Tee Train

Richard Tee appeared on more than 400 albums as a sideman, including longtime stints with Roberta Flack and Aretha Franklin. It should be no surprise, then, that the music heard on this last album before his death in 1993 should have elements of soul, funk, and gospel. Real Time is what could be called a swaying album. It can be danced to, but the performances are so low-key and sincere that dancers would only have to stay in place and sway to the music. In addition to his usual spells on the piano and keyboards, Tee sings in a slow, soulful voice that adds to the peacefulness of the proceedings.

The gang's all here: the in-demand New York session pros that fueled more hit records and seminal fusion cuts that anybody could accurately track down. And who knows how many tracks for TV commercials. Richard Tee came up from North Carolina and added a thick spread of Gospel to the collective sometimes billed as 'Stuff' (and sometimes not billed at all.) Every cut here climbs into a groove and rides.

Ultimately, The Train ends up fitting the description of the “mixed” rating to a tee. Aesthetically, the record is beautiful and just about nails the sound for which it is shooting…

Various Artists - South Texas Rhythm 'n' Soul Revue (2013) {Kent Soul CDKEND390 rel 1962-1973}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 190 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 129 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 37 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1962-73, 2013 Kent Soul / Ace Records | CDKEND 390
Rhythm and Blues / Soul / Blues / Funk / Texas Blues

The first of what's promised to be many trips into Huey P. Meaux's deep vaults, Ace's 2013 compilation South Texas Rhythm 'N' Soul Revue is an unfettered delight, collecting 24 sides released on the Jet Stream, Tear Drop, Eric, Cascade, Pacemaker, Boogaloo, and Trinity imprints between 1962 and 1973, adding three previously unissued numbers for good measure. Hits aren't the name of the game here, nor are there too many household names: Big Walter Price (not Big Walter Horton), Johnny Adams, Johnny Copeland, and Barbara Lynn (the latter represented with a demo of "You'll Lose a Good Thing") are the names that could possibly spark recognition, but even these are better-known by aficionados, not trainspotters.

In the latter half of the 20th century there were three pre-eminently influential folk/country guitar players: Merle Travis, Chet Atkins, and Arthel "Doc" Watson, a flat-picking genius from Deep Gap, North Carolina. Unlike the other two, Watson was in middle age before gaining any attention. After 1960, though, when Watson was recorded with his family and friends in Folkways' Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley's, people remained in awe of this gentle blind man who sang and picked with a pure and emotional authenticity.