NASHVILLE |FROM: LATHUM NELSON/TODD BRODGINSKI
SAM MOORE TO RELEASE HIS SOLO DEBUT ‘PLENTY GOOD LOVIN’: THE LOST SOLO ALBUM’ AUGUST 13;
SAM MOORE will step out of his own estimable shadows with the release of his solo debut PLENTY GOOD LOVIN’: THE LOST SOLO ALBUM, due August 13 on the EMI-distributed 2K Sounds label. Surprisingly, the album was recorded from 1970 to early 1971, though never released due to various controversies surrounding the artist at that time.
The legendary trademark lead voice of ’60s soul duo Sam & Dave, responsible for such classic Pop and R&B hits as “Soul Man,” “Hold On! I’m A-Comin’,” “I Thank You” and “You Don’t Know Like I Know,” MOORE was surprised when in 1998 a Rhino Records product manager asked him to sign a DJ promotional copy of the 1971 single “If I Should Lose Your Love.” Memory sufficiently jogged, MOORE, who had never seen this single or any record issued solely under his name, dimly recalled recording a few songs on his own but it never occurred to him that it was an album’s worth of material.
Recorded under the auspices of session saxophonist/hit-making solo artist King Curtis shortly before the latter was stabbed to death in 1971, most of the album’s contents are covers; some familiar (“Shop Around,” composed by Smokey Robinson for the Miracles; “Get Out Of My Life Woman,” written by Allen Toussaint for Lee Dorsey; and the Clay Hammond-authored “Part Time Love”); some more obscure (the Detroit Emeralds’ “If I Lose Your Love,” the Soul Sisters’ “I Can’t Stand It,” and Lee Michaels’s “Heighty Hi”), but all radically rearranged in a proto-funk/soul style that enabled MOORE to showcase his cinemascopic range, glass-shattering power, and burnished tone across hitherto unexplored musical boundaries: gospel, jazz, blues, and country. In addition, MOORE himself wrote the four-on-the-floor title track, “Plenty Good Lovin’,” which stemmed from a Dave Crawford-produced session in Miami (MOORE‘s hometown) that also formed “Tennessee Waltz,” a slow-grinding slice of Southern soul.
In addition to the Grammy award-winning, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee’s unmistakable vocals, PLENTY GOOD LOVIN’ features ample contributions from such New York City session luminaries as guitarists Eric Gale and Cornell Dupree, drummer Bernard Purdie, bassist Chuck Rainey with keyboardists Donny Hathaway and–notably on MOORE‘s epic, gospel-drenched cover of Little Johnny Taylor’s deep blues staple, “Part Time Love”–Aretha Franklin.
“When it comes to songs, I look for a story that I can tell,” MOORE explains. “And I look for something that people can whistle, hum, sing, or dance along to. So if they’ve had a bad day, week, month, or whatever, they can hear my song and walk away feeling good about themselves.”
“At first, I was afraid to play the record,” MOORE confesses. “I thought it might sound dated. But at the end of the day, I’m pleased. I think people are going to say, ‘Wow, this guy could really sing!’ I truly think this is some of the best work I’ve ever done.”
In addition to countless live appearances all across Europe, Asia and the U.S., MOORE has several current and forthcoming acting or performing appearances, including the Steve Bing/Adam Rifkin project Night At The Golden Eagle and the Sydney Pollack-directed Forty Shades Of Blue. Prior to these features, MOORE played a notable role in the PBS-TV adaptation of Armistead Maupin’s acclaimed Tales Of The City.
Meanwhile, MOORE will be spotlighted in the new PBS installment of the “American Soundtrack” series’ show: “Soul and Inspiration: Doo Wop Spirituals,” airing August 10-18. MOORE will be featured in this celebration of gospel music performing a stirring rendition of “The Lord’s Prayer.” MOORE is also the centerpiece and one of nine soul legends profiled in the forthcoming Miramax documentary Only The Strong Survive, directed by D.A. Pennebaker (Don’t Look Back, Monterey Pop, The War Room). The film is scheduled for an early 2003 release.
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