Universal Music's latest offering of Motown 2 on 1 series this time showcasing the legendary late sax genius Jr. Walker with four of their most popular titles from the sixties. Jr. Walker (real name Autry DeWalt) together with group members Williw Woods (guitar) Vic Thomas (keyboards) and James Graves (drums) were a house band in their own right and whilst the Funk Brothers may have played on all the Motown hits at that time, Walker produced a sound of his own which many would argue could have provided some of the most wicked backing tracks for the label in their own right. The vinyl album will no doubt be in every Motown fans collections already and there is probably no need to hark on about how great some of these recordings are as their history over the years speak volumes.
The opening title track is just about as good as it gets and anyone who had the pleasure of seeing Jr Walker live performing this song alone would no doubt agree that the experience was nothing short of magical seeing him playing the sax breaks whilst lying on his back - superb. OK so Walker's tunes are often blues and R'n'B' inspired but his haunting sax solos are enough to send shivers down your spine. Listen to 'Last Call' to see what I mean and then picture the scene at an all night soul party at three in the morning to capture the magic.
'How Sweet It Is' was a hit for the late Marvin Gaye in 1964 but Motown issued the single on Jr. in 1966 which was a more uptempo affair with more gutso and 'live' overtones and the track became a firm favourite amongst the mods who took the track into their hearts as a 'mod' classic together with the equally appealing flip side 'Sweet Soul'. Jr. was the first to admit that first and foremost he was a sax player and not a singer by trade and it was only after Berry Gordy ordered him to try at singing vocals did he actually attempt same and thereafter his instantly recognisable dirt gravel voice is part of Motown history.
Considering the impact that the likes of the Beatles and the Stones were having in the US during the early part of the sixties where both groups often recorded cover versions of Motown songs, Jr. was not to be outdone by these two super groups (who had both attempted cover versions of this great song), and he recorded his own version of Barrett Strong's hit song 'Money (that's what I want)' much in the same vein and arrangement as Smokey's 'Mickey's Monkey'. For sheer soul power the blistering hammond organ led 'Last Call' and 'Anyway You Wanna' remain two of my all time favourite tracks from the foursome and one that rekindles many happy memories of all night sessions at Manchester's famous Twisted Wheel club where the group appeared as often as I attended there myself. The latter track has some great chants by Jr. of famous black music dances.
One last track worthy of mention (although there isn't a duff track in sight) is the pacy 'Baby You Know You Ain't Right' which is another workout that the Funk Brothers would have been proud of themselves. 'Road Runner' remains a firm favourite amongst the faithful and its true to say that he never quite got the commercial exposure (and success) that other names on the label so enjoyed and it was thanks to his millions of fans across the globe who continually supported his live gigs especially over here in the UK where he will always be remembered with great affection.
Original UK catalogue # TML 11038.
'Home Cookin'
This album appeared back in 1968 and is another piece of Walker magic spawning no less than four singles here in the UK the first being the opening track a cover version of the Supremes classic 'Come See About Me' from 1964 and lets be honest about it - this is the definitive version with fabulous saxophone breaks, but it was back in 1969 when Motown issued the ultimate track from Jr. in 'What Does It Take (to win your love) a gorgeous string laden mid tempo groove from the songwriting team of Johnny Bristol/Vernon Bullock/Harvey Fuqua with a bass line from Jamerson that would knock Mike Tyson off his feet at 100 yards - they don't come nicer than this and this is one of my all time top 5 Motown sides of all. By the end of the sixties the Motown sound as we had always known had begun to change into a more lazier feel than those classics five years earlier and it is clear that the labels arrangers were beginning to take a more prominent role on the labels output and what a clever move it was as it was clear that Gordy had seen the end of the line coming for the usual hard hitting 100 mph classics we all love and orchestrated a change in direction which was to benefit many of acts within Motown and give them huge hits at the turn of the decade.
That said however 'Hip City' (parts 1 & 2) was a throwback to the early sixties and was a pure R'n'B' workout in a similar style that Georgie fame would use to maximum effect here in the UK at the likes of London's Flamingo club during 1966. As with all of Motown's current 2 on 1 issues there are bonus tracks to whet ones appetite and on this collection we find an previously unreleased stereo mix of 'Nothing But Soul' which I recall as being a non LP single that appeared here in the UK on the flip of 'How Sweet It Is'. The other unreleased goodie 'Whiplash' was recorded at studio B at Golden World on 11th February 1967 and is included here as an audio goodie for your attention - click here to access this audio track.
Click here to see Jr Walker live from 1965.
Overall rating 10/10