Genre: pop
Rating: *** (3 stars)
Title: The Mob
Company: Colossus
Catalog: CS-1006
Year: 1971
Country/State: Chicago, Illinois
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: still in shrink wrap
Available: SOLD
Catalog ID: SOLD 4265
Price: SOLD
Cost: $9.00
I've always had a soft spot in my heart for stuff on Jerry Ross' Colossus Records. Like most folks, my familiarity with the catalog was pretty much limited to the big three - The George Baker Selection, The Shocking Blue and The Tee Set. As such, this 1971 album came as a surprise to me. Not only weren't these guys Dutch, but they trace their roots back to Minneapolis, Minnesota and Chicago, Illinois.
I also have to be honest and admit I wish I'd been able to dig out more info on this outfit, though lead singers Little Al Herrera and his brother Big Artie Herrera had been members of Minneapolis' Little Artie and the Pharaohs and subsequently recorded as a duo under the name Kane and Able.
The mid-1960s found the Herrera brothers in Chicago where they hooked up with Jim Holvay (aka Jimmy Soul) and Gary Beisbier (who'd co-written numerous hits for The Buckinghams), Jimmy Ford, Tony Nedza, Bobby Ruffino and Mike Sistak. Artie was apparently drafted, exchanging life as a musician for a tour of Vietnam. With Al handling lead vocals as The Mob, the group became one of the first horn-rock outfits becoming fairly popular in Chicago where they released a series of singles over the next couple of years:
- 1966's 'Wait' b/w 'Mystery Man' (Cameo catalog number C-421)
- 1968's 'Unbelievable' b/w 'Try a Little Tenderness (Twinight catalog 111)
- 1966's Open the Door To Your Heart' b/w 'I Wish You'd Leave Me Alone' (Daylight catalog 1000)
- 1968's 'Disappear' b/w 'I Wish You Would Leave Me Alone' (Mercury catalog number 72791)
(early Mob publicity photo - credit Joe De Franco)
By the early 1970s their recording career had run out of steam so the group shifted into show band stance switching over to the club and hotel circuit. They apparently did quite well for themselves finding steady bookings from LA, to Vegas and even the Carribbean. In fact it was a concert in Puerto Rico that brought the group their next break. Performing at San Juan's Americana Hotel, they attracted the attention of producer/record company owner Jerry Ross. Impressed with the band Ross immediately signed them to his newly formed Colossus label, resulting in the release of 1971's "The Mob". Produced by Ross and Chuck Sagle, the BS&T comparison was actually quite apt, though without the annoying jazz or experimental tangents the former often pursued. With Holvey (his last name was actually spelled Holvay) and Biesbier responsible for penning all nine tracks, material such as 'Give It To Me' and 'Love's Got a Hold of Me' was probably best described as BS&T with a soul influence. Underscoring the BS&T comparison, as lead singer Herrera bore an uncanny resemblance to David Clayton Thomas !!! So now a bunch of you are wondering about annoying horns ... True, tracks like as 'Once a Man', 'Goodtime Baby' and 'Back On the Road Again' sported horns, but for the most part the arrangements were rather conventional, avoiding the annoying experimentation that plagued so much BS&T material. The overall results were quite good, making for an album that was surprisingly commercial and should have attracted considerable radio play. (Interestingly virtually every online review I've read days these guys were simply killer in concert.) Elsewhere Colossus pulled a series of quickly forgotten singles from the LP:
- 1971's 'Love's Got a Hold of Me' b/w 'I Dig Everything About You (Colossus catalog number CS-130)
- 1971's 'Give It To Me' b/w 'I'd Like To See More Of You' (Colossus catalog number CS-134)
- 1971's 'Lost' b/w 'Where You Lead Me' (Colossus catalog number CS-144)
"The Mob" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) I'd Like To See You One More (James Holvey - Gary Biesbier) - 3:34
2.) Once a Man Twice a Child (James Holvey - Gary Biesbier) - 4:07
3.) Give It To Me (James Holvey - Gary Biesbier) - 2:52
4.) Maybe I'll Find a Way (James Holvey - Gary Biesbier) - 2:42
5.) Goodtime Baby (James Holvey - Gary Biesbier) - 2:17
(side 2)
1.) I Dig Everything About You (James Holvey - Gary Biesbier) - 2:30
2.) For a Little While (James Holvey - Gary Biesbier) - 3:57
3.) Love's Got a Hold of Me (James Holvey - Gary Biesbier) - 2:28
3.) Lost More of You (James Holvey - Gary Biesbier) - 3:55
4.) Back On the Road Again (James Holvey - Gary Biesbier) - 3:17
The album went nowhere, though Colossus released one more non-LP 45:
- 1971's 'Once A Man, Twice A Child' b/w 'Money' (Colossus catalog number CS-145)
1973 found the band signed to MGM where they managed to release a series of four quickly forgotten singles:
- 1973's 'You Give Me the Strength To Carry On' b/w 'Feel Like Dynamite' (MGM catalog number 14406)
- 1973's 'One Way Ticket To Nowhere' b/w 'Who's Shaking Your Jelly Roll' (MGM catalog number 14456)
- 1973's 'Tear the House Down' b/w 'Rockin' Revival' (MGM catalog number 14519)
- 1973's 'Dynamite Lovin'' b/w 'Fat Lucy' (MGM catalog number 14575)
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