WRAG Radio Raggedy

Saturday, February 9, 2019

WRAG RadioRaggedy -- In My Opinion, Music's Never Been Better ...


Playlist

Intro 
Alfreda Brockinton -- I’ll Wait For You 
Blue Magic -- Talking To Myself 
The Four Tops -- Turn On The Light Of Your Love 
The Trammps -- If You Don’t Know Me By Now 
The Vandals -- In My Opinion 
The Temprees -- Dedicated To The One I Love 
Homer Banks -- Up To My Neck In Love 
John Edwards -- Ain’t That Good Enough 
Blue Magic -- Looking For A Friend 
Jimmy “Soul” Clark -- If I Only Knew Then  
George Jackson -- Love Without A Future 
True Movement -- What A Lovely Way To Meet 
Outro

My two favorites from this set are “In My Opinion” and The Trammps’ version of “If You Don’t Know Me By Now.” 

The latter one, I love because of its freshness despite the somewhat tinny instrumentation. Jimmy Ellis kind of brought some zesty ZING to the table with his unmistakable tenor. In other words: I just love the sound of the Trammps. Compared to the best known versions by Teddy Pendergrass and Simply Red, this one has an aura of defiance; Jimmy Ellis seems to signal that he can do it quite as well as the others — despite the shortcomings of a rather cheap production. Hat’s off to Jimmy Ellis!

“In My Opinion,” just touched me inside. Damon Harris’s sweet falsetto reminds me of — don’t laugh — Tiramisu. It’s creamy all around, dusted with rich chocolate on top and has a good portion of espresso taste inside. Damon’s voice, I dare say, seemed to have had more richness and fullness than most of the other Temptations’ falsettos. In this 1969 recording, Damon was only 19. 

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