Wilber Brown, Fred Carter, John Clauder, Alan DeVille, Clifford Solomon and Billy Sprague: horns
Vanetta Fields, Jessica Smith and Carlena Williams: vocal
Robert Rozelle: bass (6, 7, 10)
Buzzy Feiton: lead guitar (3)
Art Fox: acoustic guitar (5)
Harvey "The Snake" Mandel: electric guitars (5)
Joe Deaguro: vocal, vibes (8)
Reel
To Real turned out to be Arthur hitting it right on the nail again. For
on it, he is returning to the Rhythm and Blues music he did before he
heard the Byrds. On this album he had an entirely new band, with two
exceptional guitarists. Melvan Whittington on lead and John Sterling on
slide. (The latter had previously played with Eric Burdon.) On bass,
Sherwood Akuna (a meaty Fatback bassist) and Joey Blocker on drums,
providing an able pounding punchy backbeat. Among the guest musicians,
Arthur had Buzzy Feiten on guitar and Bobby Lyle on keyboards (well
known session men), and among the people he thanked for helping him
with the album was Keith Moon of the Who. Arthur Lee was always able to
find great new musicians to play with. And maybe this is his secret.
Why he has been able to survive so long. Because like Miles Davis, he
is always changing. Lee, who at this time had the clean shaven headed
Isaac Hayes look and a Fu Manchu mustache (which looked surprisingly
good on him), seems to have developed an interest in Eastern Religion
and Vegetarianism; as evidenced by the photographs on the album jacket
and inside record sleeve.
With
the opening number, ‘Time Is Like A River’, Arthur hits us with
something entirely outrageously new. A perfectly blended, smoky Rhythm
and Blues sound. Horns, background chorus (with a molten groove) added
to the band (a deep New Orleans Funk if you will, just hinted at
contextually in Rock form in ‘Feel Daddy Feel Good’ on False Start.)
And with each succeeding song, ‘Stop The Music’ (where Lee plays
burning Harmonica and Melvan Whittington a stuttering guitar solo while
John Sterling plays a lean threatening slide) the stop/start
arrangement hanging you on the edge, ‘Who Are You’ (a really silky
devil of a vocal) with guest guitarist Buzzy Feiten smoking furiously
on guitar, ‘Good Old Fashion Dream’ (Arthur cooking and boiling with
the background chorus); this is a startlingly different Arthur Lee.
‘Which Witch is Which’, a merging of acoustic and electric Blues, with
Lee adding just a touch of Harmonica to a mix of backwards guitar (that
Beatles/Hendrix influence) and John Sterling’s slide solo. ‘With A
Little Energy’, another smoking R&B number with the added twist of
a solo on Moog Synthesizer by second guest keyboardist, Gary Bell.
On
side two Arthur revisits ‘Singing Cowboy’ from Four Sail. A more
restrained and relaxed smooth vocal this time, with Melvan Whittington
and John Sterling cutting two musical swathes across on guitars, behind
his vocal. A very different take on the song, with Arthur having
developed a completely new singing style (which he first attempted on
Vindicator and perfected on the title song for the film ‘Tomasine and
Bushrod’). Next is William Devaughn’s popular ‘Be Thankful For What You
Got’. And Lee does one hell of a reading; as good as the original. This
is Arthur Lee, very Black and very Funky. Besides using his own regular
vocals and voicings on the album, he also uses occasional inflections
of Sly Stone and Al Green; which are very good. The following song,
‘You Said You Would’, is a humorous Country Rock affair with Arthur
singing the tale of the ‘woman who done him wrong’. Whittington and
Sterling trading licks, and the song ending with an explosion worthy of
‘Seven and Seven Is’. Next, a remake of ‘Busted Feet’ from the
Vindicator album, that is much better than the original. Whereas on
Vindicator it was just an average Rock song, here, the song is shorter
and the arrangement is much tighter and threatening. Gary Bell provides
a great atmospheric background with Moog Synthesizer, as Melvan
Whittington really cuts loose on guitar and Arthur abruptly cuts off
the song; as he sings about not quite being able to let go of the past.
The final song, ‘Everybody’s Gotta Live’ (also from Vindicator) is an
acoustic reworking and a very poignant statement; as Lee leads the
group of backup singers into the chorus, singing smoothly and finally
doing justice to a very good song. An album worth having and cherishing.
At last a positive review from a Real Arthur Lee Fan
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