Lou Rawls

Lou Rawls with Les McCann Ltd. - Stormy Monday (1962) {Blue Note Records CDP 7 91441 2 rel 1990}
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© 1962, 1990 Blue Note Records | CDP 7 91441 2
Jazz / Vocal Jazz / R&B / Soul Jazz

Lou Rawls has had a long and commercially successful career mostly singing soul, R&B, and pop music. Originally a gospel singer, Rawls' first album as a leader features him performing soulful standards backed by the Les McCann Trio. Few of the songs have been under-recorded through the years, but they sound fresh and lively when sung by Rawls; highlights include "Stormy Monday," "In the Evening," and "I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water." Pianist McCann gets a generous amount of solo space, and the reissue has three bonus tracks. This is still Rawls' definitive recording in the jazz idiom, cut before he went on to more lucrative areas.

Produced by the great Jay Graydon, with contributions by David Foster, it has become sort of an obscure “West Coast” classic. It embodies a mixture of typical 80’s synthesizer-pop and classic Rawls soul and jazz ballads, which seem to come from two different production camps, most likely in an effort to maintain Rawls current with pop music developments of the time and at the same time remain true to his fan base.

2 Classic Philadelphia albums Live 1978 & Let Me be Good To You 1979 issued on single CD

Double helping of 2 of Lou Rawls 80's albums recorded for Epic Records

Lou Rawls had such a long career, his music appealed differently to changing generations. In the 1950s he recorded doo-wop, in the 60s it was jazz, blues and big band swing, then come the 70s it was silky soul as epitomised by Gamble & Huff's. You'll Never Find (Another Love Like Mine) for Philadelphia International Records. Now Is The Time and Close Company, neither previously available on CD, find Lou at the tail end of his soul years ahead of his return to jazzier roots and a record deal with Blue Note.

A smooth, often delightful album that kept Lou Rawls squarely in the love/romantic/mellow circle that he'd been scoring in throughout the late '70s. Gamble and Huff were really trimming the productions and keeping things laid-back and casual, while Rawls' emphatic, smoky vocals carried the day. They weren't getting huge pop hits, but were on the R&B charts steadily, and the album just missed the pop Top 40.