Genre: soul
Rating: 4 stars ****
Title: Everybody Wanna Live On
Company: ABC
Catalog: ABCD-921
Year: 1975
Country/State: Texas
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: was sealed; opened to tape; still in shrink; cut left corner
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 5006
Price: $20.00
Having toured and recorded singles for 12 years before they got a chance to record an album, The Masqueraders epitomize the concepts of dedication and perseverance ... 12 years for goodness sakes !!!
The group's first major break came in 1975 when the attracted the attention of Issac Hayes. Flying high on the heels of his "Shaft" successes, Hayes had recently convinced ABC Records to finance his HBS (Hot Buttered Soul) label. The Masqueraders stood as one of the first signings to HBS.
Produced and arranged by Hayes, "Everybody Wanna Live On" was a surprisingly impressive debut - made even more enjoyable by the fact most of eight songs reflected original material (rare for a soul vocal group). With his long-standing Stax roots, Hayes proved a great match for the group, wisely avoiding then-popular disco influences in favor of a distinctive old-school attack. Propelled by Lee W. Jones' gritty vocals, material like the grooving title track (love the unexpected horn breaks), the Gospel-tinged 'Please Don't Try (To Take Me Away To the Sky)' (love the jazzy scat segment) and '' showcased the group's decade and a half of experience with a series of performances that were near flawless. The set certainly wasn't perfect. Given the group was in peak form on upbeat numbers, the four ballads were simply overkill. Not the group's fault, but some of the lyrics were cheesy (even back in the day) - check out the seventh grade political and social manifesto on 'Listen'. Still, the overall results were quite impressive, made even better by the fact you can still find this album relatively cheap. Elsewhere the album was tapped for a series of three singles:
- 1975's 'Baby It's You' b/w 'Listen' (ABC catalog number ABC-12141)
- 1976's '(Call Me) The Traveling Man' b/w 'Sweet Sweetening' (ABC catalog number ABC-12157)
- 1976's 'Your Sweet Love Is a Blessing' b/w 'Please Don't Try' (ABC catalog number ABC-12190)
Unfortunately, HBS proved to be chronically undercapitalized and shortly after the album was released the label declared bankruptcy, leaving The Masqueraders without a recording label for the next five years.
"Everybody
Wanna Live On" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Everybody Wanna Live On (Eual Jean Rivers - Orbedean Deloney - Lee Wesley - David Sanders - Robert Wrightsil - Sammy Hutchinson) - 8:35
2.) Please Don't Try (To Take Me Away To the Sky) (Orbedean Deloney - Lee Wesley - David Sanders - Robert Wrightsil - Sammy Hutchinson) - 4:32
3.) (Call Me) The Traveling Man (Orbedean Deloney - Lee Wesley - David Sanders - Robert Wrightsil - Sammy Hutchinson) - 6:53
4.) Listen
(Orbedean Deloney - Lee Wesley - David Sanders - Robert Wrightsil - Sammy
Hutchinson) - 5:56
(side
2)
1.) Baby It's You (Burt Bacharach - David Williams) - 6:38
2.) Sweet Sweetning (Orbedean Deloney - Lee Wesley - David Sanders - Robert Wrightsil - Sammy Hutchinson) - 4:12
3.) (My Love for You Is) Honest and True (Orbedean Deloney - Lee Wesley - David Sanders - Robert Wrightsil - Sammy Hutchinson) - 6:29
4.) Your Sweet Love Is a Blessing (Orbedean Deloney - Lee Wesley - David Sanders - Robert Wrightsil - Sammy Hutchinson) - 6:07