Feelin' Good at the Cadillac Club
Feelin' Good at the Cadillac Club | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | ||||
Genre | Soul, Philadelphia soul | |||
Label | Gamble Records | |||
Producer | Billy Paul | |||
Billy Paul chronology | ||||
| ||||
Alternative cover | ||||
Feelin' Good at the Cadillac Club is the debut album by soul singer
Release and critical reaction
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Despite its title, the album is not a live recording but a studio creation based on Paul's live act, which he regularly performed at Philadelphia's Cadillac and other clubs.
Paul had been somewhat of a child prodigy singing in jazz clubs and cutting a handful of singles in the 1950s. Toward the end of the 1960s, Paul and his wife and manager Blanche Williams had invested $365 of their own money toward recording a
The LP's original liner notes were an early attempt to market Paul as more than simply a one-dimensional jazz vocalist:
"'Soul' is a word that has probably taken more of a beating in the past five years than most of the words in the English language have taken during the past one-hundred years. And still, no one has come up with a generally accepted definition of the term. Billy Paul says, 'Soul is just being me,' and I think that's the one definition I can accept without reservation.
In trying to analyze the electrifying style of Billy Paul, the closest one can come to breaking it down is to say that the style is simply him - emotional, urgent, compelling and the sound of the times with a definite intertexture of the gospel mode.
From the very beginning, Billy was always fascinated by the phrasings and seemingly limitless range of horns. It makes a lot of sense, because one of the first things that strikes a listener hearing him for the first time is the horn-like quality of his voice, particularly in the way he phrases the lyric. This is undoubtedly why musician Cecil Payne said that Billy Paul sounds 'just like a flute.'
From the frenetic pace of Toots Thielemans' jazz standard, "Bluesette," to the haunting approach of "Somewhere," Billy Paul runs the gamut of versatility. "Feeling Good," a big production number, is notable for the dominating figure created by the piano, drums and bass which makes for an almost hymnal effect.
"Just in Time," which starts off with Billy accompanied only by bassist Bill Collick, gives the whole group an opportunity to have a ball, as do "That's Life," "Billy Boy," "Don't Think Twice," and "Missing You."
But easily, the top number on this album has got to be "On a Clear Day." Arranged by pianist Stanley Johnson (as are all the numbers) "Clear Day" has been given an unusual Latin background, and so startling is the effect that one cannot help wondering why it was never done before.All in all, an auspicious introduction to a new and exciting talent, Billy Paul - a young man who will probably be making fine albums, like this one, forever.
Joe Hunter
WHAT-FM RADIO
Philadelphia, Penna.
In its February 10, 1968 issue,
As they did with With his brilliant hit single, "Me and Mrs. Jones," soaring across the national airwaves, Billy Paul is finally getting the kind of national acceptance that he so rightfully deserves. Fellow artists like Nancy Wilson have been aware of Billy's talents for quite a while, and it's to everybody's benefit that his smash single and best-selling album, 360 Degrees of Billy Paul
Unlike other artists, records are only part of the Billy Paul story. His warm and intense personal appearances are highlighted by an improvisational brilliance that matches his innovative sense of phrasing. Feelin' Good at the Cadillac Club is an exciting studio-"live club date" recording combination, produced by Billy Paul, that conveys the total energy flow that he generates every time he steps out onto a stage. When you sing contemporary material with the kind of honesty and commitment that Billy Paul does, you have to be able to carry it off "live." This breakthrough LP typifies his ability to do just that...and more.
On the album's 2014 reissue, Joe Marchese of The Second Disc noted: "Though it’s far from a typical 'soul' album, one listen reveals just how much soul always resided within Billy Paul."[2]
Track listing
Side 1
- "Billy Boy" - (Traditional) 2:43
- "Missing You" - (Kenny Gamble) 2:45
- "Bluesette" - (Norman Gimbel, Jean Thielmans) 3:05
- "On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever)" - (Alan Jay Lerner, Burton Lane) 4:39
- "Just in Time" - (Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Jule Styne) 3:56
Side 2
- "That's Life" - (Dean Kay, Kelly Gordon) 4:05
- "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" - (Bob Dylan) 2:03
- "Feeling Good" - (Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley) 8:30
- "Somewhere" - (Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim) 3:37
Personnel
- Billy Paul - vocals, producer
- Stanley Johnson - piano, arrangements
- Norman Fearrington - drums
- Bill Collick - bass
- Technical
- Nick Robbins - remastering from 1st generation tapes at Sound Mastering, London for BBR 2012 reissue
References
- ^ AllMusic. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
- ^ a b c d e Marchese, Joe (20 January 2014). ""Billy Paul Is "Feelin' Good" On BBR Reissue Of His First Studio Album"". theseconddisc.com. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
- ^ Ronan Sims, Gayle (6 July 2005). "Ruth Bynum, 80, club owner". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ^ Etter, Gerald (3 November 1991). "Not Out Of The Blue In Family Tradition, The Bynum Brothers' Unique Restaurant-jazz Cafe Speaks For Itself". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ^ "Billy Paul: Soul Searching". bluesandsoul.com. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
- ^ "Action Records". Billboard. 10 February 1968. p. 58. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
- ISBN 9780190287658. Retrieved 6 June 2015.