Beyond Blowfly: The Real Clarence Reid Posted by Junior

Clarence Reid: Living Together Is Keeping Us Apart and If It Was Good Enough For Daddy From: Running Water [Alston, 1973] Having spent the weekend travelling the length of the country and back for a wedding I feel suitably tattered and torn on this bright and breezy Monday morning. The gruelling trip was aided greatly by fellow Fuzz poster Matt's collection of mix cds from the Vinyl Vulture (now Very Good Plus) forum which soundtracked our road trip. The quality of some of the music featured on the mixes reminded me just how much I truly love soul music and was part of the inspiration for posting up about this utterly fantastic Clarence Reid album today. Although Reid had been a successful songwriter for a number of years before, he's no doubt most (in)famous these days for his sex freak recordings under his Blowfly alias which at their best offer a great mix of humour and funk. Considering this was recorded two years after Blowfly hit big it's all the more surprising how beautifully sincere and from the heart the Running Water LP is. Full of fantastic soul tracks and great vocals from Reid it's my definition of a slept on gem and really should be far better known. Living Together Is Keeping Us Apart is a hauntingly beautiful soul recording. Starting with the open drum break, there's something about the use of the minor keys organ in this track that adds a genuine mournful edge to what is in essence an upbeat recording. As autumn comes in you need this song in your life. If It Was Good Enough For Daddy is the closest Reid comes to Blowfly style lyrics on the album but, while playful in tone, the song actually hits harder when listened to closely as Reid breaks down the role of the father figure in a young man's life. Starting with Hayes strings the track does a very very good pastiche of early seventies Temptations and is also damn funky. Enjoy and feel free to comment should the mood take you........