Thursday, January 03, 2008

It's Magic!


The Magicians - Why Must You Cry (I Deeply Love You)



I love it when a good song knocks me off my feet due to strong lyrics, great vocals and/or an outstanding arrangement. I have recently been introduced to today's selection, which clearly fits within this category, by means of the great new Kent compilation Hitsville West, which focuses on the sounds of San Francisco soul, most notably from Fantasy's Galaxy label and affiliates and the tiny Villa label.

The Magicians' "Why Must You Cry" is a Villa recording which features a throwback sound that brings the Five Royales or, as one reviewer noted, the early Miracles to mind. While the group provides solid support with their "I love you madly" refrain, the lead singer puts over the lyrics with intensity of feeling (wink wink Brian Phillips) and the whole thing leaves me breathless. It's magic!

2 comments:

Ben The Balladeer said...

great tune, the only other song I know by them is "why did I do these foolish things" the lead almost does a Smokey impression.

SoulBoogieAlex said...

Look like I'll have to spend a couple of bucks on this one. A very nice track! Sound like it was recorded in that limbo between the Doo Wop era and Soul. Not quite Motown yet, but a lot more sophisticated than the average Doo Wop record. There are quite a few true gems in that period roughly around the turn of the decade where the backing would be more fleshed out but the voices wouldn't be replaced by horns and strings yet. Great stuff. Thanks for the tip.