Today's post is dedicated to all of you wonderful people who have commented and sent e-mails in support of the "Get on Down ..." enterprise over the last two days. You guys turned a frown upside down and rekindled the fire in my (unfortunately, ample) belly to keep on keeping on! The defiant optimism of the Curtis Mayfield composition "Nothing Can Stop Me," presented on this blog earlier in the original Gene Chandler version, seems appropriate, and I have an awesome version of the tune to post today!
The T.S.U. Toronados were a Houston band whose place in soul history was cemented by their playing the backgrounds for the 1968 Archie Bell & The Drells smash "Tighten Up." Fortunately for us soul fans, they also recorded on their own and had great releases on Ovide, Atlantic and Volt. I recommend you read Greg Tormo's article at Solid Hit Soul to get more info about the group and their recordings. We are also fortunate that the folks at Funky Delicacies have reissued their work on several CDs over the last few years. From the CD One Flight Too Many comes the group's excellent rendition of "Nothing Can Stop Me." As much as I love the Chandler original, I must say that this version smokes: the horns are fuller, the groove keeps the swinging feel of the original but gives it a more modern touch, the vocals are spot-on and the arrangement manages to interpolate Sly & The Family Stone's "Hot Fun in the Summertime" into the mix and make it work.
No comments:
Post a Comment