Genre: soul
Rating: ** (2 stars)
Title: Now Arriving
Company: Soul
Catalog: S7-751R1
Year: 1978
Country/State: --
Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+
Comments: still in shrink wrap; was sealed and opened to tape; small cut out notch along bottom edge
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 4595
Price: $10.00
Cost: $66.00
Like so many other soul artists, by the mid-1970s Major Lance was an all but forgotten musical commodity. The makes the fact Motown's Soul subsidiary signed him to a recording contract all the more of a surprise.
Largely produced
by Lance and long-time protégé Otis Leavill, 1978's "Now
Arriving" is pretty much what you'd expect from a soul
star looking to reinvigorate his career. Overlooking what may have
been the year's ugliest album cover (I think the intended concept was
rolling out the red carpet for Lance), the collection offered up a mix of
disco-flavored tracks and old school soul moves. The good news is that
Lance's voice remained in good form. The bad news is that it wasn't
particularly well suited for disco fodder such as 'Chicago Disco', 'Do the
Mess Around' and 'How My Love Goes'. Curiously, the label chose to
release one of the few old school tracks as a single: 'I Never Thought (I'd
Be Losing You)' b/w '' (Soul catalog number S35123F ).
Personal favorite was Lance's slightly jazzy cover of Harry Belafonte's
'Trouble'. The album's lack of sales probably wasn't helped by
the fact that it was released just as Motown moved to eliminate its Soul
subsidiary. The set actually has the distinction of being the last
release on the Soul imprint.
"Now Arriving" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) I Never Thought (I'd Be Losing You) (Marvin Smith - Louis Smith) -
2.) Wild and Free (Curtis Mayfield) -
3.) Chicago Disco (Sylvia Lance - Marvin Smith - Barbara Acklin - Wales Wallace) -
4.) Do the Mess Around (Sylvia Lance - Raymond Smith) -
5.) How My Love Goes (Bruce Davis - Glen Davis - Doug Davis - Cameron Davis) -
(side
2)
1.) Think About the Love We Had (Williams Bickelhaupt -
Jamal Trice) -
2.) Troubles (Harry Belafonte) -
4.) Love Pains (Jesse Boyce - Sanchez Henry) -
4.) It's All Over (Kenny Lupper - Sylvia Lance) -