I posted this in may last year and had another request for it in Flac so here goes...Alfred Orlando Johnson Jr. was born in virginia & passed on 2013
Washington D.C.where he spent most of his life. While never long in the
spotlight, Al Johnson quietly created some very memorable Soul music for
himself and others over a more than forty year career, and developed a
small but loyal following over that period as a top notch songwriter,
singer and musician. He recorded 7 solo albums,but Johnson first scored
as the lead singer of the Unifics, a group formed at Howard University
in Washington, D.C. which had a big hit with "The Court of Love." After
another minor hit, "The Beginning of My End," the group split and
Johnson began a long string as a session musician, songwriter, arranger
and producer.Johnson next formed the short lived group Positive Change
and also recorded his debut solo album, Peaceful, in 1978(Featured
Here). He then worked with producer extraordinaire, Norman Connors,
providing guest vocals on Connors' Take It To the Limit album. Connors
returned the favor, producing Johnson's second album, Back For More, a
gem of an album that included a number of new cuts plus re-recordings of
a few songs from Peaceful. The title cut from the album, a duet with
Jean Carn (later covered by Tavares), became an underground Soul
classic. The rest of the album was wonderful, especially the upbeat
"I've Got My Second Wind" and the beautiful ballads "You Are My Personal
Angel" and "Peaceful." And while initial sales of the album did not
merit a follow-up, the disc became a cult classic that is still
considered by many as one of the great soul albums of the early 80s.
After years out of print, it was reissued on the SoulMusic.com label in
2011. I will be posting it up in time. Johnson spent most of the 80s and
90s continuing to provide session help for other artists, including the
Whispers, Roberta Flack and Peabo Bryson. Then, in 1999, he went back
to the studio to record his first album in nearly two decades, My Heart
Is An Open Book, on the Clout label. The album found him in excellent
voice (maybe even better than in his youth) and included a number of
solid cuts that updated the classic soul sound of Johnson's earlier
work. Especially notable on the album were the title cut, "Here's
Looking At You" and the smooth midtempo, "Tranquility." It again
developed for Johnson a small but loyal following (especially in England
& Europe) and demonstrated that, while Johnson was known mostly for
his support work for other artists, he had both the songwriting and
vocal talent of a great solo artist. His albums, though hard to find,
are worth seeking out. A stunningly soulful debut album with those 2
rare dance tracks!..Great Voice!
AMM
The Tasters!
9 comments:
The upgrade is very welcome. Thanks for review, P.
Thanks AMM for the FLAC upgrade.
Ooh its not to late to start again , what a track thanks AMM .
Thank you for The Al Johnson Album AMM
yes thanks much for upgrade absolutely great!
AMM thanks for the upgrade to flac
Reb
Really loved the samples.
Thanks for the upgrade AMM always worth a second shot at this one great singer
Cheers Pedro
Curious about this one,tasters sound good.
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