FREDA PAYNE - After The Lights Go Down Low (1963-2005) RM / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

By the year 2000, the golden oldie rotation of "Band of Gold" was the main thing keeping the memory of this singer alive. Yet, deep in the catalog of this classic jazz label lies this ambitious, largely successful recording which shows just how diverse and indeed brilliant Freda Payne can be. The album is divided half into big band tracks, half into small combo. The main presence in both cases is alto saxophonist Phil Woods, and this is one of the few recordings he doesn't turn into a football scrimmage for bebop yardage. There is an incredible wealth of material here, and it is definitely impressive to consider that Duke Ellington wrote a song specifically for the session. It is the singer's confidence and marvelous vocal abilities that steal the show at every turn, but that is not to demean the contributions of top-drawer jazz musicians such as pianist Walter Perkins and guitarist Jim Hall. The record is dominated by Tin Pan Alley material, to be sure, but on the second side some serious jazz is attempted, including a beautiful "Round Midnight" and a version of "Lonely Woman" by Ornette Coleman. When it comes to the latter tune, the author of the liner note seems to be straining to hide his contempt, referring to the song as a "composition" in italics, as if it was too touchy to print such a thing in a regular font. It is hoped that an Impulse re-issue will see the light of day in this case so that the line "all that's left is a band of gold" will no longer be true in the case of this virtuoso songstress. by Eugene Chadbourne  
Tracklist :
1. After the Lights Go Down Low 3:23
L.C. Lovett / A. White
2. Sweet Pumpkin 2:56
Ronnell Bright
3. Blue Piano 2:48
Duke Ellington / Bill Katz / Ruth Roberts / Bob Thiele
4. The Things We Love To Do 2:32
Stanley Clayton / Clara Ward
5. Awaken My Lonely One 2:07
Philip Moody / Doris Pony Sherrell
6. Sweet September 2:33
Bill McGuffie
7. I Cried for You 3:58
Gus Arnheim / Arthur Freed / Abe Lyman
8. 'Round Midnight 4:20
Bernie Hanighen / Thelonious Monk / Cootie Williams
9. Out of This World 3:10
Harold Arlen / Johnny Mercer
10. Lonely Woman 3:53
Ornette Coleman / Margo Guryan 
11. I Wish I Knew 3:50
Mack Gordon / Harry Warren
12. It's Time 1:53
Pauline Rivelli / Ruth Roberts
Credits :
Freda Payne - Vocals
Al DeRisi - Trumpet
Jimmy Nottingham - Trumpet
Ernie Royal - Trumpet
Nick Travis - Trumpet
Quentin Jackson - Trombone
Alan Raph - Trombone
Bob Brookmeyer - Valve Trombone
Phil Woods - Alto Saxophone
Seldon Powell - Tenor Saxphone
Zoot Sims - Tenor Saxphone
Sol Schlinger - Baritone Saxophone
Hank Jones - Piano
Art Davis - Bass
Gus Johnson - Drums
Manny Albam - Arranger, Conductor
Recorded September 1963
at RCA Studios, New York City
Tracks 1 and 2 on September 17
Tracks 3-6 on September 18
Tracks 7-12
Phil Woods - Alto Saxophone
Hank Jones - Piano
Jim Hall - Guitar
Art Davis - Bass
Walter Perkins - Drums

FREDA PAYNE – How Do You Say I Don't Love You Anymore (1966-2009) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

