Gene Redding “Blood Brother” 1974 US Soul Funk
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This is a fantastic recording. Full of meaning. And a great piece of R&B. I have always loved “This Heart” Mr. Redding also recorded several other singles in his career…..~
A strange little soul album – produced and written by the team of Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, with arrangements by Michael Omartian, and an overall sound that’s kind of a mixture of soul and more baroque type backings. The whole thing’s not bad overall – but it does lack the punch of some of the better Lambert/Potter work from the time……~
Let’s get one thing out of the way right off the bat. Gene Redding (born in Indiana in 1945) is NOT related to the much more famous R&R Hall Of Fame (1989) and R&B Hall Of Fame (2013) inductee Otis Redding. He is a 1974 2-hit Soul/Funk vocalist discovered at a USO in, of all places, Anchorage, Alaska by another hall of famer, Miss Peaches herself, Etta James (R&R Hall Of Fame in 1993 and Blues Hall Of Fame in 2001).
His first time on record came in 1969 when he had the co-self-penned I Need Your Loving b/w I Got Soul come out as Bell 819 that August. It went nowhere and neither did he (at least as a recording artist) until he resurfaced 5 years later with Haven Records, an L.A.-based label launched that year by songwriters Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, primarily to promote their material. They also arranged distribution arrangements through the giant Capitol Records which certainly didn’t hurt the promotion of his or their first disc, This Heart b/w What Do I Do On Sunday Morning? (both written by Lambert-Porter). In March-April 1974, This Heart climbed to # 24 Billboard Pop Hot 100 and # 31 R&B as Haven 7000.
The liaison with Capitol, however, didn’t do much to help the follow-up Blood Brothers go any higher than # 80 R&B in Sept-Oct b/w Once A Fool as Haven 7003 (again, both sides written by Lambert-Porter). Even so, they saw merit in having him record the 1974 LP “Blood Brother” (singular) containing: A1. Blood Brothers (4:10); A2. Once A Fool (3:22); A3. I Can See The Lovelight (3:32); A4. (We’ve Got) More Than It Takes (3:24); A5. This Heart (3:29); B1. I Can’t Get Arrested (4:50); B2. Gotta Find A Way (To Keep You Lovin’ Me) (3:50); B3. What Good Is A Love Song? (4:02); B4. Easy For You To Say (2:52). The album was arranged by Michael Omartian, who also played keyboards as well as conducted these accompanying musicians: horns - Chuck Findley, Jack Kelso, Jim Horn, Lew McCreary and Paul Hubinon; bassists Ronnie Brown and Wilton Felder, keyboardist Larry Muhoberac, guitarists Larry Carlton, Ben Benay and Dean Parks, percussionist Garry Coleman, stringed instrument players Sid Sharp and The Boogie Symphony, and drummer Ed Greene. It finished at # 45 on the R&B album charts that fall.
Singles culled from the album, however, went nowhere: (We’ve Got) More Than It Takes b/w Gotta Find A Way as Haven 7007 in Jan 1975, and Easy For You To Say as Haven 7012 in May 1975, and I Can See The Lovelight as Haven 7019 in 1976 (the flipsides, Every Man Wants Another Man’s Woman and Do It With Love respectively were not part of the LP). ….by….George O'Leary ….~
Credits
Bass – Ronnie Brown*, Wilton Felder
Coordinator [Album Coordinator], Management [Personal Management] – Brian Panella
Drums – Ed Greene (2)
Guitar – Ben Benay, Dean Parks, Larry Carlton
Horns – Chuck Findley, Jack Kelso*, Jim Horn, Lew McCreary, Paul Hubinon
Keyboards – Larry Muhoberac
Percussion – Garry Coleman*
Strings – The Boogie Symphony, Sid Sharp*
Tracklist
A1 Blood Brothers 4:10
A2 Once A Fool 3:22
A3 I Can See The Lovelight 3:32
A4 (We've Got) More That It Takes 3:24
A5 This Heart 3:29
B1 I Can't Get Arrested 4:50
B2 Gotta Find A Way (To Keep You Lovin' Me) 3:50
B3 What Good Is A Love Song 4:02
B4 Easy For You To Say 2:52