The album opens with a cover of
The Isley Brothers’ “For The Love Of You,” featuring Amikaeyla Gaston on
vocals. She is one of the vocalists who performed on the first volume in this
series, and here she offers a smooth and sweet vocal performance. This song is
from the 1970s, and is mellower than the band’s earlier rock material. This
rendition features some nice work by David K. Mathews on keys and Carl Lockett on
guitar during the instrumental section in the middle. That’s followed by “You
Had To Know,” and, for me, this is where things start getting really good, this
track featuring a passionate and soulful and impressive vocal performance by
Tony Lindsay. Seriously, this is a tremendous performance. Also, this track
features a good horn section, made up of Mel Martin on tenor saxophone, Joe
Cohen on baritone saxophone, Mike Rinta on trombone, Jeff Cressman on trombone,
Bill Ortiz on trumpet, and Louis Fasman on trumpet.
Steve Miller joined David K.
Mathews on the first volume, delivering an excellent rendition of Irving Berlin’s
“Blue Skies.” After enjoying that performance, I wanted to hear more from him in
the jazz realm, and here my wish is fulfilled. Steve Miller returns for a cool
and interesting version of “One Mint Julep,” a song written by Rudy Toombs, one
that was a hit for The Clovers in the early 1950s and has been covered by a lot
of artists over the years, including Ray Charles. It is from that Ray Charles
rendition that this version gets its inspiration, at least for the first part
of it. The track begins with a big band-styled rendition, and then it suddenly
switches gears to a more bluesy take on the song, and that is when Steve Miller
joins the group, on both vocals and guitar. It’s a cool and totally enjoyable
rendition. I dig those backing vocals by Leah Tysse too. And of course there is
some wonderful work by David K. Mathews on organ. Near the end, the song shifts
back into the big band rendition.
Amikaeyla Gaston then returns
for a nice long rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Superwoman (Where Were You When I
Needed You)” (approximately two minutes longer than Stevie Wonder’s original LP
version), giving another smooth and beautiful performance. This track also
features more nice work by Carl Lockett on guitar. In the middle there is an
interesting keyboard section before the second part of the song. Also interesting
is that the makeup of the band changes somewhat for this second part, with Marc
van Wageningen taking over for Dewayne Pate on bass, and Michael Spiro taking
over for Peter Michael Escovedo on percussion. And there is no guitar in this
section. In this second part, David K. Mathews plays organ and synthesizers,
and that sound plays a more prominent role. There is also a cool lead on bass. Tony
Lindsay joins the group again for “So Sweetly,” a track which features some
wonderful work on backing vocals as well. Those backing vocalists include Ray
Obiedo, who wrote the song. There is also some really nice work by Mark Russo
on alto saxophone, which rises up as another strong voice. That work on
saxophone is what really makes this track stand out for me.
Things then get funky with a
cool rendition of James Brown’s “I Got You (I Feel Good),” with Funky Fred Ross
on vocals. He delivers a ridiculously enjoyable performance here, and the band
is totally invested. Joe Cohen is on saxophone, Mike Olmos is on
trumpet, and Mike Rinta is on trombone. David K. Mathews gives us some
delicious stuff on organ. Lady Bianca then delivers a soulful and powerful vocal
performance on “Giving Up,” a slower, bluesy number written by Van McCoy and
which was a hit for Gladys Knight & The Pips. Halfway through, the song
goes up to another level because of the work from the horn section, as well as
that electric guitar offering a delicious bluesy lament. This is an excellent
track. It is followed by “Goin’ Out Of My Head,” a song originally recorded by
Little Anthony & The Imperials. I hadn’t heard this song in a while, and
this version reminds me of what a damn good song this is. Glenn Walters is on
vocals here, and his voice has both warmth and power. There is an interesting
ending to this rendition.
Amikaeyla Gaston once again
joins David K. Mathews on vocals, this time for an unusual take on “Wichita
Lineman,” which was written by Jimmy Webb and was a hit for Glen Campbell. This
version features some nice work on bass and drums. Peter Barshay plays acoustic
bass, and Marc van Wageningen is on electric bass. Deszon Clairborne is on
drums. That’s followed by “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know,” a song
written by Al Kooper and originally recorded by Blood, Sweat & Tears and
included on that band’s first LP. This is a cool rendition, the focus being on the
vocal performance by Alex Ligertwood, with David K. Mathews supporting him with
some excellent stuff on organ. There is so much truth and passion to the vocal
performance. The album ends with “Yesterday,” a song that has been covered an
insane amount of times. And yet, you may not have heard a version quite like
this one. It takes its time, establishing a good groove, with some vocal play. Kenny
Washington is the vocalist on this track. On the CD case, this track is listed
as an extended mix, and that is no joke. This version is more than eleven
minutes, and it is nearly three minutes before Kenny Washington begins to sing
the lyrics, delivering a beautiful and moving performance. After approximately
six minutes, it seems like the track is going to end, but then it goes into a
groovy section, even featuring a bit of scat.
CD Track List
- For The Love Of You
- You Had To Know
- One Mint Julep
- Superwoman
- So Sweetly
- I Got You (I Feel Good)
- Giving Up
- Goin’ Out Of My Head
- Wichita Lineman
- I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know
- Yesterday
The Fantasy Vocal Sessions Vol. 2, Soul, Pop, R&B is scheduled
to be released on June 5, 2020.
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