The late master of deep southern soul with another stunning album again produced by long time mentor Quinton M Claunch, this time from 1993
A brand new recording from soul singer James Carr is something to look forward to. One of the greatest of Memphis soul legends, James Carr has been underrated for far too long (Q magazine appropriately titled it's recent four-page history of the singer "The Lost Voice Of Soul"). Born on June 13th, 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee, James started out his career singing gospel. He sang briefly with the famous Soul Stirrers (a group that also spawned Sam Cooke and Johnnie Taylor) and was a member of the Harmony Echoes when he was discovered by Roosevelt Jamison and brought to Goldwax Records. There, between 1966 and 69, he had nine Top R & B hit singles including You've Got My Mind Messed Up, Love Attack, Pouring Water On A Drowning Man and the originals of the classics To Love Somebody and Dark End Of The Street (the ultimate southern soul "cheating" song-.-recorded subsequently by the likes of Percy Sledge).After Goldwax folded in 1969. James moved to Atlantic where in 1970 and 71 he had four sides released, among them 71's I'll Put It To You. Increasing health problems removed him from the music scene until a reunion in 1977 with Roosevelt Jamison for the River City single Let Me Be Right. Subsequently, he returned to the church but in 1990 surprised his earlier fans with the return to secular form shown on the brand new album Take Me To The Limit (Ace CDCH 310). Q magazine's feature, which came out after that album's release, said James Carr's "place in soul music history is assured" but this second album of new recordings shows that the soulman can still pull out all the stops and touch all the right emotional buttons. Produced by Quinton Claunch (who also produced all 48 of his earlier Goldwax sides) at Imperial Studio, Germantown, Tennessee, with a soulful horn section and a funky little rhythm section (including the guitar of Michael Toles), James Carr tells his story - A SOUL SURVIVOR.