In 1966, when Freda Payne recorded How Do You Say I Don't Love You Anymore for MGM, she had already recorded a jazz LP for Impulse! but was still a few years away from Invictus and her commercial peak with the polished '70s soul of "Band of Gold." Although the LP was arranged by Benny Golson, one of the finest arranger/composers in jazz, it was closer to a pop date than vocal jazz. Payne sang "Yesterday" and "Let It Be Me" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," while the studio charts of Golson (and production by Tom Wilson) looked to the contemporary pop burgeoning across the pond from Petula Clark and Tony Hatch. (Think punchy but compressed brass, perfect for mono speakers in car radios and department stores.) Despite her early jazz leanings, Payne proves herself a far better pop-soul singer, sounding great on the two songs with the most hit potential, the title track and "You Never Should Have Loved Me." By comparison, her interpretations of the standards are clumsy; she holds notes a beat too long and wrings every last note of melodrama from "Yesterday" and "Let It Be Me." Overall, not a bad dry run for her Invictus recordings, which would begin in just a few years. John Bush
Tracklist :
1  (How Do You Say) I Don't Love You Anymore  2:35
Written-By – Kooper, Levine
2  Yesterday  2:58
Written-By – Lennon-McCartney
3  San Juan  2:26
Written-By – Raleigh, Zacharias
4  You Never Should Have Loved Me  2:38
Written By – Thomas Wilson 
5  Let It Be Me  3:11
Written-By – Bécaud, Curtis, Delanoë
6  On Easy Street  2:01
Written-By – Anisfield, Weiss
7   You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'  3:14
Written-By – Weil - Mann, Spector
8  It's Here For You  2:55
Written-By – Daryll
9  Feeling Good  3:09
Written-By – Newley, Bricusse
10  Sad Sad September  1:52
Written-By – Frank Owens
11  If You Love Me  2:32
Written-By – Piaf, Parsons, Monnot
12   Too Late  2:10
Written By – Maxwell
Credits :
Arranged By, Conductor – Benny Golson
Freda Payne - Vocals 

FREDA PAYNE - Come Back To Me Love (2014) FLAC (tracks), lossless

 Tracklist:
1     You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To 4:23
Cole Porter
2     Haven't We Met 3:54 
Ruth Batchelor / Kenny Rankin
3     Lately   3:53 
Gretchen Valade
4     Come Back To Me Love  5:23  
Gretchen Valade
5     Whatever Happened To Me 3:23      
Gretchen Valade
6     You Don't Know 3:48   
Tom Robinson / Gretchen Valade
7     Save Your Love For Me 5:21 
Buddy Johnson
8     Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry 3:55  
Sammy Cahn / Jule Styne
9     The Island 6:10   
Alan Bergman / Marilyn Bergman / Ivan Lins / Victor Martins
10     I Should Have Told Him 3:31 
Tom Robinson / Gretchen Valade
11     I Just Have To Know 4:25
Tom Robinson / Gretchen Valade
12     Midnight Sun 5:38  
Sonny Burke / Lionel Hampton / Johnny Mercer
13     Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most 4:46   
Thomas J. Wolf Jr. / Fran Landesman
14     I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water 4:23
Eddie Miller
Credits:
Producer, Arranged By, Conductor – Bill Cunliffe
vocals – Freda Payne  

FREDA PAYNE - Contact (1971-2018) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Freda Payne's second Invictus album was a significant success, making it onto the pop charts. She found her niche in the early '70s, doing silky, sophisticated pop/soul with excellent production, arrangements, and material supplied by the Holland/Dozier/Holland team. They wisely didn't try to make her a sassy or hard-edged vocalist, putting her voice in string and horn-dominated charts and emphasizing her soothing, lightly sensual side. by Ron Wynn
Tracklist: 
1 I'm Not Getting Any Better 6:45
Written-By – Holland - Dozier
2 Suddenly It's Yesterday 4:24
Written-By – Holland - Dozier
3 You Brought The Joy 3:00
Written-By – Holland - Dozier
4 Bring The Boys Home 3:22

Written-By – A. Bond, G. Johnson, G. Perry

5 You've Got To Love Somebody (Let It Be Me) 3:01
Written-By – R. Miner, W. Weatherspoon
6 Prelude 0:53
Written-By – Holland - Dozier
7 The Road We Didn't Take 4:17
Written-By – Holland - Dozier
8 Odds And Ends 3:50
Written-By – G. Johnson, G. Perry
9 Cherish What Is Dear To You (While It's Near To You) 3:56
Written-By – A. Bond, Holland - Dozier
10 I Shall Not Be Moved 2:43
Written-By – Holland - Dozier
11 Mama's Gone 3:23
Written-By – G. Johnson, G. Perry, R. Dunbar

Bonus Tracks

12 You Brought The Joy (Us Single Version)

13 He's In my Life

14 How Can I Live Without My Life

15 Just A Woman

16 Come Back

17 You're The Only Bargain I've Got

18 Deeper And Deeper (Us Single Version)

19 Band Of Gold (Alternate Version)

Credits:

Arranged By – H.B. Barnum, McKinley Jackson, Anthony Camillo

Musician [Stuff] – Greg Perry, Ronald Dunbar, William Weatherspoon

Primary Artist, Vocals  –  Freda Payne