like Esther Marrow, mixed with some of the lead vocalists in Voices Of East Harlem – a really right-on sort of sound that's totally great, and way hipper than most 70s chart soul! Arrangements are by Ernie Wilkins, who brings in a touch of jazz – but again, with a much hipper feel than most of his other backings – and most of the tracks are quite obscure, well-written tunes – of the sort of material you might expect to hear sung by Gil Scott-Heron or Donny Hathaway. Titles include "Never Did I Stop Loving You", "Looking At Life", "Charms Of The Arms Of Love", "Don't You Care", and "Hey Girl".

There weren't many vocal albums on the Mainstream label during the early 70s, and this rare soul side is a real overlooked gem! Alice Clark has a rich soulful voice, with a style that sounds a bit like Esther Marrow, mixed with some of the lead vocalists in Voices Of East Harlem – a really right-on sort of sound that's totally great, and way hipper than most 70s chart soul! Arrangements are by Ernie Wilkins, who brings in a touch of jazz – but again, with a much hipper feel than most of his other backings – and most of the tracks are quite obscure, well-written tunes – of the sort of material you might expect to hear sung by Gil Scott-Heron or Donny Hathaway. Titles include "Never Did I Stop Loving You", "Looking At Life", "Charms Of The Arms Of Love", "Don't You Care", and "Hey Girl".

A beautiful little record from singer/guitarist Bruce Lewis – a virtually unknown talent who worked in the northern Kentucky scene of the 80s, and who steps out here with a very unusual sound! Lewis sings with a nice touch of 80s augmentation – not commercial, but kind of electric – pushed into a level that sometimes adds vocal percussion next to his guitar, but in these warm ways that really reflect the intimacy of this self-released album. His guitar playing is great – mighty deft, but understated too – and with this spacious quality around the vocals that almost has Lewis going for a rougher-hewn version of the big George Benson recordings of the mid 70s. Other instrumentation includes percussion – both live and electric – and jazzy touches on tenor and keyboards too – but always used in ways that are more sparing than any mainstream music of the time. Titles include "The Beatles", "Tenor Madness", "Questar", "Your Love Is Here", "Maybe Tomorrow", and "Bay Street".

Smooth and sophisticated grooving from Esther Phillips – a record that really has her shaking off the rag-tag and rootsy modes of earlier years, and gliding sweetly into the mainstream! Phillips' vocals are still as soulful and compelling as ever, but the backings are quite full – penned by Joe Beck, who also plays a fair bit of guitar on the record too – and done with a sound that's in the same mode as David Matthews' backings for other Kudu sides of the time. There's a definite soul-heavy focus going on here – with some clubby touches too – and titles include "Caravan", "Fever", "Pure Natural Love", "Unforgettable", "For All We Know", "Fools Rush In", and "Going Out Of My Head".

A standout early album from singer Gale Storm – and a set that boasts a surprising crossover with R&B of the time! The album steps out with Gale's big hit version of "I Hear You Knocking" – a version of the Fats Domino tune, and one of those unusual 50s moments in which a pop singer took on the sound of soul – with results that struck a surprisingly big note with the mainstream. Yet overall, we're more partial to those tunes when revel in the upbeat, soaring sounds of Storm's vocals – 50s vocal charts that put Gale somewhere between post-swing big band vocals, and the trilling of contemporaries like Kay Starr or Georgia Gibbs. Titles include "I Hear You Knockin", "Brazil", "Goody Goody", "That's My Desire", "Memories Are Made Of This", "Teen Age Prayer", "Sweet Georgia Brown", and "The Three Bells".

A classic set from this massively underrated singer/songwriter! Paul Williams was definitely at the height of his mainstream popularity by the time of this set – with endless appearances on countless TV shows, not to mention work in The Planet Of The Apes films – yet the record's got a nicely personal feel at times – still that fragile intimacy that's always made Paul's recordings of his music so great! A few cuts definitely show a bit more swagger than before – the growing Williams public persona, although not yet at Paradise Phantom level – but it's the gentler tunes that really stand out best, including Paul's own readings of "Rainy Days & Mondays" and "You & Me Against The World". Other titles include "Born To Fly", "You Know Me", "That's What Friends Are For", "Inspiration", "What Would They Say", and "In The Beginning".

Joanie's second album for Warner Brothers – and a date that features some especially nice backings from Neal Hefti, who helps swing Sommers into some great jazzy territory, but always with that playful Hefti touch that we love so much! Instrumentation is always interesting, even underneath the vocals – and the record sparkles like some of the better upbeat jazz vocal sides on Capitol from the time – much better than the usual mainstream fare, with kind of a cool California wink at the listener. Titles include "Aren't You Glad You're You", "For All We Know", "Nobody Else But Me", "This Can't Be Love", "Let There Be Love", and "This Heart Of Mine".

