One In A Million - The Songs Of Sam Dees - Review

One In A Million: The Songs Of Sam Dees - Various Artists (Songwriter Series)

CDKEND 411

Meet Samuel L Dees — A Song-writing Phenomenon

As Tony Rounce clearly states in his opening gambit to the liner notes of the Kent offering: The Songs Of Sam Dees, “Few songwriters command the level of respect amongst soul fans that Sam Dees does. No single compilation could cover the whole career of a writer whose song list is a big as Sam’s”. As is usual with the Kent releases, you’d be hard pushed to find a better selection of Sam’s song-writing ability that highlights the selected time frame that concentrates mainly on his seventies decade compositions right through to the early eighties. Having already released a couple of Sam Dees CDs documenting his life and earlier career this particular compilation brings together a collection of 25 artists that recorded Sam’s songs that range from the, maybe not too well known, Larry Graham, a former bassist with Sly And The Family Stone to the majestic Gladys Knight And The Pips and all stops in between. Surely a fitting testament to Sam’s song-writing skill is the list of artists that came a knockin’ when they needed the ‘right’ song’.

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Having said that... the opening track on the album is a monolithic performance from the man himself singing his stunning self penned, “My World”. The song was picked up for release from a local label by Polydor but the version included here is different one. The emotive and passionate ballad sees Sam accompanied by a piano for the most part with intricate contributions from strings and guitar but make no mistake, it’s Sam’s own deeply soulful vocals that steal the show.

The first lady of Malaco, Ms Dorothy Moore sees her outing “Girl Overboard” which saw a release on RCA featured and it’s a great reminder of how she could melt the most stringent of hearts with her pitch perfect soulful expressionism via her distinctly velvet yet southern sounding vocals. A collaboration with long term song-writing partner Frederick Knight the song is a play on the nautical theme as Ms Moore uses Sam’s poetic license to tell us she’s overboard in love for her man. The sassy “Woman’s Way” from Alabama’s Rozetta Johnson that appeared on the Clintone imprint gave her (and Sam) a bone fide hit record when at the end of 1970 it slid into the Top 40 RnB Chart at #39. Rozetta’s oft spoken vocal sits atop a string and horn laden track arranged by none other than Warren Dale and is a musical hand in glove moment. It’s difficult to imagine the song being done by anyone but Ms Johnson and her slightly strained at times vocal.

Having played Jackie Wilson’s “Just As Soon As The Feeling’s Over”, for most of my adult life and having developed a huge love of all things Davis-Sims- Sanders it’s great to see it included with such exalted company. With Jackie’s powerful range and clarity the song is almost wrung dry by him. When musical titans meld rather than clash then the end result can be stunning and stunning is exactly what this Sam Dees penned, Carl Davis produced. Lifted from Jackie’s final Brunswick LP “Nobody But You”, even now forty years after first discovering it Sam and Jackie still manage to set my soul alight.

When you combine the talented Fame studio band with a distinctively plaintive song from Sam and elicit the deeply soulful vocals of Alabama born singer Clarence Carter, it’s a fair chance that the whole kit and caboodle will cling together and fashion a performance of note. That’s exactly what happened as Clarence and producer Rick Hall cashed in on Clarence’s international smash hit ‘Patches’ and included Sam’s ”Changes” on the Atlantic album they produced in 1970. A mid tempo ballad telling the story of abandoned love, it relies on Clarence’s impassioned tones that rightly takes pride of place amongst the stabbing but subdued horns and bongo breaks. Probably overlooked by many as it quietly nestled on the album it drips the quality associated with the legendary Muscle Shoals studio and will delight fans who are hearing it for the first time.

Sam’s ability to write songs that seem to be tailor made for their individual singers is highlighted on the inclusion of Millie Jackson’s contribution to this compilation. The decision to re-edit Millie’s version of “Mess On Your Hands” and omit the rap based profanity that peppers some of her outings is a good one. The tale of warning Millie tells her new man’s lady is as you’d expect from such a defined singer. With a voice that growls her pity for the woman but then wraps around title words like a spoon in warm treacle it’s one of the highlights of the entire CD for me.

Famed Philly musical giant Bobby Martin encouraged Sam to make the move to the West Coast in the mid 70s. Originally furnishing Martin with songs for acts including Tavares he stayed a decade and ended up signing with A&M’s publishing division which saw his songs exposed to a larger list of both singers and indeed listeners. Included here is veteran jazz pianist/vocalist Les McCann’s, “So Your Love Finally Ran Out For Me”, a desperately lonely tale of a love withering on the vine and McCann’s inability to put it right. It’s a first hearing for me and has led to me searching out Les’s “Tall Dark and Handsome” album, that Mr Rounce declares is stuffed full of Sam Dee’s songs.

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Loleatta Holloway’s deep soul vocal outings rank up with the very best and the inclusion o Sam’s ‘The Show Must Go On’ , is a well chosen representation of her style and will enthral lovers of her sometimes earthy performances and her powerful prowess in soaring from a vocal standing start to the dizziest of heights within a few seconds. For me this performance is another hand in glove musical moment, right singer, right song. In our house, it doesn’t get much better that Loleatta belting out a Sam Dees song.

