Customer Reviews

Young Hearts Run Free / House of Love

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I believe she's a gospel singer these days but back in the mid to late 70s, just as disco was reaching its zenith, Candi Staton was one of the top voices rocking the clubs and on high rotation on the radio. The single "Young Hearts Run Free" (#1 on the R&B charts, #20 on the Hot 100 and from her 1976 album of the same name) probably needs no introduction and although "Victim", (from her 1978 album "House Of Love" and unusually long for a dance song at 8min 31secs) didn't fare as well in the charts, it has always been my favourite. Just check out the lyrics: "I'm a victim of the very songs I sing". She even name checks her earlier hit on the song, in a way I've always thought was really clever.

And it's a brilliant dance record too. I tried it out at a party I was playing at many moons ago - I think it was 1992 or 1993 - purely as a test but the crowd went wild for it. It became a permanent part of my "old school set" from then on.

I've only ever had "Young Hearts Run Free" the single on an "80s Soul Weekender" compilation at that. I have the album "House Of Love" on vinyl and have been searching for it on CD for years. I was ecstatic when I saw this CD containing the very two albums I've always wanted. It's 24-Bit Digitally Re-mastered too, which is a definite added bonus.

Producer Dave Crawford had a signature style - lots of horns, lots of lush strings, a firm bass line all over a thumping disco beat. None of the upbeat tunes on "Young Hearts Run Free" match the brilliance of the title tune - they tried with "Run To Me" but the song fell flat on its face - but there are some really cool ballads on the album: The very mellow and romantic "What A Feeling", the more mid-tempo "You Bet Your Sweet, Sweet Love" and the broody "Summer Time With You" are all standout tracks.

On "House Of Love", Staton's sailing, soulful vocals and the classy and very competent BVs and their 'do do wops' towards the end of "Victim" make it the perfect opening song. "Honest I Do Love You" is another strong song (and it did fairly well in the charts) as is her cover of the classic "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me", previously made popular Dee Dee Warwick, The Supremes AND The Temptations and with Crawford himself stepping in to join Staton on lead vocals.

Staton also shines on the ballads. "Yesterday Evening", "I Wonder Will I Ever Get Over It" and "So Blue" have always been favourites of mine. She closes the album with a gospel tune that maybe gave the first hint of where she'd eventually end up, musically. "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" was only recorded because, after a practice session (Staton was trying to warm up her vocals as she was feeling a bit hoarse after a late night), the producer thought it just sounded too good to miss. He wasn't wrong and the song doesn't sound at all out of place here. It's a great album closer.

I absolutely adore Staton's voice. It could very well be nostalgia and nothing more but these are the kinds of albums I listen to and wonder what the hell happened to music. How is it possible that so much of the music made 20 or 30 years ago sounds so much better than so much of the music made today? Answers on a postcard please!

The only minor disappointment is that the CD doesn't feature the lyrics to the songs. My vinyl version of "House Of Love" does and for that reason, even though I now have it on CD, it's another album that's staying right where it is in my vinyl collection.

Glad that am finally re-united with Candi... I searched and searched for Candi within Zambia, in South Africa, Germany - everywhere I went it was always "no longer available." Then a kind friend in the US agreed to purchase it for me off Amazon - and now my juices are running amok! Am listening to "Honest I Do" right now and, man, it turns me inside out! If you let the golden silky soul voice of Candi wash over you, you will experience a thorough re-baptism of what it used to be back then! I have missed and thirsted for this music for some twenty years, and now am totally quenched, it's a top thrill! Quite a fine balance between the mid-tempo dance tunes (touting the two giants Young Hearts and Victim) and the slower, easier cascades like Will I Ever Get Over It and Destiny.

If you love soul, and above all if you ever loved Candi, waste no more time - go for it!!

Wow! That is all I have to say about Candi Staton. When I purchased this album, I was already familiar with the classic song, "Young Hearts Run Free". Listening to these two albums in their entirety has given me the true meaning of what urban soul/quiet storm sounded like back in the day of the mid 70s to the mid 80s. This fine singer showcases fine vocals on such songs as "Living For You", "Yesterday Evening", "What A Feeling", and the amazing, "Precious Lord". Now I am wondering, why wasn't she as big as other soul divas such as Diana Ross, Donna Summer, or Gloria Gaynor? Another thing to point out.....why didn't Warner Bros. (the original label) reissue these two fine albums any sooner.

To any lover of soul music, you have got to add this combination of classic albums to your collection! Also check out Ms. Staton's new gospel album, PROVERBS 31 WOMAN, which is a good collection of gospel tunes.

I can only wonder why it took me 31 years to pick up an album (or in this case - 2 albums on 1 CD) by Candi Station! This 2-for-1 is a great collection of this Soul Singer's work! Stand-outs are:

1. Young Hearts Run Free (4:08 - My all time favorite song by Candi!)
2. Run to Me (4:19 - A take off of Young Hearts..., but still good!)
3. Victim (8:32 long - great song!)
4. Summer time with you (5:01 - great 70's slow song! - it's reminiscent of Sylvia Robinson - but this is Candi's song!)

