line up 1  

- James Wells (RIP 1990) -- vocals

  supporting musicians: (1978)

- Ron Asprey -- sax

- John Barclay -- trumpet

- Tony Carr -- percussion

- Clem Cattini- drums

- Jimmy Chambers -- backing vocals

- George Chandler -- backing vocals

- Jim Cuomo -- sax

- Cliff Hardy -- trombone

- David Horlder -- trombone

- Joe Huckridge -- trumpet

- Ruby James -- backing vocals

- Alan Jones -- bass

- Kate Kissoon -- backing vocals

- Ian Levine -- backing vocals

- David Lord -- trumpet

- Jeff Perksin -- trombone

- Chris Rae -- guitar

- Frank Ricoti -- percussion

- Ronnie Ross -- sax

- Steve Saunders -- trombone

- Jo Anne Stone -- backing vocals

- Stan Sulztzman -- sax

- Fiachra Trench -- keyboards, backing vocals

- Derekc Watkins -- trumpet

- Pip Williams -- guitar

- 100% Pure Poison 

- James and Susan Wells

Genre: disco

Rating: 3 stars ***

Title:  My Claim To Fame

Company: AVI

Catalog: AVI 6045
Year: 1978

Country/State: Chicago, Illinois

Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+

Comments: --

Available: 1

Catalog ID: 2047

Price: $20.00

I'm not a big disco fan so I can't say I know a great deal about the late James Wells.  

He was born and raised in Chicago, attaining his first brush with commercial success as a late-inning member of the soul outfit 100% Pure Poison.

In 1976 he found a mentor in the form of British DJ Ian Levine.   Levine had begun working as a producer and reached out to Wells in 1976.  With Wells relocating to London, the pair began recording demos, eventually signing a deal with Polydor where they released a string of four disco singles over the next two years:

   7" version

- 1976's 'Baby I'm Still the Same Man' b/w  'Baby I'm the Same Man' (long disco version)' (Polydor catalog number 2058 784)

   12" version

- 1976's 'Baby I'm Still the Same Man' (long disco version) b/w  'Baby I'm the Same Man' (instrumental) (Polydor catalog number LPSP 001)

  7" version

- 1977's 'All I Ever Need Is Music' b/w 'If You Lead Me Into Temptation' (Polydor catalog number 2058 824)

  12" version

- 1977's  'All I Ever Need Is Music' (long disco version) b/w 'If You Lead Me Into Temptation' (long disco version) (Polydor catalog number LPS 002)

- 1977's 'My Days Are Numbers' b/w 'My days Are Numbers (Part 2)' (Polydor catalog number 2058 891)

- 1977's 'Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow' b/w James' Theme'' (Polydor catalog number 2058 861)

None of these efforts saw an American release and in 1978 Wells went looking for a US label.  Perhaps urban legend, but Well was reported rejected by eleven labels before he was signed by the dance oriented AVI label.   Wells and Levine promptly went into the studio, recording 1978's "My Claim To Fame".   Featuring four extended disco oriented numbers, I'll tell you I find this to be some of the fullest dance music ever recorded.  Wells voice simply grates on me.  On tracks like the mind numbing 16 minute title track he sounded like a cat in heat, barely able to stay in tune.  In fact, if you could bare to listen closely, it frequently sounded like producer Levine was piling on studio effects and backing singers in an attempt to bury Wells.   My disdain for the album clearly wasn't shared by disco fans who bought the album in droves.

"My Claim To Fame" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) My Claim To Fame   (Ian Levine - Fiachra Trench) - 16:10

What would you label this genre ?  Orchestral disco?  To my ears 'My Claim To Fame'  was rather bland and forgettable; certainly not helped by Wells weak and irritating voice, or the fact the tune ran out of ideas well before its full 16 minute running time.  Virtually every disco production excess could be found in these grooves and I'm at a loss to figure out what the track's appeal was.   AVI still tapped the song as a single in both 7" and 12" formats:

- 1978's 'My Claim To Fame' b/w 'I Guess That's Life' b/w '' (AVI catalog number AVI 217-S)

2.) I Guess That's Life   (Ian Levine) - 3:14

Maybe I'm overly critical, but listening to this disco-tinged ballad, I'm always struck by how unsteady and shrill Wells voice was.  The poor man literally sounded like he was going to blow an artery trying to get through the tune.    rating: ** stars

(side 2)
1.) That's the Way the Wind Blows   (Ian Levine) - 7:05

Perhaps because it was a mid-tempo dance number with a nice repeating guitar riff, a killer bass, and the song simply didn't make major demands on Wells in the vocal department, 'That's the Way the Wind Blows' was actually a semi-decent performance.  It was a good example of the mindless disco that would have gotten your parents (or perhaps grandparents) out on the disco floor for hours at a time.  The tune was released as a 12" single:

- 1978's 'That's The Way The Wind Blows' b/w 'All I Ever Need Is Music' (AVI catalog number PRO-12-254-D)   rating: *** stars

2.) True Love Is My Destiny   (Ian Levine - Fiachra Trench) - 12:42

Another one where Wells voice was almost a distraction to the song -  'True Love Is My Destiny' actually started out with a cool bass, horns, and scratch-guitar powered melody, but over the next twelve minutes rapidly descended into standard disco formula; certainly not helped by Wells strained and frequently cracking voice.  On the other hand, he actually injected a bit of energy into this one, so if you were stuck having to pick one of these four tunes for a cross country flight; this was the one to go with.   rating: *** stars

Sadly Wells died of AIDS in the early-'90s.