"All Things in Time" by Lou Rawls (1976)

“Mmm mmm mmm, Baby.”  (Trust me, when Lou Rawls says it, it’s awesome.)

 

Disco Hit Dedicated to the Ladies:

You’ll Never Find another Love like Mine

 

My Overall Rating of the Tracks Separately:

Highly Recommended (3.5/4 stars)

 

Unlike the last entry, this one was one of those great surprises.  Going in, all I knew was that the big disco hit (and that was mostly from an episode of The Simpsons).  It ended up being forty minutes well spent that I’m sure I will revisit again.

 

A big chunk of what makes “All Things in Time” so good is that willingness to mix and match – a prerequisite for quality silver age R&B.

 

The vocals have the automatic depth of soul blended with the introspective heart of standards and torch songs.  The sounds are built with the energy of bebop laid over the formality of the blues.  The tracks intercut the dancibility of disco with the steamy heat of a sauna.

 

When all of that is combined with a voice so smooth you could skate across it, it adds up to a really good time.

 

On a different note, what’s up with so many seventies artists covering songs from “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”?!  Is it, in fact, the “Wizard of Oz” of its generation?  That being said, this version of Pure Imagination made me smile the whole time it played.

 

So, is it an album?  Yes.  All of those pieces are expertly melded within each song.  There’s never a jolting transition or any sort of disconnect, despite all of the influences apparent on the record.  Instead, “All Things in Time” just sails along on top of that wonderful soup.

 

Up next, I get to hear another amazing voice.  This time, it’s Emmylou Harris with “Blue Kentucky Girl.”