Mighty Pope - If You Want A Love Affair

[Mal C]

Just seen this in wants section, and I'm compelled to write this, STATE !! it even... its an ok version of an utterly fabulous song, but its not even a patch on Jesse James, it doesn't come near... Jesse is Super Sonic!!! Pope is smiling, but he's standing in a puddle...

 

Nice track, but ultimately an exercise in 'oh its another version'...  so there Ive said it..

 

lets hear it for one of the most brilliant 7ts soul sides of all time!!! does that bloke still want mighty Pope?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mc-6sPYNTs

 

 

Mal.C

Edited December 15, 2014 by Mal C

[Guest Ivor Jones]

Yep

[Mal C]

[Sjclement]

Why would you take Jimmy Beaumont before JP Robinson?

[Mike Lofthouse]

I agree - apart from the superior 'top side' the flip is the awesome Deep Soul of 'I Never Meant to Love Her' - I was happy to let my Mighty Pope go.......

 

 

[Steve Plumb]

I agree JJ far superior (magnificent in fact) MP is just simply very good (imho)

 

Maybe the guy/girl in the wants section already has JJ and wants MP for the full set?

 

MP good to hear out occasionally, as JJ (bless him) is played at just about every 70's do imaginable and deserves a rest every now and then?

 

x

[Mark B]

I prefer the mighty Pope as I hate the intro on the Jesse James version

[Mal C]

I prefer the mighty Pope as I hate the intro on the Jesse James version

 15 sets of 10 consecutive "hail Marys" in a row ... has the  Pope taught you nothing!!

 

Mel.B

Edited December 16, 2014 by Mal C

[Lfcjunkie]

I prefer jj version ...but jesse himself said "they took the love affair track and when it came back they'd disco-fied it!"...he was really disappointed with it...wouldn't  mind hearing pre mixed take then..

dave L

[Smudger]

I agree - apart from the superior 'top side' the flip is the awesome Deep Soul of 'I Never Meant to Love Her' - I was happy to let my Mighty Pope go.......

 

 

 

Magnificent !  swapped a vinyl demo for the issue ages ago just to get my hands on this beauty even though its styrene

[purist]

Boots or Superdrug, or some other chemist might be able to help you guys out, the product you're looking for is called earex or something like that     After a few applications try listening to Mighty Pope again, hear the soul, the ache, the heartbreak. Jesse is okay but it's too gentle for me, it's kinda like he's saying " if its okay with you, but if not, then no problem, sorry didnt mean to disturb you" whereas Mighty Pope lets her know with every strangled phrase that he'll probably die if she dont give him a chance...

(absolutely no bias on the grounds that JJ is cheap as chips/common as muck, and MP is far more difficult to find (and therefore much more suits the 'Rare Soul' tag) because 98% of my collection is cheap records which are wonderfully soulful, neither am i making the arguement with my RCA label collectors uniform on. In fact I'm not even playing the Northern Soul versus Soul card which many would say fits this discussion perfectly as MP is much more dramatic & hence more suitable for our scene as a dance record. No I'm just making the point that MP makes me believe every word where JJ sounds like he's singing a demo for somebody else to come along and insert some soul into )

 I suppose you could say it comes down to which you prefer - The polished magnificent silky sound of Smokey Robinson, or the SOUL of Bobby Bland. MP & BB, different branches, not of the same tree, but the same forest. Smokey, well he's not wood at all, more like an elegant water feature in a high end hotel, something we can all look at and admire, but truthfully he couldn't make me cry even if I stubbed my toe with the really bad ingrowing toenail on him

 

 

[Mike Lofthouse]

Boots or Superdrug, or some other chemist might be able to help you guys out, the product you're looking for is called earex or something like that     After a few applications try listening to Mighty Pope again, hear the soul, the ache, the heartbreak. Jesse is okay but it's too gentle for me, it's kinda like he's saying " if its okay with you, but if not, then no problem, sorry didnt mean to disturb you" whereas Mighty Pope lets her know with every strangled phrase that he'll probably die if she dont give him a chance...

