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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)
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)
