The Stylistics at the Anvil

After the gritty sounds of Stax in the sixties, the sweet easy listening Philly soul of the Stylistics seemed a little tame when it swept through the UK charts in the early seventies. But fifty years later, I have to admit that the songs themselves were good and the delivery excellent. Lead singer Russell Thompkins Jr had a great voice and the rest of the group supported him well. Now Russell leads his own version of the Stylistics while two other original members of the group - Herb Murrell and Airrion Love (pictured below) - continue to tour, with Barrington 'Bo' Henderson (bottom photo) taking the lead since 2018 and Jason Sharp completing the foursome. They tour a lot and last night it was the turn of the Anvil in Basingstoke to welcome them. Any slight reservations I had about them were quickly dispelled as they put on a superbly professional show, with the new front man every bit the equal of the original lead singer. All their big hits were showcased, including 'Star Of A TV Show', 'Sing Baby Sing', 'I'm Stone In Love With You', Betcha By Golly Wow', 'You'll Never Get To Heaven', 'Let's Put It All Together', 'Break Up To Make Up', 'Stop, Look Listen (To Your Heart)', 'You Are Everything' and 'Ebony Eyes'. The songs were beautifully performed by the whole group and showed the sheer quality of Thom Bell's songwriting. Highlight for me was 'You Make Me Feel Brand New' which was truly a spine tingling moment, and other songs such as 'Jenny' and 'Na Na Is the Saddest Word' were almost as good. The whole performance was slickly presented and note perfect and the audience loved it. The final number 'I Can't Give You Anything But My Love' brought them to their feet and the enthusiastic applause was well deserved. I have to admit that I found the soul sounds of the early seventies, when the group was at its peak, with two 'Best Of' LPs reaching number one in the album charts and nine singles reaching the UK top ten, a bit of a let down at the time compared with the previous decade. And it wasn't long until disco took hold and the Stylistics sound became outdated. But compared with much of what came later the Stylistics were head and shoulders above many later soul and disco groups. If there is a criticism it would be that they were TOO well rehearsed, a trifle contrived. But vocally and visually they were excellent. Betcha By Golly Wow they were!

Staples Jr Singers at the Jazz Cafe

Nearly 50 years after recording what is now a rare gospel soul LP at a tiny studio in Tupelo, Missisiippi, the Staples Jr Singers, from nearby Aberdeen, made their UK debut at the Jazz Cafe last night. And they went down a storm with a good sized and appreciative crowd. Named after their musical heroes the Staple Singers, the band's album, 'When Do We Get Paid', recorded in 1975 with only 500 copies pressed, was reissued earlier this year on David Byrne's Luaka Bop label, bringing their brand of rootsy soul to a new, young audience. The main members are lead singers Edward Brown and Annie Brown Caldwell, with A R C Brown on guitar and background vocals. This is very much a family band, with Annie's sons supporting them on bass guitar and drums and her husband also on guitar. Their repertoire last night consisted mostly of songs from their original LP and the reissue, which has a slightly different track listing. They kicked off with 'I Feel Good' with Edward's soulful vocals to the fore, and moved on with the title track of their album. A highlight was 'Looking For A Man', a gospel version of Bobby Womack's 'Looking For A Love', with powerful singing once again. Annie took the lead on the next song entitled, I think, 'You've Been Good To Me' and it became audience partipation time as she handed the microphone to various enthusiastic audience members to sing the chorus line, with mixed results. 'I'm Going To A City', an extended version, closed the set and Edward, Annie and A R C took full advantage of the audience's excitement. It was, as my friend Dave C said, a slightly rough and ready performance, with the group's rural Mississippi roots showing through both in their down home singing and their dress and appearance. But a thoroughly enjoyable one - a music event the likes of which the Jazz Cafe will not have seen in many a year.