Soul In His Music, Music In His Soul

Album review

Soul in His Music, Music in His Soul features sublime vocalist Roscoe Shelton interpreting a dozen tracks by songwriters Huey "Piano" Smith, Allen Julian Orange, Bobby Hebb, and others. Recorded by DJ/producer John Richbourg aka "John R" of Rich Records and Cape Ann Music publishing, the material eventually emerged on the Sound Stage 7 label as this collection. A total of 11 of these 12 titles were released over seven separate 45 rpm records - that's almost the entire album issued as singles to radio and the public years before Cyndi Lauper, Tina Turner, Heart, and Fleetwood Mac would make multiple releases from an LP the norm. When Shelton left Excello Records circa 1961, he released a song written by his guitarist from the early Excello sessions, Bobby Hebb, coincidentally on Battle Records, the same label Hebb released a 45 on. Battle #45913 had Ted Jarrett's "Worry" on the B-side with "My Best Friend" as the featured track. Written by Bobby Hebb in 1959 or 1960, Shelton changed the lyrics slightly in the middle-eight, making this unique from the songwriter's original version. The double-sided single "Love Comes and Goes" b/w "Mastermind" was released on John R's Sims imprint, Sims 190 to be exact, written by Huey "Piano" Smith of "Sea Cruise" and "Rocking Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu" fame. "Strain on My Heart" was issued as Sims #217 and became an R&B hit in 1965. "Keep Your Mind on Me" came out as Sims #240, while "The Fire Still Burns" was issued on Sims 245. Amazingly, the singles kept finding release with "I Know Your Heart Has Been Broken" on Sound Plus #2122 while another R&B hit, "Easy Going Fellow, found fame in 1966 on Sound Stage #2555. "Who Walks In (When I Walk Out)" b/w "You're Living Too Fast" got issued on Sound Plus #2114/ Sound Stage 7 #2563 -- staggering when one thinks of the outreach to radio this important artist received. From the strings of "You're Living Too Fast" to the R&B groove of "Who Walks In (When I Walk Out)" the seven compositions from the pen of Allen Orange most likely had his guiding presence to help them along in the recording studio. Though all the tracks here got scattered across the Deep in My Soul CD collection about 40 years after this initial release; the tracking on Soul in His Music, Music in His Soul works wonderfully and is worth a listen if just for the superb original context.

© Joe Viglione /TiVo