Soulfull Folk: Terry Callier on Cadet 1972-1973

Chicago-born Terry Callier (may 24th, 1945) was a childhood friend of Curtis Mayfield and recorded his first album in 1963. However, this debut for the Prestige label, The New Folk Sound of Terry Callier, was not released untill 1968 because supposedly the producer (including the master tapes) disappeared for a few years, staying in an Indian Yaki reservation. At the beginning of the seventies, Callier signed with Cadet (a sublabel of the Chess powerhouse) and released three stunning albums which mixed soul, folk and jazz with Chess producer Charles Stepney's tastefull orchestration. Stephey already produced the experimental sound of The Rotary Connection and would later have massive succes with Earth, Wind and Fire. Guitar hero Phil Upchurch plays on all three Callier recordings and the overal sound of the albums is deeply melancolic but sweetly transcendental. This is not music you listen while doing something else, for the poetic truth and beauty of this work reveals itself only to the attentive listeners. Imagine Marvin Gaye meeting up with Nick Drake and Jeff Buckley and there you go........

Terry Callier's first album for Cadet, Occasional Rain was released in 1972. All originals, including the classic Ordinary Joe. Backing vocals by Minnie Ripperton.

Tracklist: Segue #1 - Go Ahead On, Ordinary Joe, Golden Circle, Segue #5 - Go Head On, Trance on Sedgewick Street, Do You Finally Need a Friend , Segue #4 - Go Head On, Sweet Edie-D, Occasional Rain, Segue #2 - Go Head On, Blues for Marcus, Lean on Me, Last Segue - Go Head On

Terry's second album, What Colour is Love, was released on Cadet in 1972. Again all original songs, including You're Goin' Miss Your Candyman, as sampled by Urban Species in Listen. Also one of my all-time favourite album covers ever.

Tracklist: Dancing Girl, What Color Is Love, You Goin' Miss Your Candyman, Just As Long As We're In Love, Ho Tsing Mee (A Song Of The Sun), I'd Rather Be With You, You Don't Care.

Terry Callier's final and most soulfull 1973 album for Cadet, called I Just Can't Help Myself. Sounding like a stripped-down Marvin Gaye, including a splendid version of Duke Ellington's Satin Doll and the John Coltrane tribute Can't Catch The Trane (together with Alley-Wind Song already recorded in 1969).

Tracklist: (I Just Can't Help Myself) I Don't Want Nobody Else, Brown-Eyed-Lady, Gotta Get Closer To You, Satin Doll, Until Tomorrow, Alley-Wind Song, Can't Catch The Trane, Bowlin' Green.

Terry Callier continued to record and release records till 1982, when he took over resposibility of raising his 12 year old daughter and started working as a computer programmer at Chicago University. Musically dormant during most of the eighties, he was rediscovered in the nineties and started releasing albums again. His latest effort, Hidden Conversations, was just released on the Mr Bongo label.

Mitty Collier - Shades Of A Genius (Chess LP 1965)

Although I love their cocktails, Milano is actually way to much fashion for me. Lots of posh shops that is, however, there's also Via Padova. A street with lots of people hanging around and police patrolling heavily. And it is here where I found Dischi Metropolis, an old basement filled with second hand vinyl, also equiped with very helpfull personell. Browsing through the bins I encountered Mitty Collier's 1965 album Shades of a Genius on Chess Records for 7 euros. Earlier this year I already noticed the Ace/Kent compilation Shades of Mitty Collier (focusing on her 15 singles for Chess), and was impressed with the powerfull soul-gospel voice of Mitty. Chicago’s Chess label hosted a whole bunch of great female soul voices, eg Etta James, Fontella Bass, Jackie Ross and Sugarpie de Santo. Somewhat more obscure is the here featured Mitty Collier, best known for her hit I Had a Talk With My Man Last Night, released in 1964 on Chess. Mitty was born in 1941 in Birmingham, Alabama, sung in church and toured with gospel groups The Hayes Ensemble and the Loyd Reese Singers. In order to earn some money for her college education, Mitty started singing r&b in the local clubs. In 1959, she won Al Benson’s Talent Contest and a year later, she got signed by Ralp Bass for Chess records at age 20. She stayed with Chess for eight years, releasing 15 singles and the here featured album, 1965’s Shades Of A Genius, a set comprising songs originated by or associated with Ray Charles (three songs are written by him). The album includes her first 1961 single Gotta Get Away From It All, arranged and produced, by Riley Hampton and Roquel “Billy” Davis and the 1964 classic I Had a Talk With My Man Last Night, a gospel song written by James Cleveland (and produced by Billy Davis), substituting the word “God” for “Man”. No Faith, No Love was another 1965 minor hit inspired by James Cleveland’s No Cross No Crown. Shades of a Genius provides us with excellent mid sixties soul, with a deep gospel undercurrent. Most tunes are slow, but things also get funky with Willie Dixon’s My Babe. As usual, the Chess production created tastefull brass sections and bluesy guitar licks. The woman on the album cover is not Mittie Collier, and although it was a withdrawn album cover, it managed to be pressed and released in Italia. Her highest charting single was released a year after the album, Sharing You, also covered by Dusty Springfield, Inez Foxx, Shirley Brown and Marva Wright. Her Chess swansong, released in 1968, was a new version of Gotta Get Away From It All, recorded at Fame Studios in Alabama with producer Rick Hall. Mitty left Chess after releasing Everybody Makes A Mistake Sometimes, a song recorded at Muscle Shoals. She then recorded five singles for William Bell's Peachtree label, in 1969, releasing True Love Never Comes Easy and You Hurt So Good. In 1972, Mitty departed secular music and began singing gospel music, releasing veral albums : The Warning, featuring I Had A Talk With God Last Night (1972), Hold The Light (1977) and I Am Love (1987). She is now the pastor of the More Like Christ Christian Fellowship Ministries, Chicago.

Listen To: I Had A Talk with My Man Last Night

Listen To: My Babe


Tracklist:
1. Come Back Baby
2. I Had A Talk With My Man Last Night
3. Would You Have Listened
4. I Gotta Get Away From It All
5. My Babe
6. Halleluja (I Love Him So)

7. Drown In My Own Tears
8. No Faith, No Love
9. Together
10.Let Them Talk
11.Little Miss Loneliness
12.Ain't That Love

Mittie Collier with the Bar-keys on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPcKJSw92a0 (introduction by Otis Redding)