Search - Feminine Complex :: To Be in Love

Exciting live and studio-demonstration recordings

Phil S. | USA | 05/19/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you were amazed by the "Livin' Love" CD then this opus will follow suit: an entertaining vollection of demos and live material from the "blue eyed Soul", all High School age, female group which took a permanent detour off the Rock and Roll Highway back in 1968, just when it looked like a wide open stretch ahead.

Highlights are a fun workout on the Beatles' "You Can't Do That", good enough for a B-side, which conceivably could have been at least a tasty Regional Hit with a little seasoning; two live recordings from the national TV Show, "Showcase '68", a gig at the Waldorf Astoria. After some unnecessary preliminaries, dig the funnest "Here Come The Judge" out there: there's the A-side, hitting an imaginary #87 on the Top 100. The ladies lay down a very tight groove and the lead vocalist delivers a very hip narrative.

After that one gets you off the couch, possibly their greatest song comes next, even better than the previously issued demo and debut (and only)album version. The bass playing is up there with any of 'em and once again we have a smoothly assured spotlight vocal (apparently Pame Stephens). It's uptempo and boogaloo-able.

Another highlight is "Summertime" from "local TV". Maybe the best rendition since Sam Cooke's. Fans please confirm if Ms. Stephens has the mike. Too bad that after this mesmerizing performance we encounter a couple of dudes playing Host, ill-prepared for this progressive group, and offering patronizing by-play instead of respectful commentary. Their blustering attitude seems to unnerve the group just a bit.

Excellent liner notes included, plus some great action shots. The cover art is attractive but the songlist is nearly impossibleto read without a magnifying glass. Also strange that the front cover has a visual of only one member.

One of these days I'll actually be able to identify who plays what instrument. In the great, imagined Reunion Of The Feminine Complex, on The Dave Letterman Show, hopefully the Host will interview all four and get me that important detail."