Bait & Switch

Andre Williams | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 12, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Norton
• ASIN: B00005JH6X
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #479,800 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

This is filthy, filthy stuff in the very best sense of the word. With a grimy, smothering, garage-soul sound and a pocketful of nasty songs, 65-year-old Andre Williams goes right for the throat and doesn't let up. First, the quick facts: Williams establishes himself in the 1950s as the king of raunchy R&B, has some success as a Motown staff writer and producer in the 1960s, spends the ensuing decades watching his musical career devolve into a life as a street hustler and junkie, and finally climbs from the depths in the late 1990s to find a resuscitated career and a cult following waiting for him. Bait and Switch is a powerhouse of smutty soul. The musical core is in the hands of guitarist, cowriter, and producer Matt Verta-Ray (late of indie rockers Madder Rose). Guest shots feature a range of folks from Ronnie Spector and doo-wop singers the Four Dollars to sax-honking Harlem legend Lonnie Youngblood, veteran R&B belter Rudy Ray Moore, and punk guitar god Robert Quine. Williams's salacious spoken-word style has earned him kudos as the godfather of rap, and he offers ample doses of that style here along with some snarling, growling, sneering vocals. The whole package adds up to a gloriously grubby, hair-raising romp. --Marc Greilsamer

Product Description

Bait & Switch by Andre Williams

This product is manufactured on demand using CD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pimp (sic) and circumstance., July 19, 2001

By 

Stephen Caratzas (Brooklyn, New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bait & Switch (Audio CD)

Andre Williams, known as Mr. Rhythm and the Father of Rap, does it again! Following on the heels of last year's 'The Black Godfather', Williams has unleashed yet another brilliant disc of tough, authentic r&b - the likes of which were thought to be extinct - in 'Bait and Switch'. The formula is deceptively simple: big greasy riffs plus loud, crude vocals equals another inspired Andre Williams masterpiece.

Perhaps best known as the co-author of the r&b classic "Shake a Tailfeather", Williams has penned several standouts for 'Bait and Switch'. Songs like "Sling It Bang It And Give It Cab Fare Home", "Put That Skillet Away", and "Your Stuff Ain't The Same" incorporate the telltale swagger and ethos of Williams' earlier work ("Jail Bait", "The Greasy Chicken", "Bacon Fat,"), and make good on the promise of their outrageous titles, to boot.

Beautifully produced by Billy Miller and Williams' guitarist Matt Verta-Ray, this disc features a pair of amazing vocal cameos: Rudy Ray Moore duets with Williams on the classic courtroom drama for the ears 'I Ain't Guilty', and Ronnie Spector adds her still fine-sounding pipes on Ike Turner's "It's Gonna Work Out Fine".

Also on hand is the inimitable Robert Quine (Richard Hell & the Voidoids, Lou Reed) who contributes his unique guitar stylings to "Head First" and "Bigger Than Greed or Need". Said Quine of the sessions: "Now I've worked with two geniuses: Lou Reed and Andre Williams."