"…Feel Those Vibrations…"
A proper little belter this
one – 40 tracks – a shed load of hits and superb sound. Here are the whispers
getting louder…
UK released November 2001 -
"The Brunswick Anthology" by JACKIE WILSON is a 2CD set on Brunswick
BICD1001 (Barcode 5060029810122) and breaks down as follows (all catalogue
numbers are USA 7" singles):
Disc 1 (51:34 minutes):
1. Reet Petite (The Finest
Girl You Ever Want To Meet) (1957, Brunswick 9-55024, A)
2. To Be Loved (1958,
Brunswick 9-55052, A)
3. Lonely Teardrops (1958,
Brunswick 9-55105, A)
4. That’s Why (I Love You
So) (1959, Brunswick 9-55121, A)
5. I’ll Be Satisfied (1959,
Brunswick 9-55136, A)
6. You Better Know It (1959,
Brunswick 9-55149, A)
7. Talk That Talk (1959,
Brunswick 9-55165, A)
8. Night (1960, Brunswick
9-55166, A)
9. Doggin’ Around (1960,
Brunswick 9-55166, B-side of "Night")
10. (You Were Made For) All
My Love (1960, Brunswick 9-55167, A)
11. A Woman, A Lover, A
Friend (1960, Brunswick 55167, B-side of "(You Were Made For) All My
Love")
12. Alone At Last (1960,
Brunswick 9-55170, A)
13. Am I The Man (1960,
Brunswick 9-55170, B-side of "Alone At Last" – see Notes)
14. My Empty Arms (1961,
Brunswick 9-55201, A)
15. The Tear Of The Year
(1961, Brunswick 9-55201, B-side of "My Empty Arms")
16. Please Tell Me Why
(1961, Brunswick 55208, A)
17. Your One And Only Love
(1961, Brunswick 9-55208, B-side of "Please Tell Me Why")
18. I’m Coming On Back To
You (1961, Brunswick 55216, A)
19. Years From Now (1961,
Brunswick 55219, A)
20. You Don’t Know What It
Means (1961, Brunswick 55219, B-side of "Years From Now")
[Notes: Track 13 is
miscredited in the booklet and on the inlay as "I Am The Man" when
its "Am I The Man"]
Disc 2 (57:09 minutes):
1. The Greatest Hurt (1962,
Brunswick 55221, A)
2. I Just Can’t Help It
(1962, Brunswick 55229, A)
3. Baby Workout (1963,
Brunswick 55239, A)
4. Shake! Shake! Shake! (1963, Brunswick 55246, A)
5. No Pity (In The Naked
City) (1965, Brunswick 55280, A)
6. Soul Galore (1966,
Brunswick 55290, A)
7. Think Twice [credited to
Jackie Wilson and LaVern Baker] (1965, Brunswick 55287, A)
8. Whispers (Getting’
Louder) (1966, Brunswick 55300, A)
9. I Don’t Want To Lose You
(1967, Brunswick 55309, A)
10. (Your Love Keeps Lifting
Me) Higher And Higher (1967, Brunswick 55336, A)
11. I’ve Lost You (1967,
Brunswick 55321, A)
12. Since You Showed Me How
To Be Happy (1967, Brunswick 55354, A)
13. For Your Precious Love
(credited as Jackie Wilson and Count Basie) (1967, Brunswick 55365, A)
14. I Get The Sweetest
Feeling (1968, Brunswick 55381, A)
15. Helpless (1969,
Brunswick 55418, A)
16. I Still Love You (1969,
Brunswick 55402, A)
17. (I Can Feel Those
Vibrations) This Love Is Real (1970, Brunswick 55443, A)
18. Let This Be A Letter (To
My Baby) (1970, Brunswick 55435, A)
19. Love Is Funny That Way
(1971, Brunswick 55461, A)
20. You Got Me Walking (1972, Brunswick 55467, A)
The inlay is a very
disappointing 8-page affair with basic track credits, a list of his American
and British chart achievements and a few words on Pages 2 and 3 about his
career and tragic demise. There are no decent photos to speak of and the
gorgeous American 7” picture sleeves that came with "That Why (I Love You
So)", "Talk That Talk", "Night", "Alone At Last",
"The Greatest Hurt" and "Let This Be A Letter (To My Baby)"
are not here (neither are any of the EPs or albums). It’s a functionary affair
when the great man surely deserved far better.
But all of that goes out the
window when you hear the remasters (doesn’t say who did them) - which are fantastic
– full of life, presence and a joy that just won’t quit. Track after track
across both discs impress over and over again – the superb original Production
values shining through.
Wilson’s knack of touching
the public made him one of Brunswick’s biggest sellers. Six of his 61 chart
records between 1956 and 1975 hit the US R&B No.1 spot – "Lonely
Teardrops", "You Better Know It", "Doggin' Around",
"A Woman, A Lover, A Friend", "Baby Workout" and "(Your
Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher". And of course the truly fab
"Reet Petite (The Finest Girl You Ever Want To Meet)" was a belated
UK Number 1 single on the Pop charts in November 1986 after a video took
British fans by storm (its original chart placing was 6 in November 1957 on
Coral). And such was the popularity of "I Get The Sweetest Feeling"
in the Northern Soul clubs of Britain that it hit the UK charts no less than
three times (1972, 1975 and 1987) while the uplifting "Higher And
Higher" has graced more Movie Soundtracks than you can shake a stick at.
But where this excellent
(though admittedly too short) double really works is in the lesser-heard
nuggets like the gorgeous Soul dancer "That's Why (I Love You So)" where his
operatic vocals and the fantastic Production values of Brunswick collide. "Talk
That Talk" is joyful. And speaking of vocal gymnastics – how good are quivering
aches and yelps on the bluesy "Doggin' Around" with that church organ and "...you
keeps so upset..." lyrics. His own not inconsiderable song-writing talent surfaces
in the irrepressible "You Better Know It" (a co-write with Norm Henry) – a song that
featured prominently in the movie "Go Johnny Go".
Things go smoochy
with "The Tear Of The Year" (those big strings baby) and again the audio
quality is fantastic. There's hiss on "Please Tell My Why" but again after a
few moments you ignore it as he does his crying vocal – slaying all in his
path. Superb sound resurfaces on "I'm Coming On Back To You" and the gorgeous "You Don't Know What It Means" with its torch-song combo of Strings, Backing
Singers and Jackie giving it "Won't Somebody Help Me!" wailing throughout.
When you get to Disc 2, the
R 'n' B shouters of the Fifties have segued into crafted and sophisticated Soul
penned by secret giants like Carl Davis, Van McCoy and Eugene Record. Over and
above the famous tunes like "Whispers", "Higher" and "I Get The Sweetest
Feeling" – you get cool Northern Soul
dancers like "I Don't Want To Lose You Now" and ballads in the shape of "No
Pity (In The Naked City)". And even when you get out of the Sixties – Johnny
Moore and Eugene Record (of The Chi-Lites) were still providing him with superb
songs into the Seventies like the hugely upbeat "(I Can Feel Those Vibrations)
This Love Is Real" (as joy as Soul can get) and the pleader "Let This Be A Letter (To My Baby)".
Someone (like Bear Family or
Ace) should of course do his complete Brunswick/Coral 7" singles run from 1956
to 1975 onto 2 or 3 CD. But until such time as that – seek out this (now
deleted) 2CD set of Soulful joy - and find out why the ex-boxer and singing/stage
dynamo Jackie Wilson was nicknamed Mr. Excitement…
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