Genre: soul
Rating: ** (2 stars)
Title: Now Arriving
Company: Soul
Catalog: S7-751R1
Year: 1978
Country/State: US
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: still in shrink wrap; was sealed and opened to tape; small cut out notch along bottom edge
Available: 2
Catalog ID: 4595
Price: $10.00
Cost: $66.00
Like so many other American soul artists, by the mid-1970s Major Lance was an all but forgotten musical commodity. The makes the fact Motown's Soul subsidiary signed him to a recording contract all the more of a surprise.
Largely produced by Lance and long-time protégé Otis Leavill, 1978's "Now Arriving" was pretty much what you'd expect from a soul star looking to reinvigorate his career in the late-1970s. Overlooking what may have been the year's ugliest album cover (I think the intended concept was rolling out the red carpet for Lance), the collection offered up a mix of disco-flavored tracks and old school soul moves. The good news was that Lance's voice remained in good form. The bad news was that his voice and demeanor weren't particularly well suited for throwaway disco fodder such as 'Chicago Disco', 'Do the Mess Around' and 'How My Love Goes'. My personal favorite was Lance's slightly jazzy cover of Harry Belafonte's 'Trouble'. Not great, but better than everything else on the set. The album's lack of sales probably wasn't helped by the fact that it was released just as Motown moved to eliminate its Soul subsidiary. The set actually had the distinction of being the last release on the Soul imprint. With that kind of business support it was no wonder the poor guy never stood a chance in the marketplace.
Curiously, the label chose to release one of the few old school tracks as a single:
- 1978's 'I Never Thought (I'd
Be Losing You)' b/w 'Chicago Disco' (Soul catalog number S35123F ).
"Now Arriving" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) I Never Thought (I'd Be Losing You) (Marvin Smith - Louis Smith) -
2.) Wild and Free (Curtis Mayfield) -
3.) Chicago Disco (Sylvia Lance - Marvin Smith - Barbara Acklin - Wales Wallace) -
4.) Do the Mess Around (Sylvia Lance - Raymond Smith) -
5.) How My Love Goes (Bruce Davis - Glen Davis - Doug Davis - Cameron Davis) -
(side
2)
1.) Think About the Love We Had (Williams Bickelhaupt -
Jamal Trice) -
2.) Troubles (Harry Belafonte) -
4.) Love Pains (Jesse Boyce - Sanchez Henry) -
4.) It's All Over (Kenny Lupper - Sylvia Lance) -