Genre: rock
Rating: 3 stars ***
Title: Expressions
Company: Warner Brothers
Catalog: WS 1918
Year: 1971
Country/State: Charleston, West Virginia
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: was sealed; opened to hear and transfer to CD-R; still in shrink wrap
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 5327
Price: $20.00
Geez, almighty did this one ever hit me like a ton of bricks. Where in the world did a guy like Turley Richards get a voice that sounded like some grizzly old soulster?
"Expressions" back cover
Blind since the age of four (an older brother accidentally shot him in the eye with a bow and arrow and poor medical treatment resulted in the loss of sight in both eyes) Gifted with an amazing voice, by the time he was in his teens Turley was fronting the integrated R&B group The Five Pearls. Featured on the Dick Reid Record Hop (imagine a West Virginia version of Dick Clark's American Bandstand), the group became quite popular throughout West Virginia. That success led to a 1959 recording contract with Harry Carlon's Cincinnati, Ohio-based Fraternity label and the release of a pair of singles 'All About Ann' b/w 'Making' Love with My Baby' (Fraternity catalog number F-845) and 'I Wanna Dance' b/w 'Since I Met You' (Fraternity catalog number F-862). Dot Records subsequently acquired national distribution rights reissuing the single 'I Wanna Dance' b/w 'Since I Met You' (Dot catalog number 45-16231) with a credit to Richard Turley With Gary Hawks And The Travelers.
While the singles did little commercially, it was enough for Richards and two musician friends to buy a PA system, a Ford station wagon and set of for California in pursuit of the big time. Within a matter of months a broke Richards had taken the train back to West Virginia.
A couple of years later Richards headed for New York. Within a matter of weeks he was broke, reduced to living in Central Park, trying to sell his blood, while singing in local pubs. One of those pub jobs proved his lucky break. A woman he met introduced Richards to Norman Schwartz. At the time Schwartz was responsible for managing a host of jazz acts like Stan Getz and Gary McFarland however he was sufficiently impressed with Richards to help him score a contract with MGM/Verve. That was followed by a string of releases for a variety of labels. I've tried to find a complete discography without much luck so here's what I've managed to stitch together:
- 'Since You Been Gone' b/w 'What’s Your Name (MGM catalog number K-13297)
- 'I Need To Fall In Love' b/w '' (20th Century Fox catalog number 608)
- 'This Is My Woman' b/w 'Everything's Goon' (Kapp catalog 906)
- 'Crazy Arms' b/w 'I Just Can't Take It Any Longer' (Columbia catalog number 4-43667)
- 'I Feel Alright' b/w 'I Can't Get Back Home To My Baby' (Columbia catalog number 4-43837)
- 'I'm a Lonely Man' b/w 'I Can't Get Back Home To My Baby' (Columbia catalog number 4-44079)
Produced by Paul Harris (Lou Merentstein handing one track) and recorded in California with a first rate cast of sessions players, 1971's "Expressions" was an exceptionally diverse, but impressive sophomore set. Showcasing Turley penned material (there were three outside covers, including a really good interpretation of Dylan's 'It's All Over Baby Blue'), the album served to spotlight Richards' almost chameleon-like character. The lead off song 'Beautiful Country' could easily have been mistaken for something off of a Solomon Burke LP, while 'Train Back To Mama (Broken Dreams)' would have been perfect for Otis Redding. At the other end of the spectrum 'Child of Mine' bore more than a passing resemblance to the soft-rock sounds David Gates and company were churning out. 'Virginia Woman' was a conventional acoustic blues number, while 'Stoned On Love' captured that unique early-'70s soul-rock vibe that Delaney and Bonnie were making a killing on. Ironically the song that made the biggest impression on me was his cover of the Motown classic 'My World Is Empty without You'. Given the song's been recorded thousands of times, I remember seeing it on the track listing and simply yawning. Wow was I wrong. Richards' bluesy cover simply takes the song to a place its never been. Killer blues-soul cover that should have made Holland-Dozier-Holland smile. Mind you the album wasn't perfect. 'Place for My Mind' and The Last Day'' were pretty but kind of bland ballads and the set's sheer diversity made it hard to get a handle on what Richards was all about. Those criticisms aside, there's something really charming about the collection and it's one of the few I've bothered to transfer to CD-R format for personnel use. (Dedicated to Adrian, I'm assuming the attractive drawing on the back side cover was Turley's wife.) Warner Brothers didn't do a great deal of promotion or marketing support, but did pull a couple of singles from the LP:
- 1970's 'Child of Mine' b/w 'Maybe I Can Change Your Mind' (Warner Brothers catalog number 7443)
- 1970's 'It's All Over Now Baby Blue' b/w 'Virginia Woman' (Warner Brothers catalog number 7487)
"Expressions" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Beautiful Country (Turley Richards) - 3:22
2.) Child of Mine (Carole King - Gerry Goffin) - 3:25
3.) Stoned On Love (Turley Richards) - 3:35
4.) Place for My Mind (Turley Richards) - 4:34
5.) Nightmare (Turley Richards) - 3:49
(side
2)
1.) The Last Day (Turley Richards) - 2:36
2.) Train Back To Mama (Broken Dreams) (Turley Richards) - 3:40
3.) It's All Over Now Baby Blue (Bob Dylan) - 3:49
4.) Virginia Woman (Turley Richards) - 4:44
5.) My World Is Empty without You (Brian Holland - Lamont Dozier - Eddie Holland) - 5:26
- 'One Too Many Mornings' b/w '' (Warner Brothers catalog number 7510)
- 'West Virginia Superstar' b/w '' (Epic catalog number 8-50279)
- 'Under The Boardwalk' b/w '' (Epic catalog number 8-50548)
- 'You Might Need Somebody' b/w 'It's All Up To You' (Atlantic catalog number 45-3645)
Richards has a nice website at:
http://www.turleyrichards.com/DesktopDefault.aspx
YouTube has a video clip showcasing Richards guesting with the Greg Foresman Band at a August 2007 performance at Louisville's Stevie Ray's Blues Bar. The performance, the video and the sound quality are all a little rough, but even so, now in his late 60s (?), the man still has his chops and stage presence. I'd pay to see him in concert.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkFwlsWdMpA