Genre: soul
Rating: 3 stars ***
Title: Sittin' In At the Court of Love
Company: Kapp
Catalog: KS
3582
Year: 19
Country/State: Washington, D.C
Grade (cover/record): VG / VG
Comments:
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 5441
Price: $25.00
Marvin Brown, Tom Fauntleroy, Bob Hayes, Al Johnson, and George Roland met and started their musical partnership in 1966 while attending Washington, D.C.'s Howard University. Originally known as Al % the Vikings, the group morphed into The Unique Five, following by a decision to adopt The Unifics nameplate. Playing at dances and local clubs won the band a local audience, but within a year the group underwent a series of personnel changes. Fauntlleroy was drafted and Hayes and Roland also left the group, replaced by Greg Cook and Michael Ward. A second personnel spasm saw Brown replaced by Harold Worthington.
In spite of the shifting line up the group managed to attract a mentor in the form of manager Guy Draper who quickly signed the group with Kapp as well as starting to write and produce material for the group.
Written and produced by Draper, group made their debut with 1968's 'Court of Love' b/w 'Which One Should I Choose' (Kapp catalog number K-935). Even though it was a cheesy, gimmicky ballad, the 45 provided the group with a top-40 pop and top-10 R&B hit. As was standard marketing procedure Kapp management wasted no time trying to capitalize on their unexpected success, rushing the group into the studio to record a supporting album. Produced by Draper, "Sittin' In At the Court of Love" offered up a mixture of Draper-penned numbers and popular covers. As you'd expect the results were rather uneven. Drapped penned tracks like 'Which One Should I Chose', the sweet ballad 'Tables Turned' and 'It's All Over' were top-notch soul that showcased the group's first-rate vocal harmonies on some of the year's most commercial material. Unfortunately Draper and company apparently did have much time to come up with an album's worth of original material, forcing them to fill in the gaps with top-40 pop and soul covers. Exemplified by 'Harper Valley PTA' and 'This Guy's In Love with You' (the latter sounding like the 5th Dimension on sleeping pills) the cover tunes were pretty horrible. Given their talent it's a shame they weren't allowed additional time to record more Draper-penned material ... the results would have be simply killer. As is, called it a 50/50 set.
"Sittin'
In At the Court of Love" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Court of Love (Guy Draper) - 2:49
2.) Which One Should I Chose (Guy Draper) - 2:03
3.) Tables Turned (Guy Draper) - 3:10
4.) Harper Valley PTA (Tom T. Hall) - 4:11
5.) This Guy's In Love with You (Burt Bacharach) - 4:30
(side
2)
1.) Toshi Sumasi (Guy Draper) - 3:13
2.) It's All Over (Guy Draper - Al Johnson) - 3:16
3.) People Got o Be Free (Felix Cavaliere - Eddie Brigatti) - 3:46
4.) Little Green Apples (B. Russell) - 4:46
5.) A Hard Day's Night (John Lennon - Paul McCartney) - 3:17
Over the next year the group continued to chart with a series of singles:
- 1968's 'The Beginning of the end' b/w 'Sentimental Man' (Kapp catalog number K-957) # 36 pop; # 9 R&B
- 1969's 'It's a Groovy World' b/w 'Memories' (Kapp catalog number K-985) # 97 pop; # 27 R&B
- 1969's 'Memories' b/w 'Got To Get You' (Kapp catalog number K-2058)
- 1969's 'Toshisumasi' b/w 'It's All Over' (Kapp catalog number) K-2026 # 36 R&B
Unfortunately success brought a major falling out with manager Draper and the a lawsuit between the parties. Adding to the groups' problems, in 1970 Ward and Worthington left, though they were quickly replaced by former members Brown and Fauntleroy. 1970 also saw the group dropped by Kapp, though they were quickly picked up by Jerry Butler's Fountain Records resulting in the release of their final single:
- 1970's 'Dawn of a New Day' b/w 'Funky Thing' (Fountain catalog number F-100).
The group struggled on for another two years before calling it quits.
Only 42, Brown was shot to death in February 1990.
Johnson went into production working with a variety of soul acts including Norman Connors, The Dells, and The Whispers. He also recorded a series of three solo efforts that I'm looking for:
In 2004 Johnson and Fauntleroy decided to give it another shot. Newcomers Garrett Hall and Charlie Lockhart were recruited to round out the act. I haven't been able to track down a copy of it, but their reunion LP (2005's "Unifics Return" on the So Modo label (catalog number VD0027)) attracted strong reviews.
left to right: Charlie Lockhart - Tom Fauntleroy - Garrett Hall - Al Johnson
"Unifics Return" track listing:
1.) I Want You To Have It - 4:30
2.) Anything for My Ev'rything - 4:10
3.) Anyone Can Tell You - 6:01
4.) Gypsy Woman - 3:59
5.) My One and Only - 6:21
6.) Something / Make It with You - 5:52
7.) You Gotta Let Me Know - 4:12
8.) A Lifetime and a Half - 4:35
9.) Long Way To Forever - 5:31
10.) What becomes of the Brokenhearted - 3:56
11.) This Is the Night We Love - 5:18
12.) Just As Your Are - 4:13
13.) Victims of 9/11 - 6:39
There's also at least one 'best of' set, though I don't know if it's a legitimate release -"The Very Best of The Unifics" (Blue Velvet catalog number CD-2046).
"The Very Best of The Unifics" track listing:
1.) Court Of Love
(Guy Draper)
2.) The Beginning Of The End
3.) It’s A Groovy World!
4.) Toshisumasu
5.) Which One Should I Choose
6.) Memories
7.) Dawn Of A New Day
8.) Harper Valley PTA (Tom T. Hall) -
9.) Tables Turned
10.) This Guy’s In Love With You (Burt Bacharach) -
11.) Working My Way Back In Funky Things
12.) A Hard Day’s Night
13.) It’s All Over
14.) Got To Get You
15.) Little Green Apples
16.) People Got To Be Free
17.) Sentimental Man