RESURRECTION – STAN MOSLEY’S BEST WORK EVER

  One of the best rootsy soul singers of our era, Stan Mosley, has come up with new material, which you can download already now or buy in the form of a physical CD in January.  This is actually Stan’s 10^th album in 23 years with fresh material.  Aptly titled Resurrection, three producers took part in creating it.  Stan: “When I began to think about recording again and at the same time posted some stuff on Facebook, Bobby Eli reached out to me and we began to talk about a possibility of doing some work together, and I got very excited about it.  I recorded two covers and two originals with him in Philadelphia.”

  After playing guitar in three groups, Bobby Eli met Gamble & Huff in the mid-1960s and eventually became part of the future MFSB orchestra.  Not only a hard-working session player, during his career he has also written a lot of music and produced, among others, such artists as the Sons of Robin Stone, Wilson Pickett, Jackie Moore, the Joneses, Jimmy Ruffin, Odia Coates, Atlantic Starr and Deniece Williams... and now Stan Mosley.

  Stan: “Then I went to Memphis, Tennessee, and recorded three songs with Lawrence Harper at his Muthaland Studios.  After that I did two in Atlanta with Frank McKinney.  I chose three different writer/producers to enable me to have flexibility and variety in the music.  It worked perfectly.  After initially hitting a few snags we got the ball rolling full steam.  When all the recording was done, project was delivered to Paul Richmond in Dolton, Illinois.  He did the editing, mixing and mastering of all of them.  This is my best work ever.”

  Since 1980 the producer/songwriter/engineer Lawrence Harper is the owner of Muthaland Productions, which specializes in producing and recording Memphis soul music.  Toni Green and Floyd Taylor are among those, who have recorded his music.  Frank McKinney is a recording artist in his own right, too, and has four solo CDs under his belt.  Also a bass playing member of a show band called Heart 2 Heart, besides a number of r&b artists, Frank has worked with numerous gospel luminaries, too. 

  Here’s what the late Leo Graham told about his music buddy Paul Richmond:  “He was a bass player and we were songwriters together on a number of songs.  He was an excellent bass player.  As a producer of these songs I would hire Paul to play bass on all of these things, and he did a fantastic job on them.  I met through him a group that Tyrone (Davis) and I were producing called Amuzement Park.  We did an album on them, which I still have somewhere in the can” (The Manhattans Story, part 4). 

  Paul Edward Richmond was a member of the Amuzement Park Band, who at one point was backing up Tyrone Davis and the Impressions.  The group put out two albums (produced by Dunn Pearson and David Wolinski) and singles on Our Gang and Atlantic Records in the first half of the 80s.  Later Paul would work with many artists, including the Dells, L.V. Johnson, Marshall Thompson (of the Chi-lites) and Willie Clayton.  Paul is the co-writer of the Manhattans’ Shining Star and Tyrone Davis’ In the Mood, to name just two unforgettable soul songs.

AIN’T NO STOPPIN US

  Stan: “We got a good album, and the wonderful thing about this is that I own it.  No record company owns this.  I have one of the best record promoters in the business that is going to get it out on the radio.  Sula Marie is my manager, and her brother-in-law is also my manager.”

  The opening track – as well as the closing one - is Bobby Eli’s first contribution, a remix of McFadden & Whitehead’s 1979 platinum hit, Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now, and this over 10-minute dancer shares the same background with the original.  “We have a mechanical license for it.  A DJ in the UK contacted me and asked, if I was interested in doing a compilation.  We sent them the masters and he sent it to Nigel Lowis, who did the remix on it.  I love the remix.  He brought it up to date.”

  You Oughta Be Here with Me is Paul Kelly’s emotive ballad, which Annette Snell first cut on Dial in 1973.  “I picked up the song, because I had been wanting to do that song for maybe about 15 years.  I heard this song, when I was with Malaco.  I started to do it then.  I’m glad I didn’t do it then, because they would still have it.  Here’s another song we have a mechanical license for also.  I told Bobby Eli about this song, and he did a wonderful job with it.  Bobby Eli is a musical genius.  He was fascinated with my voice.  He told me ‘Stan, all these years that I’ve been recording I haven’t had anybody here to sing as powerful as you do.’”

  A slow floater named My Problem was written by Bobby Eli’s young protégé, Dennis Taylor, who also first recorded the song in 2011.  “I never met him, but we have talked.  He told me how much he liked my voice.”  Towards the end of the song Stan takes us to church.  “That’s what I got in me.  That’s where I come from.”

SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY

  Patricia Scott wrote the slow and serene, even standard-ish Sentimental Journey.  “She’s a wonderful young lady.  As a matter of fact, she was in the studio, when I recorded that and she was just taken aback.  One record promoter told me ‘Stan, you have a song on here that is going to be a classic, Sentimental Journey.’”

  The first of Lawrence Harper’s songs is a repetitive urban contemporary jam titled Get It & Hit It, and it features even rock guitar licks.  “Lawrence is the one that wrote When We Touch for Floyd Taylor.”  If I Didn’t Have You is a smooth ballad, not unlike what Al Green used to do in the 70s.  “Actually the one that has more Al Green feel to it than anything I’ve ever done is You Oughta Be Here with Me.”  Lawrence’s third song is the slow and bluesy Tell Him the Way You like Your Love.  “It’s blues with a gospel influence.”

  Atlanta’s Frank McKinney came up with a fast and catchy dancer called We’re Gonna Have a Good Time and a hypnotic stepper with a social message named People We Gotta Do Better.  “I wrote the lyrics and did the arrangement, and Frank did the music on that one.”

A WORLD TOUR

  “We’re getting ready to put together a tour, and because of my manager I don’t have to deal with any concert promoters anymore.  It’s going to be a world tour, not chitlin circuit.  That’s something I’m staying away from.  I’ve done that already.  I’m looking for doing something totally different – different audiences, bigger things... and most definitely Europe.”

  “On this new CD I sing the songs the way I wanted to sing them.  I was not forced to do anything that makes me uncomfortable.  I think people are going to enjoy this CD.  I hope they’ll be pleasantly surprised.”

STEPPER’S HOLIDAY

  Already prior to the release of the CD you can enjoy Stan delivering a smooth and soulful version of a positive and laid-back song called Stepper’s Holiday.  “It was written by Paul Richmond and we decided to record it and release it for the holidays.  I think Tyrone Davis originally recorded it.”   Indeed, it appeared on Tyrone’s The Legendary Hall of Famer CD (on EndZone in 2004).  Stan’s version is only a single release and is not included on the upcoming CD... but it’s good!

© Heikki Suosalo

Read also the full Album by Album bio of Stan Mosley - complete with an interview