Friday 10 October 2008

Arthur Prysock - All My Life + Does It Again






ARTHUR PRYSOCK
All My Life
1976
256+ VBR LAME mp3
Vinyl rip & scans from Polydor 2424 135







ARTHUR PRYSOCK
Does It Again!
1977

256+ VBR LAME mp3
Vinyl rip & scans from Old Town OT12005



It's been longer than expected since my last post so I thought I'd make up for it with a double-shot this time around. In the coming days, Soundological will be cranking out a few Impulse, Flying Dutchman and Mainstream posts plus fulfill some requests. I appreciate all the comments left while I was away, and would like to say a special thanks to Simon for beefing up the Bellson discog and Anonymous for schooling me on The In Crowd!

Today we're featuring a couple of solid disco soul efforts from seasoned crooner Prysock with the help of John Davis & The Monster Orchestra, including many high-calibre session musicians who had a hand in creating what has come to be known as the The Sound Of Philadelphia. Almost everyone involved had been a member of MFSB/Philly Groove Orchestra either before or after these sessions and most of the horn section were also part of the Salsoul Orchestra during the same period. Since it's Don Renaldo and the Sigma Six regulars all 'round you're assured some solid grooves, especially in the instrumental halves - quite a few tracks sound like a vocal "part 1" and an instrumental "part 2" of a 7" single were stitched together.


AMG Bio
by Steve Huey
Arthur Prysock was perfectly at home singing jazz, blues, or R&B, but his smooth-as-silk baritone made him a superbly effective (and underappreciated) pop crooner in the manner of his chief influence, Billy Eckstine. Prysock was born January 2, 1929, in Spartanburg, SC, and was the brother of saxophonist Red Prysock. As a teenager, he moved to Hartford, CT, where he worked in the aviation industry and sang with several small bands by night. He was discovered in 1944 by jump blues bandleader Buddy Johnson, who signed him as lead male vocalist and brought him to Harlem. Prysock sang on a number of Johnson's hits for the Decca label before going solo in 1952 to tour the chitlin circuit (sometimes with his brother). He quickly landed an R&B hit with "I Didn't Sleep a Wink Last Night," and subsequently made his name among black audiences as an emotive balladeer.

During the '50s, Prysock recorded for several smaller labels, but his popularity in concert gradually gained him more exposure. He began a long relationship with the Old Town label, scoring R&B hits with "I Worry 'Bout You" in 1958, Ray Noble's old ballad "The Very Thought of You" in 1960, and "It's Too Late Baby, It's Too Late" in 1965. That year, he fulfilled a dream by recording an album with Count Basie on Verve (Arthur Prysock & Count Basie), the label he remained with for most of the '60s. Prysock performed at Carnegie Hall in 1966, and hosted his own TV show for a short time. By the end of the '60s, Prysock had returned to Old Town, where he recorded several albums while touring the club circuit. He had an unexpected disco hit in 1976 with "When Love Is New" (#11 on the Club Charts) but otherwise remained largely out of sight.

Prysock returned to active recording in 1985 with the well-received A Rockin' Good Way album on Milestone, and also sang a well-known jingle for Löwenbräu beer. Two more albums for Milestone followed, 1986's This Guy's in Love With You and 1987's Today's Love Songs, Tomorrow's Blues, before Prysock receded from the limelight again. He died on June 21, 1997.



All My Life

Michael "Sugar Bear" Foreman -
Bass
Larry "B" Washington - Congas
Charles Collins - Drums
Craig Snyder - Guitar
Dennis Harris - Guitar
John (The Monster) Davis - Keyboards, Saxophone, Flute
Fred Joiner -
Trombone
Robert Moore - Trombone
Roger Dililo - Trombone
Evan Solot - Trumpet
Rocco Benne - Trumpet
Barbara Ingram - Backing Vocals
Carla Benson - Backing Vocals
Evette Benton - Backing Vocals
Strings - Don Renaldo
Arranger & Producer - John Davis


1 I Wantcha Baby
2 All My Life
3 I Love Makin' Love To You
4 Baby I'm The One
5 When Love Is New
6 One Broken Heart
7 All I Need Is You Tonight
8 This Is What You Mean To Me


HERE or HERE.



Does It Again!

Vince Fay - Bass
Larry "B" Washington -
Congas
Jimmy Young -
Drums
Craig Snyder - Guitar
John (The Monster) Davis - Keyboards, Synthesizer, Saxophone, Backing Vocals
Vaneese Thomas - Backing Vocals
Carolyn Mitchell - Backing Vocals

Strings, Horns - Don Renaldo And The Guys
Music By - John Davis And The Monster Orchestra
Producer, Arranger, Conductor - John Davis


1 You Can Do It
2 Between Hello And Goodbye
3 Shady Lady
4 Love Is What You Make It
5 Born To Be In Love With You
6 Never Gonna Let You Go (Stuck On Loving You)
7 You're The Best Of All Ladies
8 Since I Fell For You

HERE or HERE.

9 comments:

djandpete said...

great albums thanks

Economiewurm said...

Hi Cheeba,

Thanks for these albums. I had never heard of Arthur Prysock. So once again you bring an unknown artist to my attention. You are light years ahead of me in terms musical knowledge. I will probably never catch up!

This guy really sounds like Barry White (especially on "All my Life") which is of course a good thing.

Groeten uit Amsterdam
[Greetings from Amsterdam.]

cheeba said...

You're welcome guys!

Jur, I'm glad someone can learn something from Soundological. Often I'm learning myself as I go along and that's one of the reasons I started this in the first place!

I've heard Prysock compared to both Barry and Isaac but I'm more on the B side with you.

Raphy said...

WOW.....This is like good wine...thx!@!

Do you have older albums by him..if so please post them...Thanks once again.......A big Voice-Big Music!!!

Big UP!@!

cheeba said...

You're welcome Raphy! Glad to hear you're digging the Prysock!

I've got his 1st solo LP on Verve, Art & Soul in the "to do" box but haven't done it yet. I'll be heading out of town for next week but will give it priority upon my return.

Check back in a couple weeks!

Unknown said...

Hi guys

You're comparing Prysock with Barry White, but if you listen to his older records, you'll hear a bit of Billy Eckstine

cheeba said...

Hi Bob, will need to listen to more Eckstine but from what little I've heard (a couple compilations and his album with Count Basie) I'd agree.

Scoredaddy said...

Truly OUTSTANDING post. Great job done on these. For those wanting more Prysock, check out my blog: http://scoredaddys.blogspot.com/2009/11/arthur-prysock-three-rare-lps-from-king.html

cheeba said...

You're welcome Scoredaddy and thanks for he tip - on my way right now!