Esther Phillips "Home Is Where The Hatred Is" The Kudus Years 1971-1977

Esther Phillips (formerly "Little" Esther Phillips of Johnny Otis' band) had a unique voice that might be classified as an acquired taste, but if you are a fan of the blues or soul/R&B it is one that you have to hear...
...I wasn't familiar with her work from the period of her career which is contained on this collection (1971-1977) but was impressed with her singing on blues songs such as "Cherry Red" and "Black Eyed Blues". She really knew how to deliver in a pure blues setting, and her guitarist on these songs was impressive too. (The names of the backing musicians are not available in the liner notes, however the front of the disc states that Joe Beck, (guitar), Ron Carter (bass), Billy Cobham (drums), and Maceo Parker (saxaphone) are all featured on this collection. Who plays on what song is not mentioned, although its pretty easy to pick out Maceo Parker's playing on some of these songs if you've heard enough of his work with James Brown. Also interesting are the bold choices Esther Phillips made in choosing material: she does a great job making Bill Withers' "Use Me" her own and her version of Gil Scott Heron's "Home Is Where The Hatred Is" is just as powerful as the original recording. She also chose to cover Eugene McDaniels' "Disposable Society" and did a really funky version of that. This disc is solid until you get to some of her late 70's tracks like "What A Difference A Day Makes", her disco version of the song made famous by Dinah Washington. Although this was a big hit for her, it sounds dated today and I usually end up skipping the end of the disc which contains her disco material. The majority of this collection contains strong material though and is definitely worth buying.(Crawdaddy)

trax:
01 Home Is Where The Hatred Is 02 From A Whisper To A Scream 03 Baby, I'm For Real 04 That's Alright With Me 05 'Til My Back Ain't Got No Bone 06 I Never Found A Man 07 Use Me 08 Cherry Red 09 Black-Eyed Blues 10 Justified 11 Doing Our Thing 12 Disposible Society 13 What A Diff'rence A Day Makes 14 I Can Stand A Little Rain 15 Unforgettable 16 Pure Natural Love 17 I Haven't Got Anything Better To Do 18 God Bless The Child
…served by Gyro1966...