Motown 1477 With You I m Born Again

With ii of its latest releases, Cherry Carmine's SoulMusic Records imprint has revisited three classic Motown duets albums on two CDs.

Longtime collectors of SoulMusic Records' releases know that the label frequently jumps back and forth with an artist's catalogue rather than releasing titles in chronological lodge.  Such is the case with its latest reissue from Syreeta, built-in Syreeta Wright.  In recent months, SoulMusic has revisited Motown queen Syreeta'south third and quaternary solo albums, 1977's Ane to One and 1980'due south Syreeta.  In between those LPs, nonetheless, Syreeta busied herself with duet projects.  Following Rich Love, Poor Beloved with The Spinners' G.C. Cameron, Motown paired Syreeta with keyboard groovy Billy Preston for the soundtrack of the otherwise-undistinguished moving-picture show Fast Pause.  The decision to team Syreeta and Preston paid off when their duet version of David Shire and Carol Connors' "With Yous I'm Born Once more" went all the way to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979.  Though Preston appeared on a couple of tracks on Syreeta and a duet unmarried was released of Preston's "It Will Come up in Time," a full duets album was inevitable.  That LP, 1981'south functionally-titled Billy Preston and Syreeta , has just arrived from SoulMusic, expanded with 7 additional cuts.

Billy Preston and Syreeta, like Syreeta, was the work of multiple producers.  Ollie E. Brown, Michael Masser, and the "Born Again" team of Shire and Connors all contributed to the album's production.  Masser co-wrote all four of his tracks, two with Randy Goodrum and two with Gerry Goffin.  (The album'south closing song "What Nosotros Did for Honey" is not a duet cover of the Marvin Hamlisch/Ed Kleban composition from A Chorus Line but rather a Masser/Goodrum original.)  Brown penned the album's opening cuts "Someone Special" and "Searchin'," and Connors and Shire reunited for the jazzy and playful "Information technology's And then Easy."  Despite the potent pedigree, Billy Preston and Syreeta was lost in the shuffle of Motown's distribution shake-upwardly, and the album might have been released too late to capitalize on the success of "Born Again."  SoulMusic makes a case for the anthology'south artistic merits, notwithstanding, and adds seven bonus tracks including iv singles from Fast Break (the vocal and instrumental versions of "Born Over again," and 7- and 12-inch singles of Shire and Connors' disco theme "Go for It"), the acting single release "It Will Come in Time," and the single versions of Preston'southward two duets on Syreeta, "I More Time for Love" and "Delight Stay."  The former was written by Jerry Peters, who produced some of Syreeta, and the latter was another Connors/Shire creation.  SoulMusic's reissue has been remastered by Alan Wilson, and includes liner notes from Sharon Davis drawing on a new interview with Ballad Connors.

Later the jump: nosotros'll take a peek at a two-for-one set from Thelma Houston and Jerry Butler, plus we have full track listings and order links for both releases!

SoulMusic has previously issued solo albums from Thelma Houston and Jerry Butler – so why not a two-for-ane reissue of their 1977 and 1978 duet albums on the Motown characterization, Thelma and Jerry and Ii to One ?  Sessions for Thelma and Jerry began after Butler had completed his starting time album for Drupe Gordy'due south label, Love'southward on the Carte du jour, but were put on concur until he also finished his sophomore LP Suite for the Single Girl.  (Both albums have simply been combined on ane CD from SoulMusic.)  Recording for the duet project resumed in early 1977 – past which time Houston had graduated to bona fide superstardom cheers to her hit disco reworking of Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and Cary Gilbert'due south "Don't Exit Me This Way."  (Butler, of course, had scored hits like "Only the Strong Survive" and "Hey Western Union Man" with Gamble and Huff almost a decade earlier.  He would return to their Philadelphia International fold post-obit his time at Motown.)

Nearly of Thelma and Jerry was produced by Butler himself with Homer Talbert, a graduate of Butler'due south Songwriters' Workshop and the co-producer of The Ice Man'due south previous Motown solo albums.  He had some experience with the duet formula, too, having co-written the striking "Ain't Understanding Mellow" for Butler and Brenda Lee Eager.  The remaining 3 tracks were helmed past Motown stalwart Hal Davis and Michael B. Sutton, part of the Motown disco group Finishing Affect.  In improver to its original songs, Thelma and Jerry featured a soulful medley reinvention of The Bee Gees' "Love And so Right" and Chicago'due south "If You Leave Me Now," a cover of Stevie Wonder's "Joy Inside My Tears," and a Skip Scarborough-penned tune, "Let's Get Together." Thelma and Jerry didn't produce a hit unmarried, but the LP did brand the R&B Top xx and reached No. 53 on the Billboard 200.  Keithen Carter and Michael Ward'southward "It'south a Lifetime Affair" was the single pick; information technology was accompanied by not-LP B-side "Buss Me Now," previously recorded past Diana Ross.

