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

MAXINE BROWN - Out of Sight [1968]

Although she never had many hits, Maxine Brown was one of the most underrated soul and R&B vocalists of the '60s. During the '60s she released a series of singles for Nomar and Wand, with only a couple of songs -- "All in My Mind," "Funny," "Something You Got," "Oh No Not My Baby" -- managing to become either pop or R&B hits. Despite her lack of hits, Brown is acknowledged as one of the finest R&B vocalists of her time, capable of delivering soul, jazz, and pop with equal aplomb.
Born in Kingstree, SC, Brown began singing as child, singing with two New York-based gospel groups when she was a teenager. In 1960, she signed with the small Nomar label, who released the smooth soul ballad "All in My Mind" late in the year. The single became a hit, climbing to number two on the R&B charts (number 19 pop), and it was quickly followed by "Funny," which peaked at number three. Brown was poised to become a star, and she moved to ABC-Paramount in 1962, but she left the label within a year without scoring any hits. She signed to the New York-based, uptown soul label Wand in 1963.
Brown recorded her best work at Wand, having a string of moderate hits for the label over the next three years. Among these were Carole King/Gerry Goffin song "Oh No Not My Baby," which reached number 24 on the pop charts; "It's Gonna Be Alright"; and the Chuck Jackson duets "Something You Got," "Hold On I'm Coming," and "Daddy's Home." Part of the reason Brown didn't receive much exposure is that the label focused much of their attention on Dionne Warwick, leaving Maxine Brown to toil in semi-obscurity. In 1969, she left Wand and signed with Commonwealth United, where she had the minor hits "We'll Cry Together" and "I Can't Get Along Without You." In 1971, she moved to Avco Records, but all of her recordings for the label went ignored and she faded away over the course of the decade.  by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Tracklist
1 Sugar Dumplin' 2:25
Written-By – S. Cooke
2 Plum Outa Sight 2:02
Written-By – R. Eaton, F. Bridges, R. Knight
3 Sunny 2:38
Written-By – B. Hebb 2:49
4 I Wish It Would Rain
Written-By – B. Strong, N. Whitfield, R. Penzabene
5 I'm In Love 2:20
Written-By – B. Womack
6 In My Entire Life 2:35
Written-By – M. Farrow
7 Don't Leave Me Baby 2:48
Written-By – E. Lewis, J. Ashford
8 Just Give Me One Good Reason 2:16
Written-By – C. McMurray, D. Lapsley, R. Bass
9 Stop 2:26
Written-By – J. Ragovoy, M. Shuman
10 Seems You've Forsaken My Love 3:00
Written-By – R. Eaton, F. Bridges, R. Knight
11 When A Man Loves A Woman 2:38
Written-By – A. Wright, C. Lewis
Bonus Tracks
12 Love In Them There Hills 2:32
13 From Loving You 2:51
Credits
Producer, Arranged By – Mike Terry

MAXINE BROWN   Out of Sight

 [1968] Epic / CBR320 / scans

O Púbis da Rosa

STEVIE WONDER - With a Song in My Heart [1963] MOTOWN

Having tried to turn Little Stevie Wonder into Big Ray Charles, then broken him through with "Fingertips, Pt. 2," Motown then gave us "Steve Wonder, Lounge Lizard." At least, that's what you'd think listening to this string-filled crooning session, in which the 13-year-old earnestly makes his way through the likes of Johnny Mercer's "Dream," "Get Happy," "Without A Song," and other supper club standards. Berry Gordy's wish for all his artists may have been to play the Copacabana, but this one was far below the legal drinking age, and, although Wonder brought his usual willingness to the project, it was years beyond his abilities. by William Ruhlmann

Tracklist

1 With A Song In My Heart 3:12

2 When You Wish Upon A Star 2:59

3 Smile 3:20

4 Make Someone Happy 4:04

5 Dream 2:11

6 Put On A Happy Face 2:37

7 On The Sunny Side Of The Street 4:00

8 Get Happy 2:14

9 Give Your Heart A Chance 2:16

10 Without A Song 4:14

STEVIE WONDER - With a Song in My Heart 

[1963] MOTOWN / CBR320 / scan

O Púbis da Rosa

LITTLE STEVIE WONDER - Tribute to Uncle Ray [1962]

 "Little Stevie Wonder, Tamla's 11-year-old musical genius, is blind, a similarity he shares with a famed musician and vocalist of today," shamelessly announce the liner notes of this album. Unfortunately, Wonder at 11 does not share much of Ray Charles's vocal abilities, even when he is singing Charles' songs (others are "originals in the style of his idol") and, since he doesn't play on the record, there's no similarity there either. Today, listening to a child emote his way through songs like "Drown In My Own Tears" is a curiosity at best, and the album is only for hardcore Wonder fanatics. by William Ruhlmann

Tracklist  

1 Hallelujah I Love Her So

Written-By – Ray Charles

2 Ain't That Love

Written-By – Ray Charles

3 Don't You Know

Written-By – Ray Charles

4 The Masquerade

Written-By – Rubel, Migidson

5 Frankie & Johnny

Arranged By – Clarence Paul

6 Drown In My Own Tears

Written-By – Henry Glover

7 Come Back Baby

Written-By – Ray Charles

8 Mary Ann

Written-By – Ray Charles

9 Sunset

Written-By – Paul, Judkins

10 My Baby's Gone

Written-By – Berry Gordy, Jr.

STEVIE WONDER - Tribute to Uncle Ray 

[1962] MOTOWN / CBR320 / scan

O Púbis da Rosa

STEVIE WONDER - The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie [1962] MOTOWN

 Stevie Wonder's debut album, released when he was 11, is still an amazing musical document, showcasing his skills as a percussionist (drums and bongos), chromatic harmonica player, keyboardist (piano and organ), and composer -- and he was prodigious in all four categories. All of these skills are highlighted throughout this record, and Wonder's youthful, exuberant voice had a maturity suggesting that greatness was around the corner. Perhaps most surprising to contemporary listeners will be the emphasis on instrumentals, which made this a fairly unusual album by Motown standards to begin with. Apart from a few shouts in the background in some of the more free-form tracks, there's not a vocal to be heard here, yet the sounds are rich and diverse enough that one never misses them. What's more, a lot of what's here is extremely sophisticated instrumental music for its time, and the "jazz" reference in the title is not a matter of optimistic convenience or self-aggrandizement -- a lot of this is legitimate jazz. by Bruce Eder

Tracklist  
1 Fingertips 2:55
Bongos – Little Stevie
2 Square 2:59
Harmonica – Little Stevie
3 Soul Bongo 2:17
Bongos – Little Stevie
4 Manhattan At Six 3:44
Drums – Little Stevie
5 Paulsby 2:44
Organ, Harmonica – Little Stevie
6 Some Other Time 5:07
Harmonica – Little Stevie
7 Wondering 2:49
Organ – Little Stevie
8 Session Number 112 3:15
Piano, Harmonica – Little Stevie
9 Bam 3:33
Harmonica – Little Stevie

STEVIE WONDER - The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie 

Motown [1962] CBR320 / scan

O Púbis da Rosa