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"...Trippin' On Your Love..."
Released Stateside in April
1981 on Stax Records MPS-8511 while The Staples Singers were briefly signed to
20th Century and Produced by the legendary Al Bell – this notorious 8-track vinyl
LP is actually a compilation of old recordings from the 1970s reworked and
reissued without the band's approval (or even knowledge) – put out at a budget
price and promptly forgotten. But amongst its embellishments are absolute
barnstormers – namely the near fanatical Northern Soul and Club following given
to the song "Trippin' On Your Love" in the UK.
This is the first CD reissue
and remaster of the "This Time Around" album ever (July 2013 release date) and Ace Records CDSXE
139 (Barcode 029667055321) is a typically brill reissue of a criminally
forgotten record (33:23 minutes):
1. Live In Love [Side 1]
2. This Time Around
3. Trippin' On Your Love
4. A Child's Life
5. I Got To Be Myself [Side
2]
6. People Come Out Of Your
Shell
7. When It Rains It Pours
8. If It Wasn't For A Woman
The remaster is by NICK
ROBBINS at London's Sound Mastering and the 8-page booklet contains detailed
liner notes by long-time Soul Fan and Ace Associate – TONY ROUNCE.
It starts out badly in my
book – the "Live In Love" track probably dates from as early as 1969
or 1970 – so the instrumentation over it sounds up to date while the vocal
sounds way too distant and demo-ish. "This Time Around" slows it down
with a "...won't let my man down..." lyric. It is pretty once it gets
going, but again the instrumentation still feels tagged on. But things go
stratospheric with "Trippin' On Your Love" which is just gorgeous.
"A Child's Life"
is sweet but far better is the Side 2 opener "I Got To Be Myself" –
muted at one point to be 7" single (Stax 0255) - but it legendarily never
got released (not even a promo has been found). Recorded around 1975 – "I
Got To Be Myself" is a proper Staples winner. And it's followed by 3
superb tracks especially "When It Pours It Rains" and "If It Wasn't
For A Woman" which contains stunning Mavis vocals ("...a house would
never have been a home…if it wasn't for a woman…") and sympathetic
arrangements.
So there you have it. In a
ragbag like this, five out of eight tracks is not a bad tally in my book and
when it comes to The Staples Singers, I gotta have it. And its relatively cheap
too...
PS:
See also my reviews for the
Staple Singers albums "We'll Get Over" (1969) and "Be Altitude:
Respect Yourself" (1972) alongside CD compilations "The Ultimate
Staple Singers" (2004), "Faith & Grace: A Family Journey 1956-1976"
(2015) and "For What It's Worth: The Complete Epic Recordings
1964-1968" (2018)
