To my shame this is the first posting of a James Carr album on the blog. That,s because there is so much great material and artists in abundance, arnt we the lucky ones!..problem is there isnt enough time for me in a day to do what i really want. Today ive been painting out a bedroom so i didnt think i would have time to do a posting. This sixth kent album rounds up all the remaining studio
masters of James, those still in existence, at least in a package
that upholds its title in every way. Kent take delight in the fact that, with this
release, at least one version of every traceable James Carr studio
recording is now available on an Ace or Kent. CD. When i get time (lol) i will post up the other 5 albums."My Soul Is Satisfied" covers virtually
the entire span of James Carr's recording career, from 1967 to 2000, in a
manner that befits the revered status of late great soulman. It
features unissued and hard-to-find material from every stage of his
career, including some of the best recordings you may have yet to hear.
It's taken over a year to check and double check all the original
Goldwax tapes in kents vaults, and to organise the licensing-in of the
repertoire James cut for Atlantic, River City and SoulTrax. The end
result was more than worth the time it took to pull it all together. ...In
the course of an hour and a bit we hear James at his mid-60s 'original
Goldwax' peak, with stunning alternate recordings, takes and mixes of
some of his classic Goldwax 45s and album cuts. We hear him duetting
with criminally under recorded Goldwax thrush Barbara Perry and having a
successful bash at interpreting Bacharach & David and
Holland-Dozier-Holland. As we move through the CD we take in both sides
of James' sole Atlantic 45 and all three of his mid 70s recordings for
River City (only two of which were originally issued) the sum total of
James' issued output between 1971 and 1991, in fact. The remainder of
the CD consists primarily of recordings that James cut with his mentor
and original producer Quinton Claunch as the 20th century drew to a
close and that were mostly originally issued on a SoulTrax CD that mixed
them with previously issued SoulTrax sides. Recorded with a real
Memphis rhythm section and featuring James in superb voice, these are as
much a treat for the ears as are the selections from a quarter of a
century earlier.Also included is what seems to
be the last recording James ever made, his demo of "A Woman's Got The
Power". Quinton Claunch told Kent that James wasn't feeling too well on the
day of the session, but that he agreed to lay a guide vocal of the
basic rhythm track with a view to going back and putting down a better
one when his voice was in better shape. Sadly that never happened, but
as you'll hear, there's nothing wrong with the basic, one take, job he
did here.One or two of the sources are sadly not of the
standard that Kent would routinely entertain on an Ace or Kent CD, but they
figured that James' fans would rather endure a bit of lo-fi here and
there than to be deprived of a precious unissued performance. Thus the
guys in Sound Mastering dept who made everything sound as good
as you'll ever hear it, anyway - were asked to relax their super-high
audio standards, where necessary, in the name of satisfying the James
completists (aren't we all that?). Most of the tracks sound colossally
brilliant, of course - and would probably have done so if James had
recorded them from inside a cardboard box. Fittingly the CD
concludes with the only three recordings of James Carr, gospel singer.
These were originally released on a now-deleted Jubilee Hummingbirds CD
back in the early 1990s, and it's a fair bet that a lot of James' fans
will not even be aware that they exist. Prior to becoming the great
southern soul stylist that he unquestionably was, the young James (and
his early Goldwax label mate O V Wright) had been a member of the
Hummingbirds in the early 1960s, so these three sensational sides were
something of a homecoming for him. I'm certain you'll agree that,
collectively, they provide a wholly appropriate way to close this very
special CD. And if all this good stuff wasn't already enough, theres a a cover shot of James,
taken in Memphis by Tav Falco in the second half of the 1970s, that has
never been published before in the booklet. Kent/Ace are always getting asked if there
is any more James Carr material in the can. Sadly, after this release,
the answer seems to be a firm 'no. This CD really does close the door on James Carr's
studio recordings, then it closes it in the most soul satisfying way
possible. As we all know the man is a LEGEND!
AMM
The Tasters!
15 comments:
Thanks AMM. The alternate She's Better Than You here is a stunning vocal upgrade over the standard mono recording.
And again Kent who is missing from my collection and with what a superb singer!!!
Thanks for sharing.
Yves
Kent series of gems and what a voice, thanks amm!
Another Kent jewel for my collection! Thanks for review, P.
Excellent. Thanks.
James Carr is one of my big three soul singers, the other two being OV Wright and Garnet Mimms.
Mind you there are some others like Percy Milem and also Justin Hinds, whilst not soul, his voice on his earlier recordings is brilliant. Anyway, this looks excellent and would fill many gaps (that I didn't know I had).
Great Review Thank you AMM
thank you so much AMM for this also in flac and the booklet! yes from another his completists!
Thanks AMM for the review you once posted a Dockie that ft his life story as well thanks again
Awesome review on the mount olympus of soul sangers!
This guy is one of mt favorite singers of all time What can i say great review well deserved for this man had illness not taken a away a few years whi knows what could have been Thanks AMM
Cheers Pedro
Many thanks AMM for this kent collection of the wonderful Mr James Carr
Reb
many thankks for this wonderful compilation.
I got to see him in SA, texas in 68. He was quite a singer. I love his music. Thanks AMM.
This one soiunds very interesting. All the best
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