I am a fan of Huey Morgan’s Sunday show
on BBC 6 Music. He plays an eclectic mix with more than a smattering of oldies
in the soul, funk and hip hop vein. 6 Music are learning, finally, that it
doesn’t have to be rock slanted music all the time. A few weeks ago Huey
evidently could not make the gig at short notice so 6 Music stalwart Tom
Robinson stepped in to do the talking. I stress the talking bit, because he was
sticking to an already laid down play list prepared by Huey. It was quite
amusing at times listening to Tom, who I respect, seemingly coming over all
quizzical at some of the tracks he was required to introduce. One example was a
track from George McCrae – “I Get Lifted”, and Tom appeared to sound surprised
that George had recorded something other than the ubiquitous “Rock Your Baby”.
If you are of a certain age then “Rock
Your Baby” will certainly be familiar and probably loved too, even if you are not
generally of the soul persuasion. Memories and all that. I loved “Rock Your
Baby” and quite liked some of George’s follow up singles even though I
recognised they bore more than a passing resemblance to his big hit. “I Get
Lifted” was a single that was released after the big hit and is one I couldn’t
recall but, boy, did it sound good pumping out of the radio on that Sunday
afternoon.
I resolved to go out and snag a copy. It
is not a rare record by any means but to date I had not managed to find one on
t’internet that ticked the boxes on both price and condition. Today, almost as
an afterthought, I paid a quick visit to a couple of chazzas and what do I find
in one of them? For 50p, a mint copy of George’s album “Rock Your Baby” – and I
do mean mint, it was as if I had just stepped back in time nearly 40 years and
walked into a record shop. Side one of
this album is predictable inasmuch as it contains all the hits, but side two is
a great surprise, as well as “I Get Lifted” there are two more killer tracks,
and I think they all sound really fresh to this day.
On the back cover of this album George is
sporting a rather fetching denim suit, including cut off shorts. It may take a
few more years for denim shorts to be cool again, but there can be no denying
that the Jay Boy label in the middle of an LP will forever be uber cool.
I will leave you to find one of the, to
my mind, killer tracks on this album - “I
Need Somebody Like You” - and give you these:
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2 comments:
Darce, you are most fortunate in your 'chazzas'.
Listening via Box without having to DL first? Priceless.
I remember having the 45 of I Get Lifted, but I never heard Look At You and it is a killer! Weren't these records produced by K.C of the Sunshine Band? Thanks for the post.
Ben
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