Although Houston was withal riding the wave of her solo success with "Don't Leave Me This Fashion," Motown gave the dark-green light to some other projection with Butler...sort of. Two to One was bookended past duets – Pam Sawyer and Michael and Brenda Sutton's "If Information technology Never Would End" opened the album, and "You Gave Me Love" from "Got to Be There" tunesmith Elliot Willensky closed it.  In between, though, were 3 Houston solo tracks and three Butler solo tracks.  Hal Davis returned from Thelma and Jerry for the two actual duets, while the other songs were handled by producers and arrangers including Willie Hutch, Van McCoy, Sam Brown III, and the squad of Terry Woodford and Clayton Ivey.

In the copious new liner notes from Charles Waring for SoulMusic's reissue, Thelma Houston confirms that "the fact that two albums were released is because the songs that didn't make the kickoff album were put out on a second album.  The textile compiled for the second outing was left over from the first i and some of it was not complete.  Of course, I was non happy with it."  The two duets weren't even plugged as singles; instead 2 of Thelma's solo tracks were chosen equally A-sides, with the flips coming from her 1978 solo set The Devil in Me (still awaiting reissue on SoulMusic).

Alan Wilson has remastered both albums from the original tapes. Thelma and Jerry returns to CD afterward a long absenteeism – one list for the original 1992 Motown CD on Amazon.com was asking an unbelievable $833.31 (!) only weeks agone prior to this new reissue – and Ii to 1 is making its CD debut.  The two-fer can exist ordered below, forth with Billy Preston and Syreeta!

Baton Preston and Syreeta, Baton Preston and Syreeta (SoulMusic SMCR 5106, 2013) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.One thousand.)

1. Someone Special
2. Searchin'
3. Just for Yous
4. It's So Easy
5. A Long and Lasting Love
6. Dear
7. One More Effort
8. Hey You
9. A New Way to Say I Love You lot
10. What Nosotros Did for Honey
11. With You I'one thousand Born Over again (U.S. Motown single K 1477F, 1979)
12. With Y'all I'm Born Again (Instrumental) (U.Southward. Motown unmarried TMG 1139, 1979)
13. Go for Information technology (U.Southward. Motown 12-inch single Yard 0001601, 1979)
14. Go for It (U.S. Motown single One thousand 1460F, 1979)
15. It Will Come up in Fourth dimension (U.Southward. Motown single M 1470F, 1979)
16. Ane More than Time for Honey (U.Southward. Tamla single T 54312F, 1980)
17. Delight Stay (U.S. Tamla single T 54319F, 1980)

Tracks one-10 from Baton Preston and Syreeta, Motown LP M 958, 1981

Thelma Houston and Jerry Butler, Thelma and Jerry/Two to One (SoulMusic SMCR 25107, 2013) (Amazon U.Due south. / Amazon U.Grand.)

1. But the Beginning
2. And Yous've Got Me
3. It's a Lifetime Thing
4. Love So Right/If You Leave Me Now
5. I Love You Through Windows
6. Joy Inside My Tears
7. Sweet Love I've Plant
8. (Play the Game of) Let's Pretend
9. Let's Become Together
10. If Information technology Would Never End
11. Find a Way
12. We Owe Information technology to Ourselves
13. I'm Not Stiff Enough (To Love You lot Again)
14. Never Gonna Become Enough
15. Don't Compassion Me
16. Chicago Transport Her Home
17. You lot Gave Me Dear
18. Kiss Me Now (U.S. Motown single Chiliad-1422, 1977)

Tracks 1-eight from Thelma and Jerry, Motown LP M 887S1, 1977
Tracks nine-17 from Ii to I, Motown LP M 903S1, 1978

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc presently afterward its launch in early on 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the cracking songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, 2nd Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, amid them Nat "Male monarch" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The fifth Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris 24-hour interval, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has too worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway equally well equally at some of the premier theatres in the U.Due south., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Newspaper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Dark-green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the impress publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits equally a regular correspondent writing about film and idiot box on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York Urban center.

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