The Masqueraders

[Mark Bicknell]

I said i agree with you Christian, was simply quoting an interview from liner notes via a Relic LP of Volumes Chex recordings which was an interview with Union in the mid 80's, as i said often the artists are a little cloudy of their past so what chance do we have and does it eally matter anyway. The fact is that most of The Volumes recordings are awesome no matter who sang lead and thats all we really care about is it not.

Regards - Mark Bicknell.

[Garethx]

Billy

Perhaps I was too hasty in using the phrase "woefully simplistic." I didn't mean to offend. It's true that The Masqueraders recorded in a fairly wide variety of styles and at a number of studios, but I think it is possible to explain this in some very concrete terms. Groups which we tend to think of as really influential in soul history, such as The Falcons or Impressions were fortunate enough to be very successful very early on in their careers. With You're So Fine, I Found A Love, or For Your Precious Love The Falcons and Impressions respectively forged a musical identity that they never really veered from. Curtis Mayfield didn't ever really change tack until his solo years because he didn't have to. Maybe he couldn't change because his public and his record company demanded the patented Impressions sound. Similarly, The Falcons remained, in their various incarnations a gospel-based, heavy soul group. Wilson Pickett himself didn't really reinvent himself in twenty subsequent years of recording.

The Masqueraders didn't really have this luxury. Their first records, as The Stairs and The Masquaders sold in miniscule amounts, but when I hear these records they reek of the Masqueraders to me, an initiate. To the uninitiated these particular records may sound like generic doo-wop and generic embryo soul.

The Masqueraders travelled to Detroit to audition for Motown, who liked them but didn't really need another group with a hard tenor lead: they already had The Temptations and The Contours, to name but two. They stuck around Detroit because they continued to work the clubs; they made Detroit type soul records with La Beat because they thought the records would sell. Lou Beatty believed in them but couldn't really muscle in on the big money in Detroit, regional or national record sales.

The move back down south to record for Bell, Wand and (briefly) Amy at American Group Studios yielded fantastic results artistically, for me the true and instantly definable, classic Masqueraders sound: the records I mentioned above all have this and to me don't sound like any other soul group: Chips Moman and American cut a few soul groups at the time, having reasonable success with The Dynamics on Cotillion, for example, and despite being cut at the same studio with the same musicians at broadly the same time, The Dynamics' records sound nothing like The Masqueraders. Most of The American material was self penned. "How Big Is Big" is something of an exception: it was a cover of a New York pop song by Joe Levine and was a departure sound wise. I personally love it, and have played it whenever I have deejayed for some years. It doesn't feature Lee Jones, and I can concede it could be by any number of groups. I like it because it works well in a left-field Northern Soul context: I wouldn't begin to say it rivals some of their own, more personal material of the time.

Crucially, lasting success at this time evaded them. "I Ain't Got To Love Nobody Else" was a reasonably big hit, covered by (off the top of my head) such notable soul singers as Bobby Womack, Dee Dee Warwick and Carolyn Franklin to name a few, but it was to be their last hit record. I fully believe that, given luck, their sound would have become far more influential, and their songs more widely recorded by other, more feted performers.

From the American years, they moved to Hi, where, frankly, every artist sounded like a Hi artist. But we must remember, they were courted by Hi, rather than the other way round. It was a case of another label recognising their gifts but being unable to "sell" them. It is worth remembering that Hi submerged many quality singers financially (but not artistically) at this time. Otis Clay, OV Wright etc. all had to work in the wake of the phenomenon that was Al Green: it was only business sense that the confirmed hitmaker should demand the lion's share of promotional budgets.

The move to ABC to work with Isaac Hayes should have worked but didn't. A familiar, cyclical story in their career. Throughout, however, I maintain that they made very few generic records. The vast majority really do have their own identifiable Masqueraders stamp. Crucially, they had a fairly long career for non-hit artists because successive record companies were knocked out by the amount of sheer talent within the group. Generic, soundalike artists don't have careers with that amount of longevity. They don't get asked to work with generations of the hottest producers in America (as The Masqueraders were with Chips Moman, Willie Mitchell and Isaac Hayes).

Please listen again, Billy. I can unreservedly recommend the Grapevine compilation on the group: you'll see what a tremendously creative axis The Masqueraders were.

Edited April 19, 2005 by garethx

[Guest]

Try again soucers!,The Masqueraders,I dont want nobody to lead me on;WAND,1168,this was Butch`s Masqueraders,as i bought this of him,fuckin`great too!,luverly!Demo,deffo needs more plays out.

link

Are you readin`these threads,or do i sense something els,obviously not good enough for the likes of you`s,what a bunch of sad people!!

Edited April 19, 2005 by kenneth aitchison

[Billy Freemantle]

Garethx,

That is a superb expostition and analysis that gives the Masquerders the full close attention and credit that they deserve.

I will certainly continue to seek out their sounds. But I am already solidly on their side as I have said all along!

By the way, no offence was taken.

[Steve G]

The Raiders were all truck drivers from Dallas I think, who drove up to Memphis to cut some of their later sides - it would be great if they did come over to the UK. I think they are excellent, even if they are "off key" sometimes. One of the great "almost made it's", and if you think about the number of labels they recorded on, we are not alone in thinking highly of them....

[jocko]

Bloody hell Gareth, have you sent your cv to Ady for future cd booklets, much more eloquent and well put than most !

Totally agree and reading this made me dip into Mr Manships cheap section (its there if you look for it) and see if any Masqueraders he had that I didnt and for all of £8 bought Say It on AGP and to me this highlights why they are so great, maybe not stunningly original, as Steve says maybe not totally on key (I am too tone deaf to notice this I reckon!) but they have great proper soulful voices that very few singers were blessed enough to have. Just amazing, probably are creeping in as favorite group!

Cheers

Jock

PS Yes I know the whole cd is cheaper than the 45 but I already have cd and there is still no greater feeling to me than listening to genuis on vinyl.

[Guest]

The fact is that most of The Volumes recordings are awesome no matter who sang lead and thats all we really care about is it not.

Regards - Mark Bicknell.

link

[Billy Freemantle]

Just recorded a compilation for the car featuring Masqueraders, Volumes and Diplomats. They are all brlliant.

Came across this photo of The Masqueraders performing at The 20 Grand in Detroit on the Soulful Detroit website.

Edited April 20, 2005 by Billy Freemantle