On The Corner

I'm a big fan of harmony soul, for me it doesn't get much better than the sound of a bunch of guys with beautiful voices all crooning a love song together, especially when it's covered in swooning strings. Last year I posted a couple of tunes from the fabulous Kent Records compilation In Perfect Harmony: Sweet Soul Groups 1968-1977 and now they've come out with a second volume entitled More Perfect Harmony. This set goes beyond the usual smooth (and male) 70s style normally associated with the genre and features deep soul, blue-eyed soul, and female harmony groups. It even has some Latin Soul with this beautiful cut by the great Joe Bataan.

Growing up in Spanish Harlem, Bataan was exposed to R&B and Afro-Cuban music which he synthesized into a style that became known as Latin Soul and produced socko hits like "Subway Joe" and "Gypsy Woman." He then went on to pioneer Latin Disco (Salsoul to you and me) with his jazzy cover of Gil Scott-Heron's "The Bottle". His 1969 single "Under The Street Lamp" is a wonderful track which harks back to harmony soul's roots in 1950s street-corner Doo Wop. Everything about this is just perfect, from the floating groove to the soaring vocals and the way it paints an evocative picture of friends hanging out in the neighborhood.

Obviously I highly recommend "More Perfect Harmony" even if it isn't quite as stunning as the first volume. If you want to go directly to the source for Joe Batann, the excellent compilation Young, Gifted & Brown has some of the best of his Latin Soul recordings.

[Download]
Under The Street Lamp - Joe Bataan with Group