JIMMY SCOTT
The Source (Label M)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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Though there's been a revival of interest in Jimmy Scott in recent years, for much of his career he was hampered by an unfortunate contract with Herman Lubinsky's Savoy Records (exactly how unfortunate is graphically describe in the notes by producer Joel Dorn) which kept some of his greatest work away out of circulation. A 1963 effort for Ray Charles' Tangerine Records remains unavailable, but conditions have finally permitted the release of this 1969 Atlantic release in its original form, and the album is an unmitigated treasure.

This is the most dangerous kind of ground for a reviewer to tread, because the temptation is to slip into a litany of the most cliched superlatives. It's almost harder to write something about a record that is so nearly flawless than it is to write about a botched hack job by a second rate talent. There is nothing botched here, nothing second rate, just 8 performances by one of the most distinctive, most soulful, most valuable singers in popular music.

Backed by players like Junior Mance (piano), Eric Gale (guitar), Ron Carter (bass) and David "Fathead" Newman (flute/tenor), the supporting cast is as strong as the headliner. The material is familiar, from GAS standards to Brill Building pop, but in his day Jimmy Scott could sing the phonebook and move an audience. He takes each of these familiar refrains and finds something in them you've never noticed before. Picking a favorite cut would be like picking a favorite child - there's just no point. This is one to be played from beginning to end, over and over.

Jimmy Scott's more recent work is better than no Jimmy Scott at all, but if you want to hear him at the top of his game, The Source is the place to do it. You need this one.

Track List:

Exodus * On Broadway * Our Day Will Come * I Wish I Knew * Unchained Melody * Day By Day * Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child * This Love Of Mine

© 2001 - Shaun Dale