A simply stunning album when taken on its own terms, a vinyl obtained from my friend and shared with the kindness of an open heart-- made all the more generous by the price at which it's sold sometimes...
Despite the crazy, perhaps a teeny bit childish cover, the contents actually reveal soul-pop with some slight progressive moves here and there, a diminished arpeggio here, an odd chord combination there. There is some information in the database already, and you can see it's relatively popular on RYM. The high rating is well deserved but oddly enough no one has yet reviewed it, though I am sure someone will soon after today.
So let's go all out with a warm Motown soul embrace on Did you ever wonder:
Of course we're reminded of those oldsters like Jackson Five, Temptations, Marvin Gaye, the earliest Diana Ross, etc. Note the exceptionally attractive orchestration and the beauty of the harmony vocals. Then, the end uses a minor second chord switch and bass solo to wrap it all up. Surprisingly good songwriting on a super-rarity. That track by George Chandler, who grew up in Alabama, presumably with Charlie Cannon, the other principal songwriter represented here, and together with another yank called Stanley Evans they wrote all the great music for this LP-- which was recorded in Italy. Odd?
Now let's go to the Garden of Boom:
The best track by Charlie. And you'll agree it is really a nice song indeed.
Again, check the price of the copy for sale. Admittedly, it's from Italy, a country in which all records are sold at a markup of at least 500 percent, but don't usually arrive if sent by mail, where the mafia usually builds buildings, and does the garbage pickup for you, or doesn't, fittingly, and the president has orgies every weekend with teenaged hookers (does that even make sense?) ... and at one time 2000 years ago, they ruled the entire Mediterranean rim like a bathtub's uncleanable scum line but now are reduced to stealing cents from tourists by secretly short-changing them at cafes. So it's not the usual kind of nation we are accustomed to.
Two in a row straight outta Italy this week. And next week, we're moving on to the former soviet area, where it's even less likely you'll receive in the mail that scratchy overpriced record you bought...