KIM TOLLIVER "Come And Get Me I'm Ready" (1973)

During a recording career than spanned two decades, Cleveland based Kim Tolliver released just two albums, and only one under that name. Recorded for Chess in 1973, "Come And Get Me - I'm Ready" is a classic deep soul tour-de-force, reminiscent of and up there with anything by recently rediscovered R&B heroines Bettye LaVette and Candi Staton. Her producer/husband Freddy Briggs, best known for his classic Margie Joseph Stax productions, brings out the finest in Ms. Tolliver who sadly passed away in 2007 without ever receiving the recognition she so truly deserved. (Allmusic)

Kim Tolliver is an obscure name on the rosters of soul greats, but she shouldn't be. In addition to her absolutely riveting voice, she was a fine songwriter in her own right and, in association with husband Fred Briggs, she placed a number of songs with Margie Joseph on a pair of Stax/Volt LPs. Tolliver released just two albums, and only one under that name (she had worked previously for Fantasy as Kimberley Briggs). Recorded for Chess in 1973, Come and Get Me, I'm Ready is a classic deep soul tour-de-force, free of any crossover soul cliches that were really bogging down other artists at the time. Tolliver and Briggs cut part of the album in Cleveland and Memphis, with the biggest bit in Miami, and the horns were cut at the label studio in Chicago. Produced by Briggs, who also served as co-arranger with John A. Brinson, this is a stellar collection of deep soul tracks with a bent toward midtempo searing ballads. The songs are sophisticated and rooted in the Memphis tradition, with echoes of the TK and Detroit modes of the time. But the melodies are as complex as the arrangements are back-to-basics. Standout cuts include the title track, an uptempo soul stomper with big horns, backing vocals, and Tolliver in a fierce growl. But the real measure of a great soul singer is the way she or he treats a ballad. And Kim Tolliver was second to none in this department, as evidenced by ‘The Way He Used To,’ the opening wronged-woman cheating ballad ‘The Other Side of Town,’ the beautiful ‘She Don't Know You (Like I Do),’ and the killer reading of Willie Hale's Gwen McCrae hit, ‘I'm Losing the Feeling.’ Kim Tolliver sadly passed away in 2007 without ever receiving the recognition she so truly deserved. (Super Soul Sisters)

trax:
01 The Other Side Of Town 02 She Don't Know You (Like I Do) 03 Come And Get Me, I'm Ready 04 The Way He Used To Be 05 I Need You (Come As You Are) / Drop Whatever You're Doing 06 Takin' A Woman's Stand 07 I'm Losing The Feeling 08 Learn To Get Along Without You
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