Do You See My Love (For You Growing) - Junior Walker & The All Stars
- Album: A Gassss
- Information: Though a Motown staple for most of the 60s, Junior Walker was more prominent after the success of "What Does it Take (To Win Your Love)" became a surprise hit for him in 1969, allowing him to become more front and center in the music and allowing for several follow ups, including this top 40 song.
- Personal Thoughts: Admittedly I couldn't find too much on this song, but it is a really cool, really soulful song bringing out some of the best of Walker. That scream at the start really gets your attention and then he just lets loose with a nice groovy rhythm and accompaniment. The version I heard wasn't bad but somehow the music out front sort of makes me lose track of the sax on it, as if it's being lost in the shuffle...which for Junior Walker I really wouldn't think would be expected.
25 or 6 to 4 - Chicago
- Album: Chicago
- Information: Recorded for the second album with their definitive sound and their enigmatic lyrics and the voice of singer Peter Cetera, the song has mystified and rocked many since it's original release, becoming a stadium anthem...even if it's still hard to figure out what it means.
- Personal Thoughts: It pulls you in from the start: the guitar solo, the drums following, then the horns...those magnficent horns. And then when Peter Cetera starts singing, with the horn response...you know you've got a pop classic. Chicago always had a style (well in its early days when it used more of it's soul/rock fusion) that I liked and this song really displays them on all cylindars, with the horns, the guitarwork (particularly note the wah-wah guitarwork in the middle) and even the percussion, which really turn out to be a major driving force during the song. As for what it means...well, I honestly think it's simpler than people make it out to be: it's a guy utterly going crazy with thoughts and feelings in the middle of the night and so drowsy he can't even tell what the time is on his clock. Well...maybe not that simple but that's what I get out of it.
Everybody's Got a Right to Love - The Supremes
- Album: Right On
- Information: The second single releaed in the post-Diana Ross era with the girl group lead by Jean Terrell, with Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong backing up. While not as successful as the first post-Ross single, "Up The Ladder to the Roof" and even being the first to not make top-40 in Britain, it still was enough to make it this far in the US.
- Personal Thoughts: Self admission: I can't stand Diana Ross, particularly in the Supremes. So to hear a Supremes song without her at this point is a refresher, especially with the really cool sound the group now possesses. It has a really great sound that doesn''t sound like generic Motown, with a bit of the guitarwork that sounds a bit like "Signed, Sealed and Delivered"...but actually better used here. And admittingly, I really like Terrel's voice in the presentation, mostly because...it isn't Diana Ross, but she brings a lot of sweet soul to the song.
The Sly, the Slick and the Wicked - The Lost Generation
- Album: The Sly, the Slick and the Wicked
- Information: A soul band out of Chicago working with producer Carl Davis, the group made a session where this song came out of and was enough for their company, Brunswick Records, to disassociate themselves with former parent company Decca.
- Personal Thoughts: Somehow this song seems to be one of those which is more about the lyrics than the sound. The sound of the song sounds a bit like a typical soul song, but the lyrics are very advising, as if it's advising a girl of how to live a better life instead of one which would end up getting her in trouble. There are some moments with a lot of insane echo effects that give the song some novelty though. It's not too bad if you listen real closely...and take in that echo effect.
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