(absolutely no bias on the grounds that JJ is cheap as chips/common as muck, and MP is far more difficult to find (and therefore much more suits the 'Rare Soul' tag) because 98% of my collection is cheap records which are wonderfully soulful, neither am i making the arguement with my RCA label collectors uniform on. In fact I'm not even playing the Northern Soul versus Soul card which many would say fits this discussion perfectly as MP is much more dramatic & hence more suitable for our scene as a dance record. No I'm just making the point that MP makes me believe every word where JJ sounds like he's singing a demo for somebody else to come along and insert some soul into )

 I suppose you could say it comes down to which you prefer - The polished magnificent silky sound of Smokey Robinson, or the SOUL of Bobby Bland. MP & BB, different branches, not of the same tree, but the same forest. Smokey, well he's not wood at all, more like an elegant water feature in a high end hotel, something we can all look at and admire, but truthfully he couldn't make me cry even if I stubbed my toe with the really bad ingrowing toenail on him

[Mal C]

Boots or Superdrug, or some other chemist might be able to help you guys out, the product you're looking for is called earex or something like that     After a few applications try listening to Mighty Pope again, hear the soul, the ache, the heartbreak. Jesse is okay but it's too gentle for me, it's kinda like he's saying " if its okay with you, but if not, then no problem, sorry didnt mean to disturb you" whereas Mighty Pope lets her know with every strangled phrase that he'll probably die if she dont give him a chance...

(absolutely no bias on the grounds that JJ is cheap as chips/common as muck, and MP is far more difficult to find (and therefore much more suits the 'Rare Soul' tag) because 98% of my collection is cheap records which are wonderfully soulful, neither am i making the arguement with my RCA label collectors uniform on. In fact I'm not even playing the Northern Soul versus Soul card which many would say fits this discussion perfectly as MP is much more dramatic & hence more suitable for our scene as a dance record. No I'm just making the point that MP makes me believe every word where JJ sounds like he's singing a demo for somebody else to come along and insert some soul into )

 I suppose you could say it comes down to which you prefer - The polished magnificent silky sound of Smokey Robinson, or the SOUL of Bobby Bland. MP & BB, different branches, not of the same tree, but the same forest. Smokey, well he's not wood at all, more like an elegant water feature in a high end hotel, something we can all look at and admire, but truthfully he couldn't make me cry even if I stubbed my toe with the really bad ingrowing toenail on him

Nahh, Ive listened to it again and again, Pope 45 is not a patch on Jesse James... production or Vocal, as for the comparison of smokey against Bobby Bland... totally different singers there can be no comparison made with those artists in my mind...Sorry mate,  but The Pope aint no DOPE!!

 

I checked out the flip on the issue also, nice track, but still not as electrifying as Love affair... I think some tracks just hold something that others dont, you can point singularly to the vocal, or the the arrangement, the recording, the backing singers and all that,  but it has to be taken as a whole, every time I hear this track it fills me with excitement very few other soul tracks do, id go as far as saying it maybe my all time favorite 45...

 

As you rightly said thought, it basically comes down to personal preference...

 

Malcolm

Edited December 27, 2014 by Mal C

[Seano]

I agree - apart from the superior 'top side' the flip is the awesome Deep Soul of 'I Never Meant to Love Her' - I was happy to let my Mighty Pope go.......

 

 

What an amazing flip side, thanks for posting that! Sadly mine's a DJ copy, although given how good the track is that's fine anyway.

 

But must admit that I like the Mighty Pope version too, having posted this on YouTube a few months back:

"I've never heard this version before, always loved Jesse James, but this guy has a great voice and love the choppy piano and overall rhythm"

 

As mentioned in the thread by Dave L, would be great to hear Jesse's preferred original take....