JOHNNIE TAYLOR Vinilo y CD

Review: Johnnie Taylor never really wrote any of his own music and he couldn't play any instrument particularly well but that hasn't stopped him becoming known as a rather accomplished soul artist. He penned an incredible 30 odd albums and more than 120 singles as a leading male vocalist in the sixties and works dunder names like 'Blues Wailer' and the 'Philosopher Of Soul'. He was a doo-wop group member initially back in the 50s but by the mid-sixties he was working with Stax as a blues artist. 'Let's Get Back On' on the A-side here is from his 1999 album Gotta Get The Groove back and is backed with a beautiful ballad from the legendary Bobby 'Blue' Bland.

Review: A powerful Stax flashback of two tracks from Arkansas soul don Taylor's 1967 debut album Wanted One Soul Singer. As covered by the likes of Lou Rawls, "Ain't That Loving You" is heartfelt bluesy ballad with a sultry swagger and serious yearning on the choruses while the even rarer "Blues In The Night" closes the B on a super-tight floor-bound riff and gutsy delivery from Taylor. Both bonafide northern soul classics and confirmed rarities with both cuts regularly fetching triple figures, this reissue changes everything. For more reasons than one.