Published on Dec 9, 1999
When you think of instrumental soul music of the ’60s, I’d bet
most of you think of Booker T. & The M.G.’s, thanks to their
hit “Green Onions”. Even I think of that song right off the bat;
having grown up with a copy of the song on 8-track tape, it became
part of my childhood, and I loved it.
But another name might pop to mind: Willie Mitchell. If it does,
you know that Mitchell’s band was just as important to the scene
(and, for that matter, just as good musically – if not better). If
Mitchell’s name doesn’t ring a bell, you are missing out on a
crucial part of soul music’s history. Fortunately, thanks to
Soul Serenade: The Best Of Willie Mitchell, you can now
educate yourself in just 45 minutes.
Mitchell was a jack-of-all-trades to his genre; he was a trumpet
player, bandleader, arranger, songwriter and producer. And, unlike
some people who are called a “jack-of-all-trades” sarcastically,
Mitchell indeed was one, handling all the chores with great
knowledge.
The more you listen to
Soul Serenade: The Best Of Willie Mitchell, the more
familiar some of these tracks might sound to you. On first listen,
I heard tracks like “Soul Serenade” and “The Crawl,” and I found
myself saying out loud, “I think I know these songs!” Indeed,
Mitchell and his band put together some solid instrumental work in
their time, and these 20 tracks prove why Mitchell should be as
recognizable a name as Booker T. Jones.
If there’s a word that could sum up this disc neatly, it’s this
one: fun. Tracks like “Percolatin'”, “Bad Eye,” “30-60-90,”
“Poppin'” and “Ooh Baby, You Turn Me On” are just fun to listen to,
even if they seem like they end just as the band is really getting
into the rhythm. No single track on this disc comes close to the
three-minute mark… and I’ll admit there were times I wanted to
hear this group just dig into the material and wail on it in an
unstructured, unscripted jam. Now that would have been fun!
Then again, maybe the structure of the two-and-a-half-minute
song was exactly what makes these tracks so special today. They get
their musical point across, then they gracefully exit the stage.
Better to leave with the audience wating more than to make them
wish you would go away, I guess.
So why isn’t Mitchell remembered in the same breath as some
other soul artists? Truth is, I don’t know… though this disc
should help to rectify matters somewhat. Fans of good, well-written
music of any genre should be impressed by the songwriting and
musicianship that is put forth on this disc. Of course, if you love
soul music, then picking this one up is a no-brainer.
Maybe the day is coming when Mitchell will be held in the esteem
that he deserves. Let’s consider
Soul Serenade: The Best Of Willie Mitchell a huge step in
the right direction.