line up 1 (1972-73)

- Morris Beeks -- keyboards

- Willie Hayes -- drums, percussion

- Stephen Hawkins -- trumpet

- Melvin Moore -- lead vocals

- Bobby Pointer -- lead guitar

- Ronald Simmons -- bass

  line up 2 (1973-75)

- Morris Beeks -- keyboards

- Willie Hayes -- drums, percussion

- Stephen Hawkins -- trumpet

NEW - Milton Johnson -- alto saxophone

NEW - Bill McFarland -- trombone

- Bobby Pointer -- lead guitar

- Ronald Simmons -- bass

- Melvin Moore (solo efforts)

- Simtec & Wylie

- The Southside Movement

Genre: soul

Rating: 4 stars ****

Title:  The South Side Movement

Company: Wand

Catalog: WDS 695
Year: 1973

Country/State: Chicago, Illinois

Grade (cover/record): VG+/NM

Comments: still in shrink wrap; two small cut out holes bottom right and left corners

Available: 1

Catalog ID: 5978

Price: $30.00

Chicago's The South Side Movement (they subsequently shortened the nameplate down to Southside Movement), was one of those early-1970s outfits who enjoyed one glorious moment in the spotlight and then quickly faded into oblivion.  Shame they couldn't hold it together a bit longer.

Having started out backing Simtec Simmons and Wylie Dixon in Simtec and Wylie's Tea Boxes Band, when that duo called in quits in 1972, the rest of the band (keyboardist Morris Beeks, drummer Willie Hayes, trumpet player Stephen Hawkins, lead guitarist Bobby Pointer, and bassist Ronald Simmons) elected to continue on as a self-contained unit.  Recruiting new singer Melvin Moore, the six piece band attracted the attention of Chicago promoter/songwriter Jimmy Van Leer who signed on as their manager, christening them The South Side Movement.  

LP back panel photo - I'm guessing lead singer Moore is the only one not wearing plaid

Van Leer financed some demos which were then leased to Wand Records, resulting in their debut single:

- 1973's 'I' Been Watchin' You' b/w 'Have a Little Mercy' (Wand catalog number WND-11251)

The single went top-20 on the soul charts leading Wand to finance a supporting album.  Produced and largely written by Van Leer, 1973's cleverly-titled "The South Side Movement" was a fantastic slice of early-1970s Chicago soul.  Moore had an instantly likeable voice that was equally at home on conventional soul and harder funk numbers, while the rest of the band were incredibly tight. You could tell these guys had worked together for awhile.  With the addition of longtime Chicago jazz musicians Milton Johnson (sax) and Bill McFarland (trombone), the band also sported a formidable horn line up who provided an extra kick to arrangements like 'Love Turned Me Lose' and 'Have a Little Mercy' without ever going over the edge into Blood, Sweat & Tears styled pseudo-jazz excesses.  While it was true that these ten songs weren't the most original offerings you'd ever heard, song-for-song there simply weren't many mid-1970s soul albums that could match up to the caliber of these performances.

- Opening up with Pointer's Steve Cropper-styled guitar and showcasing Moore's creepy and ominous vocals (talk about a stalker nightmare), I' Been Watchin' You' was a great slice of early-1970s funk.  Sting could only dream about sounding this dangerous.  For what its worth, most reference erroneously show the title with corrected grammar - 'I've Been Watching You'.   Easy to see why Wand tapped this one as a single ...   rating: **** stars

- 'Love Turned Me Lose' was a nice bluesy vamp with a hysterical lyric.  Moore's voice fit the genre well and the Hawkins, Johnson, and McFarland horn section turned in some nice support.   rating: *** stars

- Co-written by Van Leer and guitarist Pointer, 'La Dee Da' was one of the album's most conventional and commercial offerings.  The title refrain gave the song an irresistible hook and if that wasn't enough, Simmons turned in a fantastic bass line.  Would have made a fantastic single.   rating: **** stars

- Showcasing one of Moore's best vocals, 'Have a Little Mercy' exhibited n unexpected southern soul flavor (check out Pointer's tasty Steve Cropper-styled licks).  Another track that was highly commercial and could have been a credible single.   rating: **** stars

- Kicked along by another nice Simmonds bass line, 'Can You Get To That' marked a return to funk; this time out with a cool swamp-rock feel to it.  This one was also tapped as the follow-on single.   rating: **** stars  

- Side two opened up with the bluesy 'You're Gonna Lose My Love'.  Beside Moore's 'I'm-being-strangled' vocals, the highlight on this one came in the form of Beeks  cheesy synthesizers.   rating: *** stars

- The first disappointment, 'Come On and Love Me' borrowed the 'I' Been Watchin' You' riff, beating it to a pulp while adding a touch of 'Shaft' atmospherics and a hideous children's choir to the mix.   Forgettable.   rating: ** stars

- If I'd been given the choice, this would have been the follow-on single.  A pounding slice of funk with some nice Pointer fuzz guitar and a hypnotizing rhythm pattern, this one had radio airplay written all over it.   rating: **** stars 

- For their one outside cover the band exhibited good taste in picking Stevie Wonder's 'Superstition'.  While the arrangement stuck pretty close to Wonder's original, Moore simply couldn't match up with Wonder's original.  He simply didn't sound very comfortable on this one, turning in a gruff and uncomfortable vocal.  An also ran ...   rating: ** stars 

- For what sounded like a throw away instrumental meant to pad the album, 'Mud Wind' was actually quite enjoyable.  The horn arrangement gave the song what almost sounded like a Caribbean lilt.   rating: *** stars   

The album was also tapped for a follow-on single:

- 1973's 'Can You Get To That' b/w 'Mud Wind' (Wand catalog number WND-11259)

Well worth looking for, especially since you can still find affordable copies.

"The South Side Movement" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) I' Been Watchin' You   (Jimmy Van Leer - B. Rush) - 3:03

2.) Love Turned Me Lose   (Jimmy Van Leer) - 2:10

3.) La Dee Da   (Jimmy Van Leer - Bobby Pointer) - 2:55

4.) Have a Little Mercy   (Jimmy Van Leer - J. Moore) - 4:55

5.) Can You Get To That   (Jimmy Van Leer - Stephen Hawkins) - 3:07

(side 2)
1.) You're Gonna Lose My Love   (Jimmy Van Leer) - 3:22

2,) Come On and Love Me   (Jimmy Van Leer) - 2:25

3.) Everlasting Thrill   (Jimmy Van Leer) - 3:01

4.) Superstition   (Stevie Wonder) - 4:03

5.) Mud Wind (instrumental)   (Jimmy Van Leer - Stephen Hawkins) - 4:40

I know there are at least two more studio sets and a pair of retrospectives, but I've never checked any of them out:

 Credited to Southside Movement:

-1974's "Movin'" (20th Century Fox catalog number T-445)

-1975's "Moving South" (20th Century Fox catalog number T-45)

- 1998's "The Very best of Southside Movement: I've Been Watching You" (Collectables catalog number COL-5905)

- 2001's "Funk Freak" (P-Vine catalog number PLP-6805)