I wish he was around to feel the love....
monkeybuddha | Los Angeles, CA. | 08/22/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Imagine my surprise when Amazon recommended a soul CD by a man who is barely a footnote among soul collectors. He had a handful of singles in the 60's that change hands for less than they should and had a bad major label record in the 80's when major labels had no idea what to do with real soul men. How much geri curl can one head hold? They were gonna find out. Sterling and his career disappeared and no one much noticed or cared. If you don't know what the Snooty Fox is, it's an L.A. thang. Local soul fans would head down to South L.A. and take in a dinner (God Bless you Allen Larman), with a soul revue. Sterling could imitate anyone, it was truly amazing. Some guys with more money than sense decided to lay their money down and decided to see if Sterling could sound like himself. Sterling had the sack to put his career in the hands of some guys who loved the music and loved his voice and knew that the world didn't need another bad Malaco wannabe record. Make no mistake, this is a producer's record. Sterling would not have heard or picked most of these songs. He trusted that a couple of hipsters could hear something he had long stopped listening for. These guys saw something in this guy. So it was with great trepidation that I put this in the player. It works. Period. Sterling and band commit. And there is a feeling of excitement and wonderment both from a man who had long been spit out by an ugly business and a band that cared enough to find that one thing that makes a good record; a groove. These guys find it and keep it in the pocket. One thing is worth mentioning. This record was recorded BEFORE the "let me find an old soul act and stick them in an analogue studio" craze (Solomon Burke, Mavis Staples, Howard Tate etc., and therefore didn't have the benefit from knowing that anyone still cared except some guys that wanted to hear some soul music that made them feel like soul music used to. Back when you people still played their ax and got fined for not paying attention to the charts or for chewing gum or staring at someone's junk in the trunk. Buy this record. You'll be surprised. I was. I'm tough. I have trouble listening to anybody after 1974. Then go find his 60's singles. Then go find a reason to pass the Snooty Fox on a Friday or Saturday night. After all, what's REALLY the difference between a double and triple bypass?"
Buy This record !
Jeff Jones | USA | 08/21/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you dig Bobby Blue Bland, O.V. Wright, Arthur Alexander or any authentic R&B / Soul singer, you owe it to yourself to buy this record. It was made with love, produced by Los Lobos' Steve Berlin and the brilliant comedy writer Eddie Gorodetsky. They put their own sweat and money on the line to find and help Sterling Harrison make this album. Sterling was a R&B singer in the LA black club scene who unfortunatley died before he could see the release of this fine record.
I'm telling you, if you love genuine R&B and Soul Music, you have to own this record. You will not be disappointed, I promise you."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1