what Frank is listening to #46 – GENE CHANDLER – '80 – (20th Century) – 1980
Rise and shine … a beautiful Sunday …
Gene Chandler's pop place in history is assured with the magnificent 1962 hit "Duke of Earl".
Gene is a stalwart of the Chicago soul scene along with Curtis Mayfield, The Chi-Lites, (the magnificent) Jackie Wilson, Jerry Butler etc and has travelled all the black soul music stops over the course of his career: doo wop, soul, pop, disco, smooth uptown soul, and early R&B. The only thing he didn't really touch upon (as far as I know) was funk.
Biography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Chandler
This album is from his disco period where he had some minor hits for the 20th Century label. Unfortunately by the time of this album all the good songs must have been used up. That's not to say the album is bad … it's well played and well sung disco and uptown soul (smooth and slick soul with singers who tend to croon) with all the usual black disco themes – dancing, sex, making out, sex, heavy petting, sex, looking good, sex, strutting, sex etc. Tracks like:
- Does She Have a Friend for Me? (cause I want to fuck her)
- Lay Me Gently (and fuck me)
- Do It Baby (fuck me hard)
- You've Been So Sweet to Me (now fuck me)
- Let Me Make Love to You (I'd rather say "Let me fuck you" but I know you like the romance)
OK, the ad-libs are mine but if you have ever heard a disco album you know what I mean.
Unfortunately, its all a little predictable … the songs that is.
The album is produced by Gene and composer Carl Davis (famous for soul label Chi-Sound) with a song co-written by old friend Curtis Mayfield ("Rainbow 80") and a duet with Joni Berimon ("I'll be There"). Also soul singer Theresa Davis is in here somewhere.
Best Tracks:
- Does She Have a Friend for Me – this is what uptown soul is all about.
- All About the Paper – The Dells song.
- Rainbow 80 – co-written with Curtis Mayfield.
- Let Me Make Love to You – more uptown soul and slow dancing (horizontal?) in the Marvin Gaye mould.
chart success here was elusive:
Albums:
#11 "Black" albums, #87 pop.
Singles:
"Lay me Gently" went to #73 in the black charts
"Does She Have a Friend" went to #28 in the UK
Sound:
Others:
Duke of Earl
Website:
(originally posted: 14/06/2009)