Can 60s pop get any better than this? It's hard to think so – given the near-perfect sound of this album, and its unique blend of soul, vocal, and mainstream modes! The album's only the second in the career of Dionne Warwick, but she's already at the top of her game – singing with a sense of grace and poise that's simply tremendous, and getting some equally great backing from a young Burt Bacharach – who himself co-wrote most of the tunes here with Hal David. There's a sense of completeness to the record that few other pop albums of the time could boast – a mature, thoughtful presentation of the material that certainly set a new standard for many artists to come! Titles include "Anyone Who Had A Heart", "Don't Make Me Over", "Getting Ready For The Heartbreak", "Any Old Time Of Day", "Mr Heartbreak", "Put Yourself In My Place", and "Please Make Him Love Me".

A standout early album from singer Gale Storm – and a set that boasts a surprising crossover with R&B of the time! The album steps out with Gale's big hit version of "I Hear You Knocking" – a version of the Fats Domino tune, and one of those unusual 50s moments in which a pop singer took on the sound of soul – with results that struck a surprisingly big note with the mainstream. Yet overall, we're more partial to those tunes when revel in the upbeat, soaring sounds of Storm's vocals – 50s vocal charts that put Gale somewhere between post-swing big band vocals, and the trilling of contemporaries like Kay Starr or Georgia Gibbs. Titles include "I Hear You Knockin", "Brazil", "Goody Goody", "That's My Desire", "Memories Are Made Of This", "Teen Age Prayer", "Sweet Georgia Brown", and "The Three Bells".

Very groovy work from the Four King Cousins – a sweet quartet of lovely voices peeled off of the larger King Family ensemble, singing here in a spare and syncopated groove with lots of late 60s Capitol touches! Maestro Lex De Azevedo produced, arranged, and conducted – and the album's got a really unified sound that links together harmonies from Sunshine Pop and a bit of the loping styles that were showing up in mainstream easy at the time – a sublime blend of vocals and lightly snapping rhythms that's totally outta site! All tracks are covers, but done in really wonderful versions – and tunes include the great Roger Nichols track "I Fell", plus "Love So Fine", "God Only Knows", "California Nights", "This Girl's In Love With You", and "I Wanna Be Free".

Sweet pop and soft rock from one of the greatest songwriting teams ever! Roger Nichols and Paul Williams may not be as familiar to you as Bacharach & David – or at least not as familiar as Paul Williams himself – but during the late 60s and early 70s, the pair emerged from the A&M studios as one of the greatest forces in LA songwriting! Both Nichols and Williams were hipper than the usual talents, and Nichols himself had recorded one of the greatest albums ever issued on A&M – and together, the pair managed to write some of the grooviest tunes ever to crack the mainstream as the 60s wore into the 70s. The songs here are touched with a great blend of California sun, hippie optimism, and love-burned realism – presented in a great array by a variety of pop and easy artists, making the set one of the greatest tributes to Nichols and Williams you could ever hope to hear! Titles include "The Drifter" by Heidi Bruhl, "Always You" by The Sundowners, "I Won't Last A Day Without You" by Paul Mauriat, "Someday Man" by The Casuals, "I Never Had It So Good" by Dobie Gray, "To Put Up With You" by The Sandpipers, "Talk It Over In The Morning" by Engelbert Humperdink, "Love So Fine" by Don Costa, "I Kept On Loving You" by Heaven Bound, "When Love Is Near" by The Original Caste, "Rainbow Connection" by Willie Nelson, and "No Love Today" by Michelle Phillips – plus "Travelling Boy" and "Rainy Days & Mondays" by Paul Williams, and "Let's Ride" and "The Drifter" by Roger Nichols.

Andy Williams like you've never heard him before – singing jazz, and doing a hell of a job of it, too! Sure, Andy was known as a mainstream singer from his TV show of the 60s – but he could also work well in a jazz mode, too – especially with great small combo backing like this! Those trademark Williams vocals really stretch out in this great setting – with combo backing from Hank Jones on piano, Mundell Lowe or Barry Galbraith on guitar, Eddie Safranski on bass, and Bobby Rosengarden on drums – all on rare material recorded for radio shows for The National Guard – all caught in the studio, with excellent clarity. Tunes are relatively short, and Andy takes off beautifully with the jazzy inspiration of the group – on a set of 26 tracks that include "You Are My Lucky Star", "Easy To Love", "An Old Piano Plays The Blues", "Stars Fell On Alabama", "Spring Is Here", "Do Do Do", "Young At Heart", and "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To".

A record that has a Motown hit for its title, but the album's got a depth that marks Bennett as one of the most complex singers of his generation – way past the broad belter of ballads from the 50s, and an all-adult male vocalist whose sound was essential to the sophistication of the mainstream in the late 60s. Many tunes are standards, given lush arrangements by Torrie Zito and Marion Evans – sung by Tony with that deep voice that nobody else could ever hope to match! Titles include "Out Of This World", "For Once In My Life", "How Do You Say Auf Wiedersehen", "Keep Smiling At Trouble", "Baby Dream Your Dream", "Days Of Love", and "Something In Your Smile".