Published on Jan 30, 1998
When I was a young child, my father listened constantly to the
oldies stations — in the late ’70s, Dick Bartley was one of the
best-known Chicago DJs to spin the oldies. (He’s since gone on to
nationwide acclaim — deservedly so.) Being exposed to the music of
my father’s generation as often as I was, I not only developed a
liking for it, but also got to know a lot of the songs and artists
quite well — so well, in fact, that I could often name them more
accurately than my dad. (He still hates that I can do this.)
Another noted disc jockey, Felix Hernandez, has made a career of
keeping rhythm & blues in the public eye. Mixing such
well-known artists like Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett in with
others who otherwise would have been forgotten by time, Hernandez
has developed a very strong following. Now, Hernandez brings the
music of his radio show into your home with
The Rhythm Revue, a three-disc box set featuring 53 songs
that will, if you’re like my dad or myself, bring back a flood of
memories.
For once, however, I am at a disadvantage, in that I have not
had the privilege to hear the entire box set, though through the
courtesy of a twelve-song sampler, I have a really good idea about
the quality of the rest of the box set. And the condensed version’s
vote: it’s really tasty.
Among the big names featured on this set are Aretha Franklin
(“Respect”, “Think”), Archie Bell & The Drells (“Tighten Up” –
both parts, no less!), James Brown (“Lost Someone”) and Pickett
(“In The Midnight Hour”). And while it’s always good to hear these
hits, one has to admire Hernandez for not always taking the easy
route – he could have just as easily picked a Brown song that
everyone knew like “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag”.
The second level of artists featured here are those whose songs
you may recognize when they’re played, but you’d be hard-pressed to
name them. Among these are Fontella Bass (“Rescue Me”), Bessie
Banks (“Go Now”), The Impressions (“It’s All Right” — still a
better version than Huey Louis & The News’ cover) and Cliff
Nobles (“Love Is All Right (The Horse)” — wasn’t this also out as
an instrumental at one time?).
Rounding out the coverage on
The Rhythm Revue are the artists whose legacy Hernandez has
been preserving. Artists like Laura Lee (“Since I Fell For You”),
Billy Stewart (“I Do Love You”), Mighty Sam (“Sweet Dreams”) and
Linda Jones (“Hypnotized”) are just a few of the artists I believe
I heard for the first time. Admittedly, this portion of the sampler
is the most hit-or-miss, as some performances are a tad
disappointing (“Since I Fell For You” comes to mind immediately),
but they are small educating moments for the uninitiated. I do have
to admit I am curious about how some other songs I don’t recognize
sound, like “No Man Is An Island” by The Van Dykes, either of the
Gene Chandler cuts, and Betty Wright’s “Clean Up Woman”.
Hernzndez is to be commended for his hard work and careful
selection of songs which appear on this set — and could very well
have created one of the few box sets that can be called a
“must-own.” One wonders if a sequel can be far off — I wouldn’t
mind seeing Rufus Thomas or Ray Charles, for example, grace the
track listings in the near future.
I only got a small taste spoon of
The Rhythm Revue set… you, the consumer, can get the full
half-gallon. My advice: grab it, and devour it in one sitting. Much
less fattening than Ben & Jerry’s, it’s also more
satisfying.