Genre: soul
Rating: *** (3 stars)
Title: We Got a Thing
Company: Karen/ATCO
Catalog: SD 33-201
Year: 1966
Country/State: Detroit, Michigan
Grade (cover/record): VG/VG
Comments: cut out hole top left corner
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 4645
Price: $20.00
Cost: $66.00
Their second LP is harder to find (at least it was for me). Like the debut, 1966's "We Got A Thing" sports one of those 'mod' covers that you would never associated with a Detroit soul group ... at least the cover shows a couple of African American characters (though the band shown on the cover are Caucasian Sgt. Pepper-styled clones).
Produced by Ollie McLaughlin, like the debut, the set's heavy on popular soul and pop covers. While there's nothing wrong with the trio's performances on covers such as 'Knock On Wood', 'Hold On, I'm Comin'' and 'When a Man Loves a Woman' Sam George's vocals are occasionally a little flat ('' sounds phoned in). Mike Terry's arrangements don't stray far from the originals which raises the question 'why'd they bother?' Far more interesting are the more obscure covers including Darrell Eubanks (aka Banks) 'Open the Door To Your Heart' and Ashford and Simpson's 'Let's Go Get Stoned' and two Donald Storball originals ('We Got a Thing That's In the Groove' and 'Tired of Running from You'). Nothing spectacular, but easy going fun ... Elsewhere the album spunk off a pair of modest pop and R&B hits via:
1966's 'I Got To Handle It' b/w 'Zig Zaggin' (Karen/ATCO catalog number 1525)
1966's 'We Got a Thing That's In the Groove' b/w 'Tired of Running from You' (Karen/ATCO catalog number 1526)
"We Got a Thing" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Knock On Wood (Eddie Floyd - Steve Cropper) - 2:50
2.) Hold On, I'm Comin' (Isaac Hayes - David Porter) -2 :18
3.) Open the Door To Your Heart (Darrell Eubanks - Murphy Lawrence) - 2:33
4.) Let's Go Get Stoned (Valerie Simpson - Nicholas Ashford - Joseph Armstead) - 2:32
5.) Working In a Coal Mine (Alan (sic) Toussaint) - 3:00
6.) When a Man Loves a Woman (Calvin Lewis - Andrew Wright) - 3:12
(side
2)
1.) We
Got a Thing That's In the Groove (Donald Storball) - 2:27
2.) Wild Thing (Chip Taylor) - 2:24
3.) It's Googaloo Time (Richard Green - Johnny Griffith) - 2:16
4.) I Feel Alright (Jimmy James) - 2:05
5.) Tired of Running from You (Donald Storball) - 2:14
6.) I Got To Handle It (Barney Browner) - 2:20