Back in '68 in a sweaty club
As a former U.S. serviceman living in England, Geno Washington was the closest thing soul-crazy Mods had to a genuine American soul man, their chances of seeing any real Motown or Stax stars were limited so he and The Ram Jam Band did very well with their energetic live act where they powered through covers of current soul hits. Two live albums with the fabulous titles "Hand Clappin' Foot Stompin' Funky-Butt...Live!" and "Hipsters, Flipsters, Finger-Poppin' Daddies!" captured that amped-up energy and were huge sellers. Their studio recordings weren't as good though which makes it all the more surprising that the terrific "If This Is Love (I'd Rather Be Lonely)" wasn't released at the time and only surfaced in the 1990s on the compilation "My Bombers, My Dexys, My Highs." The song was originally recorded by a Detroit soul band called The Precisions (who I must admit I'd never heard of before.) To say that this sounds a bit like The Four Tops would be an understatement, Geno's big voice does a tremendous Levi Stubbs impersonation and the band manage to conjure up their own version of the Motown sound very well.
[Download]
If This Is Love (I'd Rather Be Lonely) - Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band
4 Comments:
Nice work me ol' China.
Great site, just found it. Please repost some of the older mp3s so I can grab them and get caugt up.
Not to be confused, of course, with Gino Washington, the Detroit singer of "Gino is a Coward," who once said, regarding the man who nearly shared his name: "My records were selling in England, but they never wanted me to go there because of this guy. He had my name, only he spelled it G-E-N-O. At the time I never knew about him, then I had the opportunity to go in a record store and I said, 'I NEVER RECORDED NONE OF THIS CRAP!!' I heard this guy's records and got physically sick! He better hope he never meets me. I told a promoter in England to book a duel."
Personally, I think Gino is better, although he's got some novelty songs that can be tiring.
This song was also done by Eddie Spencer, whose version is also very Motown-ish. It is on a 2006 compilation I just got, Jamaice to Toronto - Soul Funk & Reggae 1967-1974.
Lyle
Post a Comment
<< Home