"Make It Good" by PRINCE PHILLIP MITCHELL – Debut Album from August 1978 on Atlantic Records – Featuring Ray Barretto (November 2007 Rhino 'CLASSIC SOUL ALBUM - REMASTERED & EXPANDED' CD Reissue – Bill Inglot Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…I'm Gonna Make A Move That You've Never Seen Before…"

Now here's a smart reissue from Rhino (yet again). Louisville's PRINCE PHILLIP MITCHELL is one of the great unsung-heroes of Soul Music – a staggeringly prolific songwriter who’s been penning hits in both the Pop and R&B fields since the Sixties. 

Mitchell also had Solo singles of his own on Smash, Shout and Hi Records in the States (Jay Boy and London in the UK) with his compositions were recorded in the 60's & 70's by artists as diverse as William Bell, Solomon Burke, Archie Bell, The Walker Brothers, The Zombies, The Moody Blues, Millie Jackson, Norman Connors and many more.

And that’s where this CD comes in… 

"Make It Good" (1978) and "Top Of The Line" (1979) are his first two Solo albums made for the mighty Atlantic Records at a time when Mitchell’s smooth and funky Soul was finally able to make inroads into the marketplace and people's hearts. Here are the details…

UK released November 2007 - "Make It Good"by PRINCE PHILLIPS MITCHELL on Rhino 8122-76433-2 (Barcode 081227643324) is part of their 'Classic Soul Album - Remastered and Expanded' CD Series that breaks down as follows (54:07 minutes):

1. Star In The Ghetto [Side 1]

2. You're All I Got In The World

3. One On One

4. Falling From Heaven

5. You'll Throw Bricks At Him [Side 2]

6. Make It Good

7. If I Can't Be Your Man

8. Only Smoke Remains

Tracks 1 to 8 are a remastered version of the LP "Make It Good" released in the USA on Atlantic SD 19160 in August 1978

BONUS TRACKS:

9. One On One (Long Single Version) - the June 1978 USA 7" single on Atlantic 3480 - this is the rare DJ promo version, which extends the album's four-minute album cut by another 40 seconds

10. What Part Of Heaven Do You Come From? - a duet vocal with RAY BARRETTO that first appeared on Barretto's 1978 album "Can You Feel It" on Atlantic SD 19198

"Make It Good" has been remastered by Rhino's long-time tape engineer BILL INGLOT and the sound is typically great - warm, funky and with plenty of wallop without having to turn it up. There is hiss evident on some of the quieter tracks like "Only Smoke Remains" but its nothing too much to detract. The booklet has an essay on the album and artist by noted writer CHARLES WARING with typically insightful comments. The whole reissue feels classy.

Highlights include the lovely ballad "You're All I Got In The World" which sounds like "Let's Get It On" Marvin Gaye  - while his most famous song - "One On One" has become a huge Northern Soul dance floor filler in the UK - with a groove and lyrics to match (title above).  "You'll Throw Bricks At Him" sounds like "Hercules" by The Meters - funky as James Brown's DNA - the strings then kick in - it's just so good. The two bonuses are excellent too - the ballad with Ray Barretto is very loverman territory (a master's degree in making love baby...) but still so soulful - and the extended version of the huge "One On One" is icing on an already very nice cake.

"Make It Good" is old-school soul - an album that's not that well known - and should be. Hopefully this superb CD reissue will change all of that...

PS: This release is part of Rhino's "CLASSIC SOUL ALBUM - REMASTERED & EXPANDED" Series. Most titles are first time onto CD and are rare soul albums from the Warner/Atlantic/Cotillion/Elektra vaults:

1. Ace Spectrum - "Inner Spectrum" (see REVIEW)

2. Blue Magic - "Blue Magic" (see REVIEW)

3. Donny Hathaway - "Come Back Charleston Blue O.S.T." (see REVIEW)

4. Leroy Hutson - "Paradise" (see REVIEW)

5. Ronn Matlock - "Love City" (see REVIEW)

6. Gwen McCrae - "Gwen McCrae"

7. Gwen McCrae - "On My Way"
8. Prince Phillip Mitchell - "Make It Good" (1978 debut Lp on Atlantic)

9. Prince Phillip Mitchell - "Top Of The Line" (1979, his 2nd album on Atlantic)

10. The Voices Of East Harlem [featuring Donny Hathaway] -"Right On Be Free" (see REVIEW)