"...You Move Me..."
Across two jam-packed CDs in this stunning 2017 Remastered anthology
(both nearing the 80-minute mark) - SoulMusic Records of the UK (part of Cherry
Red's bank of reissue labels) sure pack a whole lot of bang for your buck.
Ohio's Soul-Rock-Funk band MOTHER'S FINEST were always something of a
cult in the UK even when they charted four albums in the lower regions of the
American Billboard Rock LP charts (three on Epic and one on Atlantic between
1976 and 1981) and three on the US R&B charts (two on Epic and one on
Capitol between 1976 and 1984). They also had 45s as far back as 1972 on RCA
Victor and that's where this huge audio haul comes blazing in. There are loads
of stand-alone single edits, selections from six albums (five studio and one
live), a further rare seventh only LP issued in Europe in its entirety and even
six (then unreleased) from a long-deleted 2CD American compilation first issued
in 2010. Wow! Here are the love changing details...
UK released 3 March 2017 (10 March 2017 in the USA) - "Love Changes
- The Anthology 1972-1983" by MOTHER'S FINEST on SoulMusic Records SMCR
5151D (Barcode 5013929085138) offers 37-Tracks Remastered across 2CDs and plays
out as follows:
CD1 "Give You All The Love (Inside Of Me)" (78:24 minutes):
1. You Move Me
2. Dear Sir And Brother Mann
3. Monster People
4. Bone Song
5. Living Hero
6. Middle Of The Night
7. Funky Mountain
8. Run Joe
9. Fire (Single Edit)
10. Dontcha Wanna Love Me
11. Rain (Single Edit)
12. My Baby
13. Give You All The Love (Inside Of Me)
14. Baby Love (Single Edit)
15. Thank You For The Love (Single Edit)
16. Dis Go Dis Way, Dat Go Dat Way
17. Mickey's Monkey
Tracks 1 and 2 are on their debut album "Mother's Finest"
released November 1972 in the USA on RCA Victor LSP-4790
Tracks 1 and 2 were also the A&B-sides of their February 1973 debut
US 7" single on RCA 74-0889
Tracks 3 to 8 first issued on the 2010 "Mother's Finest" USA
2CD set on Wounded Bird WOU-4790
Tracks 9 and 10 are the A&B-sides of an August 1976 US 7" single
on Epic 8-50269
Tracks 11 and 12 are the A&B-sides of a 1976 US 7" single on
Epic 8-50310
Track 14 is the A-side of a September 1977 US 7" single on Epic
8-50407, B-side was "Hard Rock Lover", see Track 1 CD2
Track 15 is the A-side of a November 1977 US 7" single on Epic
8-50483, B-side was "Piece Of The Rock", see Track 2 CD2
Tracks 9, 10, 11 and 12 are on their second album "Mother's
Finest" USA released November 1976 on Epic PE 34179 (peaked at No. 148
Billboard Albums Charts)
Tracks 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 are on their third album "Another
Mother Further" USA released September 1977 on Epic PE 34699 (peaked at
No. 134 on the Billboard Album charts)
CD2 "Take Me To The Middle (of Your Luv)" (79:07 minutes):
1. Hard Rock Lover (Single Edit)
2. Piece Of The Rock (Single Edit)
3. Truth'll Set You Free
4. Don't Wanna Come Back
5. Love Changes (Single Edit)
6. Can't Fight The Feeling
7. Watch My Stylin'
8. Somebody To Love (Live)
9. U Turn Me On
10. Evolution
11. Secret Service
12. What Kind Of Fool
13. Victory
14. Love Me Too
15. Everybody Needs Somebody
16. Big Shot Romeo
17. What You Do To Me
18. In My Baby's Arms
19. Some Kind Of Madness
20. Take Me To The Middle (Of Your Luv)
Track 1 is the B-side to "Baby Love" (A-side is Track 14, CD1), a
September 1977 US 7" single on Epic 8-50407
Track 2 is the B-side to "Thank You For Your Love" (A-side is Track 15,
CD1), a November 1977 US 7" single on Epic 8-50483
Track 3 is the B-side to "Don't Wanna Come Back" (A-side is Track 4,
CD2), an August 1978 US 7" single on Epic 8-50596 and a November 1978
B-side to "Love Changes..." on Epic 8-50641
