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Friday, 29 June 2018

"Running Water" by CLARENCE REID (October 2012 Japan-Only 'Atlantic 1000 R&B Best Collection' CD Reissue and Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...


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"…If It Was Good Enough For Daddy…"

I first stumbled on Clarence Reid through a writing credit - "Clean Up Woman" by Betty Wright - a fabulous slice of funky Seventies Soul that Reid co-wrote with Willie Clarke (the song was an American Number 2 and Number 6 on the R&B and Pop charts). Producers and Writers Steve Alamo and Willie Clarke first recorded that smash at their Miami based Alston Records label with Willie 'Little Beaver' Hale in attendance. And that's where this CD reissue comes in (it was recorded by the same trio in Miami). Here are the details...

Released October 2012 in Japan - "Running Water" by CLARENCE REID on Alston/Atlantic 1000 R&B Best Collection/Warner Brothers Japan WPCR-27542 (Barcode 081227970321) is a straightforward CD transfer of the American album originally released on Alston Records SD-7027 in 1973 (36:18 minutes):

1. Living Together Is Keeping Us Apart [Side 1]
2. New York City
3. If It Was Good Enough For My Daddy
4. Real Woman
5. Please Accept My Call
6. The Truth [Side 2]
7. Ruby
8. Love Who You Can
9. Please Stay Home
10. Like Running Water

The Japanese CD Series "Atlantic 1000 R&B Best Collection" first appeared in October and November 2012 and has been ongoing ever since (there's now a whopping 250+ titles across every WEA label, genre and time frame). The '1000' in the title refers to their price code - each features a budget price tag of 952 Yen which (depending on exchange rates) is roughly $9 to $11 for US customers, £5.50 to £7.50 for UK buyers and 8 to 9.20 Euros for Europeans (with P&P added on of course). As of early 2015 - roughly speaking they weigh in between £5 to £10 sterling per title including post - which is the cheapest I've seen quality Japanese CDs ever go for.

And what's really enticing is that all issues feature 2012, 2013 and 2014 Digital Remastering (DSD) with many titles reissued that are either entirely new to CD or have been long out of print and due sonic upgrades. Each release comes in a standard jewel case (not mini repro sleeves nor SHMs) with an inner booklet (10-pages on this one) containing the English lyrics. There's the usual outer Obi strip and an essay in Japanese (no liner notes nor other details). The CD label design will usually mimic the original release too (the Alston logo here). Some (like this one) even appear to have a EU release - this title is catalogue number 8122-79703-2 as opposed to the more usual WPCR code...

After "Clean Up Woman" - I then heard what is probably his most popular track "If It's Good Enough For Daddy" on the "Right On Volume 4" CD compilation in 2002 and again on the fabulous Rhino 4CD Box Set "What It Is! Funky Soul And Rare Grooves From The Vaults..." from 2006. You can so hear why they chose it - cool, funky and even funny in places - a hip cut if ever there was one. The album is not all like that slick and slinky tale of sibling loverman - tracks like "Please Accept My Call" and "New York City" are straight up Soul - very Johnny Taylor or Don Covay.

Reid gives it a bit of deep-voiced Gil-Scott Heron righteousness in "The Truth" (again co-written with Willie Clarke) where he preaches, "it seems everyone is afraid of the truth..." Upbeat and dancer-friendly "Ruby" was put out in 1973 as a 45 on Alston 4613 - but for me the hidden album nugget is the impossibly catchy  "Love Who You Can". It features a great guitar-flick backbeat by Little Beaver accompanied by brass punctuations and lyrics about "girls always chasin' guys with millions...when the guy next door...will give you the whole wide world..." The suicide song "Please Stay Home" is a Clarence Carter talker and hasn't dated at all well. Better is the finisher "Like Running Water" which returns he faith.

It's not all genius by any means - but the good stuff is kind of magical. Reid would later become Blowfly the outspoken American comedian with a line in rude-crude (you can so hear some of that racy humour in "Daddy"). A very cool CD-reissue and for a Japanese import - it's cheaper than a palimony suit too. Yeah baby...

PS: I've posted a full list of all 255 titles in the Series to January 2015 - just Google "Atlantic 1000 R&B Best Collection"...

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