Stumbled
across the track The Same Routine on an internet/mixcloud radio show
recently. I had not been aware of it before, nor the obscure 1974
album it comes from. I knew of the singer though.
Eleanor(e)
Mills was picked up in the later 70s by Norman Connors and, along
with Jean Carn, is the featured, if not always credited, singer on
some of his albums. I have The Best Of Norman Connors And Friends,
and I remember getting lots of enjoyment out of that album back in
the 70s; Eleanor (without the 'e' then) features on a couple of
tracks on that album.
The
album that this track comes from, This Is Eleanore Mills, slipped
out on Astroscope (an All Platinum spin off label) and did nothing at
the time. On the back cover sleeve notes Harry Ray of the Moments
states that “this is her first album of many more to
come, and it contains what she knows how to do best, sing. WORLD!
HERE IS ELEANORE MILLS!” To
date this has proved to be the only full album she has ever had
released. That's not to say she hasn't been active in the music
business. As I mentioned above she performed with Norman Connors
later in the 70s and featured on Roberta Flack's classic late 70s
album with Donny Hathaway that featured Back Together
Again. From the mid 80s and well
into the 90s she had a number of disco and house singles released and
she is still very active now it seems in the New York area with
current Facebook and LinkedIn accounts. She seems to be a lady who
has always very much moved with the times musically.
There
seems to be no evidence of a career before her Astroscope album,
although tantalisingly I found this entry in a January 1969 copy of
Jet magazine: “Music writer-producermanager Joe Jones
thinks he has hit the jackpot in signing a Columbia Records
production agreement for foxy thrush Eleanore Mills”.
It could be another Eleanore I suppose? (“foxy thrush”! - now
that's an animal, or bird, I would like to see. Thrush was a common
term to describe a female singer earlier in the 20th
century, but 1969 seems late for it still to be used).
I
have found a couple of comments that states she is either Stephanie
Mills sister or cousin but nothing to corroborate them so I have to
think that is not true.
The
Same Routine is a superb dancer with a great string arrangement.
The album is solid throughout (Teach Me is another real standout), although none of the other tracks are
out and out dancers like this one. Eleanore's voice is really
attractive and there are some great “crying” strings,
imaginatively arranged, throughout. Most of the tracks are at a mid
to slow pace with a thoughtful, gentle, sultry feel. Think the All
Platinum sound of the early to mid 70s (The Rimshots are the band
backing Eleanore). The feel sort of reminds me of Gloria Scott's and
also Bettye Crutcher's albums that came out at a similar time.
As
I said the album sort of sunk without trace back in 1974 but has
built up a following over the years to the point it got a CD reissue
in 2000 and a Soul Brother vinyl reissue in 2016. The original now
sells for hundreds of pounds so I have satisfied myself with a
reissue copy.
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