Customer Reviews

South of the Snooty Fox

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Imagine my surprise when Amazon recommended a soul CD by a man who is barely a footnote among soul collectors. He had a handful of singles in the 60's that change hands for less than they should and had a bad major label record in the 80's when major labels had no idea what to do with real soul men. How much geri curl can one head hold? They were gonna find out. Sterling and his career disappeared and no one much noticed or cared. If you don't know what the Snooty Fox is, it's an L.A. thang. Local soul fans would head down to South L.A. and take in a dinner (God Bless you Allen Larman), with a soul revue. Sterling could imitate anyone, it was truly amazing. Some guys with more money than sense decided to lay their money down and decided to see if Sterling could sound like himself. Sterling had the sack to put his career in the hands of some guys who loved the music and loved his voice and knew that the world didn't need another bad Malaco wannabe record. Make no mistake, this is a producer's record. Sterling would not have heard or picked most of these songs. He trusted that a couple of hipsters could hear something he had long stopped listening for. These guys saw something in this guy. So it was with great trepidation that I put this in the player. It works. Period. Sterling and band commit. And there is a feeling of excitement and wonderment both from a man who had long been spit out by an ugly business and a band that cared enough to find that one thing that makes a good record; a groove. These guys find it and keep it in the pocket. One thing is worth mentioning. This record was recorded BEFORE the "let me find an old soul act and stick them in an analogue studio" craze (Solomon Burke, Mavis Staples, Howard Tate etc., and therefore didn't have the benefit from knowing that anyone still cared except some guys that wanted to hear some soul music that made them feel like soul music used to. Back when you people still played their ax and got fined for not paying attention to the charts or for chewing gum or staring at someone's junk in the trunk. Buy this record. You'll be surprised. I was. I'm tough. I have trouble listening to anybody after 1974. Then go find his 60's singles. Then go find a reason to pass the Snooty Fox on a Friday or Saturday night. After all, what's REALLY the difference between a double and triple bypass?

If you dig Bobby Blue Bland, O.V. Wright, Arthur Alexander or any authentic R&B / Soul singer, you owe it to yourself to buy this record. It was made with love, produced by Los Lobos' Steve Berlin and the brilliant comedy writer Eddie Gorodetsky. They put their own sweat and money on the line to find and help Sterling Harrison make this album. Sterling was a R&B singer in the LA black club scene who unfortunatley died before he could see the release of this fine record.

I'm telling you, if you love genuine R&B and Soul Music, you have to own this record. You will not be disappointed, I promise you.

It's incredibly ironic that this masterpiece of a Soul CD did not get released until this superb but extremely underrated singer's death. In many ways, the Soul-Blues songs interpreted by Mr. Harrison on this CD have far more in common with the music that Otis Redding, Little Milton, Johnnie Taylor and Eddie Floyd recorded for Stax during the 1960s and '70s than with anything released by the major labels during the past three decades or so. When you listen to this CD, it should convince you of just how great a Soul singer Sterling Harrison was and it may also leave you wondering about what heights he might have (artistically) scaled if the record industry's policies were different and Urban radio's movers and shakers were not as fickle as they are. Kudos to Steve Berlin and Eddie Gorodetsky for recording and producing this CD and to Sterling Harrison for his truly dynamic and electrifying performances. For those of you who don't know, The Snooty Fox is a famous motel (which boasts huge mirrors on both the walls and ceilings of its rooms!) in the South-Central area of Los Angeles. Enjoy!

This is a great soul record. Top notch band, and an amazing performer in Sterling Harrison. You can tell that he has been doing this for decades, but every syllable sounds fresh and passionate. It's a shame that this will be his only later day recording, but I plan to keep playing this a lot.

OK - first of all if you don't know the magic that is Sterling Harrison, shame on you! But you can make it right and get this CD. "South of the Snooty Fox" is such a great example of how good soul music sounds. The pain, the sadness, all the emotion. When Sterling is feeling like he's been done wrong, you don't just hear it in his voice...you feel it. He doesn't over do anyting - it's simply perfect. So many heart wrenching songs to commiserate with - pull out the whiskey, sit back, and enjoy...

I used to go to this place, when I lived in the South, that was an old blues joint. It was sweaty as all get-out in there, just a ceiling fan and painted black walls. The performers (usually a husband-and-wife team) would take the stage and people would start hootin' and hollerin'....she'd be growling into the microphone, while he was literally down on his knees in front of her wailin' on his guitar. This is how I imagine it was when Sterling Harrison used to play. Sweat, glitter, howlin'...

This is not just a collector's item for people who love roots soul - it's kind of an essential reminder that soul is not just that slicked-back, tabloid-fodder, over-produced garbage spewed out over radio waves over the past - what - decade? It's more than that. It's real music, true Americana. Bless the people who nurtured this musician - they did a service to us all. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. "Seven Days," "Nickel and a Nail," "I'll Take Care of You"