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The CD encompasses a number of Sam’s eighties composition sand included are four songs that showcase Sam’s development alongside the musical requirements of a new generation whilst remaining true to the soulful quality he’d always placed at the very core of his music. Cultured lyrics, immensely passionate vocals to interpret them and strong tenets of musicianship are the glue that hold Sam’s catalogue together and it’s a small group of songwriters that can straddle the changing times of which Sam is one. A collaboration with Jeffrey Osborne delivered a song that ushered in Sam’s eighties work and ‘Where Did We Go Wrong‘, by Los Angeles’ ex funk band and 9 piece outfit, Love, Togetherness And Devotion. Osborne, the lead singer of the group would shortly leave a strike out as a soloist but this plaintive ballad outing would ensure that he left on a high as it reached a credible #7 on the RnB Chart.

The production techniques, (some may say values) , of the eighties ushered in the use of more and more reliance on synthesized instrumentation and sometimes this can, in your author’s opinion at least, dilute the whole listening experience. Gladys Knight And The Pips had a more than fruitful relationship with Sam and included here is their Columbia outing “Save The Overtime (For Me)” and I have to be honest and say it left me a little cold. Included as a, ‘tip of the hat’ to the creative combination of the pairing of the group and Sam, the song unfortunately gets ‘mullered’ by the tacky production for me.

Bringing up the rear at Track 21 and Track 22 are two The first one is collaboration between Sam and his long time friend ex Tramps member Ron (Have Mercy) Kersey and is a better example of the soulful eighties dance style for me. Sung by Johnnie Taylor the soulful disco outing “Seconds of Your Love”, it gained both a 7inch and 12 inch release on Beverly Glenn Records (as did an LP on Taylor), but failed to make any commercial impact. The final track on this congregation of Sam’s work comes from Larry Graham, the former bassist with Sly and The Family Stone that has also had recent work released on the UK Soul Junction imprint. It’s quite fitting that this tribute to Sam closes with what was his biggest selling hit “One In A Million You”. Selling over a million copies the release on Warner Bros breached the RnB Chart in 1980 and in August of that year achieved the #1 spot eventually remaining on the charts for a full six months. It’s an impeccable ballad with which Larry’s crooning style is well matched and the success of it broadened Sam’s musical reach to artists even more.

“The Songs Of Sam Dees” is a CD that will be snapped up by the legion of Sam’s already ardent fans but it will also provide an insight of his genius to soul fans who haven’t already been converted. If my memory is correct, this is the third CD that Kent has released on Mr Dees and if Mr Rounce true to his word than Sam’s Nashville outings and his work with his own Pan Pad label are in the offing.

The Songs Of Sam Dees is available shortly from the Ace/Kent website at http://acerecords.co.uk/kent-label so pop along there and treat yourself to 22 tracks of from the work of a musical icon....tell ‘em I sentcha.

Dave

Dave Moore

March 2014

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Video preview

Sam Dees is held in the highest regard by producers and fellow-artists alike. Here are a selection of 22 of his best songs from 1970 to the early 80

Track Listing

Side 1

http://acerecords.co.uk/docs/CDKEND_411/CDKEND_411-1-1.mp3 My World - Sam Dees

http://acerecords.co.uk/docs/CDKEND_411/CDKEND_411-1-2.mp3 Stop This Merry-Go-Round - John Edwards

http://acerecords.co.uk/docs/CDKEND_411/CDKEND_411-1-3.mp3 Girl Overboard - Dorothy Moore

http://acerecords.co.uk/docs/CDKEND_411/CDKEND_411-1-4.mp3 Your Love Is Like A Boomerang - Corey Blake

http://acerecords.co.uk/docs/CDKEND_411/CDKEND_411-1-5.mp3 A Woman's Way - Rozetta Johnson

http://acerecords.co.uk/docs/CDKEND_411/CDKEND_411-1-6.mp3 Vanishing Love (UK remix) - The Chi-Lites

http://acerecords.co.uk/docs/CDKEND_411/CDKEND_411-1-7.mp3 Cry To Me - Esther Phillips

http://acerecords.co.uk/docs/CDKEND_411/CDKEND_411-1-8.mp3 Standing In The Wings Of A Heartache - Ted Taylor

http://acerecords.co.uk/docs/CDKEND_411/CDKEND_411-1-9.mp3 Just As Soon As The Feeling's Over - Jackie Wilson

http://acerecords.co.uk/docs/CDKEND_411/CDKEND_411-1-10.mp3 Changes - Clarence Carter

Dropped a bit of a faux pax above. Of course it was Dale Warren, not Warren Dale (Whoever the hell that is!) that arranged parts of Rozetta Johnson's "Woman's Way". An error for which I shall complete copious amounts of sit ups at a dae and location to be determined.

Regards,

Dave