Customer Reviews

Martha Reeves - The MCA Studio Recordings

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I still own the vinyl of this one since 1976 because last time I had looked...it was not on CD.
I was not aware of all the history etc. mentioned by the prior reviewers...I just know what I liked to listen to in 1976. Because of its up-tempo beat and the heart and soul put into the sound...I would listen to it while getting ready to go out clubbing in SF. I am so surprised it took until 2006 to release this on CD.
From "Wild Nights" to "Many Rivers to Cross"... this is a fantastic album. I wish Amazon had the song list so you could listen to clips.
It has great energy to all the songs--slow or fast..a great mix. Buy it and you won't be disappointed. (I don't get a penny if you buy it)
AMAZON WILL/HAS NOT given the song list.
12/29/09:The above was initially written before I received the CD and then I edited this review so as to include the song list. This a GREAT ALBUM! CD or LP Vinyl. Thirty-three years later...this album enervates me, gives me energy to move...It may be my memories. I THINK NOT. It is an incredible album that was NOT given its correct accolades during its first release on vinyl.
THE SONG LIST OF THIS ALBUM:
1. Wild Night
2. You've Got Me for Company
3. Facsimile
4. Ain't that peculiar
5. Dixie Highway
6. Power of Love
7. My Man (You Changed My Tune)
8. Sweet Misery
9. I've Got To Use My Imagination
10. Storm in my Soul
11. Many Rivers to Cross
12. Our Day will Come
13. I Sure DO Love you
14. Stand by Me

This album is just superb...I've been listening to it over and over again and it has been a long time since I've bought a CD I can say that about. Martha Reeves was more than just a pop singer or vocalist...she was and is a real artist who never recieved all she was due in the music industry.

I also join with the previous reviewer in disagreeing with the linear notes when they state the sound on this album was distanced from the Martha Reeves of Motown genre...this is the same Martha, only much better and showing the full range of her talents. On Motown albums Miss Reeves gives the effect of giving her all to second-rate material; here at last she shines in a production that truly meets her talents. The linear notes also say the album was not a success because music fans were not accustomed to hearing her in such a polished production; I say the album failed because of bad promotion and the fact that Martha had been off the top of the charts for about seven years by 1974. Music fans had moved on and were unwilling to give her a second chance. This is unfortunate; because true artists like Miss Reeves were consistently shedded by the music industry, it has now denigrated to the point where we have the likes of Brittany Spears and Jennifer Lopez posing as icons of American Music while really great music becomes something to be scavenged for. If like me you believe all the great music that ever will be made already has been made...even if you are not already a Martha Reeves fan...then this is the CD for you.

This is a perfect album, one of Richard Perry's true masterpieces and a lot of fans have been waiting for the cd issue of it for a looong time! Martha's solo debut was one of the gems of the early 70s pre-disco era and should have been a monster hit. I do know that every queen and fag hag in Des Moines owned it. Berry Gordy admired it so much he later teamed Mr Perry up w/ Ross, which resulted in her best non-Bille/Ashford and Simpson album ever. Martha blows like a soulful horn on every track. She even rocks out on a couple songs("Storm in My Soul"). This set contains simply the best cover of "Many Rivers to Cross" among quite a few, by greats like Linda Ronstadt, Nilsson, Lorraine Ellsion and plenty more. If Martha hadn't been the victim of too many drugs and men (or way too many Mickeys if you've read her version) during this era, I think she would have reached big star status as a solo. Her version of "I've Really Got To Use My Imagination" , while quite different and more bluesy, is easily the equal of Glady's Knight's excellent, but later, hit recording. The song selection and musicians are all great. Ringo, Carole King, Billy Preston and Merry Clayton, Joe Sample etc were all on board in the studio. GET IT NOW!

This album is an absolute classic. What a gem.

The players on these sessions are mindblowing.
A quick look at some of the artists they have worked with makes it clear
she got the best.


This work will never die!

It is surprising that this album did not do well. This is vintage Martha Reeves as a solo artist after leaving Motown. Two singles were released from this album, the second "Wild Night" did better, but failed to do well on any chart. Some of the greatest musicians in the business appear on this album, and many of the songs are covers of great songs, including Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross," Joe Simons' "Power of Love," and "I Got to Use My Imagination," also recorded by B. B. King, and Gladys Knight and the Pips. She really jams on "Power of Love." However, she adds a gospel feel to Hoyt Axton's "Dixie Highway," and "Many Rivers to Cross;" she performs "Many Rivers" with the Avalon Community Choir. Richard Perry produces the album; he is known for his his work with the Pointer Sisters. In addition, several of the horn arrangements (listen to "Wild Night") are done by Trevor Lawrence, the husband of former Supreme Linda Lawrence. Trevor was also responsible for the great horn arrangements for Stevie Wonder ("Superstition") and the Pointer Sisters ("I'm So Excited"). I disagree with the liner notes that this effort is very different from her Motown sound. Martha maintained that Vandella groove, especially on the songs where she also did the background. In an interview, she argued that the Vandella sound would always be a trademark in her music. It was unfortunate that her solo career failed. She had recorded solo songs for Motown, which were unreleased, but a couple appear on the anthology of Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. In 1976 she released another solo album on the Arista label "The Rest of My Life." If you are a fan, and see that album, grab it!!!

The great Martha Reeves from the early seventies with a completely new sound. Marthas voice was one the most interesting of the motown ladies.
It was earthy, and edgy with a controlled yet unpolished like delivery.
These qualities make for some of her best work ever as she delivers in top form. "Dixie Highway" is hauntingly beautiful. Her cover of "Wild Night" is sure to get your toe tapping. "One More River to Cross" will have you reaching for a kleenex. As many have noted, this set never received the praise it deserved during its initial release mainly due to the fact that Reeves is synonymous with the "Motown Sound", and this was not it. But it was and remains a masterpiece that many have discovered over the years.

I owned this on vinyl too when it came out and am overjoyed to find it on CD. Martha's rendition of Morrison's Wild Night is the most exciting performance of that song you've ever heard. It makes you want to get cleaned up and hit the streets, no matter how old you are.