Soul Fit For A King: The Royalettes

The Royalettes: Baby Are You Putting Me On and Lonely Girl
From: The Elegant Sound Of The Royalettes [MGM, 1966]

I don't know about you guys but I fucking hate January. I have an unfortunate habit of believing all outstanding tasks and worries will disappear in the new year and totally forget that they'll still be waiting for me on the other side of Auld Lang Syne.

To add to the back-at-work-blues my trusty car decided to give up the ghost last weekend and it's going to cost up to a Boscoe to fix it. Roll on Xmas '07 I say.

With the above in mind it seemed appropriate to post some gorgeous soul to counter my foul mood. It's also something I wouldn't have been surprised to see on London Lee's now terminated Number One Songs In Heaven, one of the three sites (along with Soul Sides and Cocaine Blunts) that hooked me on the idea of blogging in the first place. Sad to see it go though I can sympathise with the feelings expressed.

Anyway, the music. The Royalettes were a great uptown soul outfit that, despite a plethora of great songs, never had the impact of some of their contemporaries. Their second album, The Elegant Sounds Of The Royalettes, featured production work by the late great singer, writer, producer, Teddy Randazzo and is rather unique from that period in that it's put together as an album of songs rather than hits plus filler giving a far more satisfying overall listen.

Baby Are You Putting Me On is a fine example of the group's style, mixing Bacharach-esque changes of tempo with fluid horns and lovely harmonies. I love the vocal spacing on the chorus, rising and falling with the accompanying melody.

Lonely Girl once again proves that heartbreak is so much appealing than bliss when it comes to soul music. A more uptempo number it may also offer up a hint to why the band didn't succeed, offering a more old school sound than was the fashion in 1966. The stereo recording highlights the drums in this one, nice and thumping on the right speaker.

Oh yeah, as the winter months drag on I'm sure I'll sometimes lose all thought on what to post so requests are always welcome. Feel free to drop me or any of the other writers an email about them.