Steppin' With Twinight

Annette Poindexter & Pieces of Peace - Mama

The Numero Group has done it again with the newest installment in their Eccentric Soul series! Twinight's Lunar Rotation is a long-awaited comp of recordings from the Chicago label - Kent did a one-disc set, Twinight's Chicago Soul Heaven, back in the '90s, promising a second volume in the liner notes but never delivering - and it meets the high standard we've come to expect from Numero. The excellent liner notes tell the story of how Howard Bedno and Peter Wright ran Twinight (originally called Twilight) as a sideline to their record distributing and promotion business, choosing to buy finished masters of recordings rather than mount up any serious A&R on their own, although Syl Johnson - the label's only true moneymaker - stepped up and produced quite a few records. Johnson does not appear on the comp except as an integral part of the story told by the liner notes and as producer of some of the tracks -which is not a bad thing, as there are plenty of Syl Johnson comps out there - so more room exists for awesome rarities. The first three posts of this week will cover some of those awesome records featured on this must-have compilation.

Annette Poindexter was Syl Johnson's erstwhile girlfriend when she cut two 45s for the label. She was backed by Syl's touring band, the Pieces of Peace, who had also shown significant prowess in the recording studios of Chicago, playing on several hit Chicago soul records. "Mama" is a nice stepping groover redolent of "Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean," with nice string charts and Poindexter's strong vocals making it work.