Blogarhythms

Other than that self-titled Cameron LP, most of the sides I picked up at the record fair a couple weekends ago were collection fillers from familiar artists which I purchased simply because I wanted to buy records, I didn’t already own them, and the price was right. The Cameron was, as already described in last week’s Records at Random, a long coveted prize. But I also nabbed one slab of wax on a total whim, without really knowing who the band was or bothering to check out the details, simply because the cover looked “cool,” that proved both a refreshing and enlightening addition to my crates.

The album in question is the self-titled 1972 full-length debut from Dania Beach, Florida-based vocal group the Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose. Although the sizable afros and wide-lapels sported by the brothers on the cover initially caused me to assume them a Funk or funky Soul outfit it turned out that they were more of a sunny, R&B-influenced Pop group. It also turned out that I was (unbeknown to me) already very familiar with the group’s musical output which included a number of sizable hits remain staples of oldies radio and frequently appear on the soundtracks of motion pictures and television shows to this very day.

The group’s brand of family soul shares much in common with soulful Pop acts like Redbone, The Young Rascals, Chicago, The 5th Dimension, Blood Sweat and Tears and their ilk, soul-stirring crooners like Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson and various groups from the Stax and Motown stables. The result is a ubiquitously catchy Pop sound that memorable radio classics are made of, but leaves the artists themselves faceless amidst a sea of comparable, often bigger-name, acts. The fact that they produced such instantly recognizable hits as “Too Late to Turn Back Now” and “Treat Her Like a Lady” (both of which are on this LP) but are not themselves as easily recognizable seriously reminded me of the similar situation surrounding Redbone and their classic mega-hit “Come and Get Your Love.”

I didn’t know Redbone recorded that chestnut until I bought their Wovoka LP under similar circumstances to my purchase of the Cornelius Brothers’ joint. That was a pleasant bit of vinyl-fueled education and so is this. The hits are essential for fans of early ’70s radio, but the album is filled to bursting with songs (”Good Lovin’ Don’t Come Easy,” “Let Me Down Easy,” “Lift Your Love Higher,” “Gonna Be Sweet for You,” etc) of similar, if not equal, quality. Brothers Carter and Eddie Cornelius had the art of songcraft all figured out. And producer Bob Archibald’s loose, airy grooves which infused galloping backbeats, with deep, rolling bass, instrumental arrangements that distilled the best elements of late ’60s and early ’70s Soul, R&B and Rock musicianship down to pure Pop goodness, and richly orchestrated horn and string parts, were nothing short of perfection.

Even the one track not written by a Cornelius family member — a cover of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” (something I’d normally not be too psyched to hear a group attempt) — comes off respectably, turning the home-cooked Willie Mitchell-produced Memphis classic into a smoothly sophisticated blend of Bacharach-style orchestral Pop and string-fueled Philly Soul.

I’m flabbergasted! But I couldn’t be more psyched to have stumbled on to such a solid piece of vinyl history. And I can’t help but wonder why the here-today-gone-tomorrow artists and handful-of-hit-wonders of our modern era aren’t capable of delivering collections of songs as well-rounded and lovingly crafted as this album and it’s classic hit singles were for it’s time instead of the filler-filled discs and flash-in-the-pan hit or two they so often seem to.

- El Keter