Overall, I recommend this CD - you won't be sorry! Five Stars!!

Finally, two of Candi Staton's Warner Bros. albums have been reissued! This is a real treat for all Candi Staton fans. These albums have been out of print for a long time and have been long overdue for a reissue. It kind of disappoints me that Warner Bros. did not do the reissue. Thanks to Spy Records, a lot of Candi Staton fans can enjoy listening to YOUNG HEARTS RUN FREE and HOUSE OF LOVE. The sound of these two albums is incredibly clear and crisp. I have both of these albums on vinyl and this reissue certainly does the quality of these two albums justice! My favorite songs have to be "Living For You", "Yesterday Evening", "I Wonder Will I Ever Get Over It", and "What A Feeling". The reissue also includes liner notes by David Nathan, which gives a closer insight on the two albums and even includes an interview with Ms. Staton herself.

BOTTOM LINE...........this album is worth the praise of fellow soul divas such as Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Gladys Knight, etc. Purchase this album and you will see why Candi Staton is called the Sweetheart of Soul.

Many thanks to Warner for providing the original masters. They were a joy to work with! Perhaps the most "FUN" job I've had yet.

I bought this album to get the remastered version of "Young Hearts Run Free" and hear the good stuff I've heard about "House of Love." I've got the original realease recorded from an LP. I love EVERY song on this CD, but truth be told, I only bought this CD because of three reasons: 1) I had the UNIQUE priviledge of meeting and personally getting to know two of the studio performers on this project (both musician Michael Lehmann Boddicker and background vocalist June Deniece Williams - Home Depot customers and Personal friends / my family in Christ). And though I've never met Candi personally (outside of her youtube account "CandiMariaStaton") she too has been influential in my life through her career and involvement in ministry with TBN (The Trinity Broadcasting Network), which was how I originally came to know her.

Candi's "Young Hearts Run Free" single and album forever changed the landscape of her career, and it has also defined the project she had yet to produce soon after titled "House of Love," which inspite of it's smash hit "Victim" and stunner "Precious Lord" failed to chart as well as it's predecessor. The Young Hearts release was the album and title track that ushered in the disco sound and era. No song before "Young Hearts" had its sound until everyone in the music industry decided to jump on the short lived disco bandwagon. 2) The Disco era lasted from 1976 (the year I was born) until 1979, and I can say that I have the unique privilege of knowing someone who played on two albums which both started and ended the disco era: Michael Lehmann Boddicker - Candi Staton's "Young Hearts Run Free" & The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack for "Saturday Night Fever" - out of the many disco albums Michael has appeared on these two are forever known, forever linked and synonymous to the disco era; it's beginnning and it's end.

A classic tune on the Young Hearts album is Candi's song "What A Feeling," which contains a laughable line I know she wouldn't say today, which is "There we were ... The Art of making Love, COUNTRY BOY STYLE! What a feeling -- What a Feeling Deep in my bones" Yee Haw!!! LOL!! Again that is something I know Candi definitely would not say today (The Art of Making Love -- Country Boy Style!). Wow she must've known a thing or two. LOL!

The success of Candi's "Young Hearts Run Free single" made it's album achieve gold status, took her career to new heights and influenced business ventures and film franchises right and left like crazy such as Disco clubs among which were the infamous "Studio 54" in New York.

Young Hearts is forever linked with the Gay and Lesbian community of that time, during which the song became their anthem.

3) Every song on this two album CD is a complete winner. They are all diamonds, but one song on on this set stands out as an extra special gem, and that is the highly underlooked track "Summer Time With You." On this track Candi essentially becomes a breathy Donna Summer type of vocalist(which predates the infamous "Love to Love You, Baby"). The heartfelt romance and beauty of this song, with it's line's like "Walking in the park even when it's dark" and "Ooh Baby we could go to the Zoo -- Just me and You, and something else to do sometime with You" in my opinion this song should've been made a single. I call "Summer Time With You" the jam that never became known as a jam. It got overlooked. Even now -- 33years later it sounds fresh and new. The remastering is so well done on this track that you can even hear Candi cough towards the end of the song. This song is true music and artistry magic in both music and lyrics.

Other stand out jams from this "Young Hearts Run Free/House of Love" combo disc are every song on the Young Hearts portion (all eight tracks), and most songs from the House of Love part I love "Victim", "Honest I do Love You," "Yesterday Evening" -- another overlooked gem, "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" (Supremes cover), "So Blue" which is so so so cool. The song "I wonder Will I ever Get Over It" is also good but lacks a bit in musical power. However, the stand out gem on this album is the power packed and emotion filled "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" which is amazing to the ears and heart eventhough it appears here in an edited form. The original vinyl release ends with Candi singing with her back up singers for a few minutes acapella after the piano track ends. This song wasn't originally intended to be apart of the album, because it was just something she sang before her sessions to help her open up her vocals.

This CD is a must have and you will enjoy it for many years to come.

-Quincy