Tracks 1 to 3 (longer versions in the case of 1 and 2) are also on their
third album "Another Mother Further" USA released September 1977 on
Epic PE 34699 (peaked at No. 134 on the Billboard Album charts)
Track 4 is the A-side to an August 1978 US 7" single on Epic
8-50596 (B-side is Track 3, CD2)
Track 5 is the A-side to a November 1978 US 7" single on Epic
8-50641 (B-side is Track 3, CD2)
Track 6 is the A-side to a March 1979 US 7" single on Epic 8-50679
(B-side is "More And More" - not on this release)
Track 7 is the studio B-side to an October 1979 US 7" single on
Epic 9-50784 (A-side is Track 8, CD2)
Track 8 is the live A-side to an October 1979 US 7" single on Epic
9-50784 (B-side is Track 7, CD2)
Tracks 4, 5, 6 and 7 are on their fourth album "Mother Factor"
released in the USA September 1978 on Epic Je 35546
Track 8 is from their fifth album "Mother's Finest Live"
released in the USA in November 1979 on Epic Je 35976
Tracks 9 and 10 are from their sixth album "Iron Age" released
in the USA May 1981 on Atlantic SD 19302
Tracks 11 to 20 are their entire album "One Mother To Another"
released in the Netherlands in 1983 on Epic EPC 25363
The 20-page booklet features a lot of discography info as well as new
liner notes from A. SCOTT GALLOWAY with input from members of the band. The six
albums are pictured along with wads of those US 45s on Epic as well as some
rare picture sleeves. With much of it getting a first time digital dust-down,
long-time Ace Records Audio Engineer – the hugely experienced NICK ROBBINS, has
done the Remaster. Throughout the Audio is superb – kicking and full of life.
Originally formed in 1970 and eventually becoming a six-piece multi-cultural band - the first unadorned single offered here is a bit of a
torch-ballad gem when they started out as a straight-up Chi-Lites type
R&B outfit – Joyce Kennedy’s incredibly expressive croaky vocals slaying everything in its path
on the fantastic "You Move Me" - aided and abetted by a funky
flipside in "Dear Sir And Brother Mann" – both impressive originals.
The unreleased tracks (3 to 8) unearthed by Wounded Bird USA on their self-titled
2CD compilation in 2010 feel like Sly & The Family Stone has had a baby
with Funkadelic and Labelle – guitar-wild bass-infused keyboard-boogieing
(all of them are shockingly good).
But for many it will be the almost Montrose Rock riffage of
"Fire" that they will remember the band for, where they hit on that
Soul-Rock almost Metal thing they did so incredibly well. The wicked fretwork of Atlanta
axeman Moses 'Mo' is hair-raisingly good - a sort of Jeff Beck meets Prince
meets Edgar Winter kind of mojo (he would later join the 1985 band Illusion).
The hard funk continues with "Rain" and again back to Zeppelinesque
power-chords for "My Baby" – another truly great Soul-Rock dancefloor
filler that used to have customers in Reckless Records London race to the
counter screaming, "Who is this man!”
This 2CD overhaul also wisely includes the full seven and half minutes
of the album cut "Give You All The Love Inside Of Me” from 1978 because it
showcases the band in all its multiple-genre glory - stunning Funk-Rock meets
Soul meets sexy Seventies R&B – the kind of tour de force that will have
you asking why you haven't had these wild cats in your home for the last 40
years. And on it goes...
A fab little twofer then and a band that deserved so much more than
their cult status – they really did. If you like your Soul and Funk with a bit
of Prince-like Rock-guitar pyrotechnics – then this fabulous little sucker is
the bad boy for you. And well done to all at SoulMusic Records for presenting
it so damn well…
