Carla Thomas "Love Means..." 1971

Thomas had gone in a Memphis-meets-Motown direction on her previous album (Memphis Queen), and Love Means continued in that vein, with much more pop-conscious production (mostly courtesy of her keyboardist brother Marvell) and material that sometimes recalled Diana Ross...
...Thomas herself has noted that "we wanted a good listening album to send to [people like] Johnny Carson." While these sound like bad omens, in the event it's a pretty good pop-soul LP, coming off like Diana Ross with more grit. There weren't any obvious singles, which helped accelerate her commercial downfall at Stax, though one of the worst tracks -- "You've Got a Cushion to Fall On," a dated stand-by-your-man piece -- was a small hit. In 1997, this was reissued on a single-disc CD that also included her 1969 album Memphis Queen.
traxfromwax:
1 Didn't We 2 Are You Sure 3 What Is Love? 4 Daughter, You're Still Your Daddy's Child 5 Love Means You Never Have To Say You're Sorry 6 You've Got A Cushion To Fall On 7 Il Est Plus Doux Que 8 Cherish 9 I Wake Up Wanting You
Ripped from Vinyl by RYP with Audacity 3.2.3 : Thorens TD 318/Audio-Technica 95E - Yamaha A-S301 - Q Acoustics 3020i / Yamaha NS-SW050