RHYTHM AND BLUES / THE PAUL MAURIAT ORCHESTRA

back 1969/ 1975 / 2011


RHYTHM AND BLUES / THE PAUL MAURIAT ORCHESTRA

CDLK 4433, Dutton Vocalion, UK

RHYTHM AND BLUES
THE ORIGINAL LP SBL 7694 (1969) STEREO
  1. Respect (Redding)
  2. Unchain My Heart (Jones, James)
  3. I've Been Loving You too Long (Redding, Butler)
  4. Natural Woman (Goffin, King, Wexler)
  5. Last Night (The Mar-Keys)
  6. You Keep Me Hangin' On (Holland, Dozier, Holland)
  7. My Girl (Robinson, White)
  8. When a Man Loves a Woman (Lewis, Wright)
  9. Wonderful World (Campbell, Alpert, Adler)
  10. In the Midnight Hour (Pickett, Cropper)
  11. I Never Loved a Man (Shannon)
  12. It's a Man's Man's Man's World (Brown)

    THE PAUL MAURIAT ORCHESTRA
    THE ORIGINAL LP 6325 240 (1975) STEREO
  13. El Bimbo (Morgan)
  14. Mandy (English, Kerr)
  15. Angie Baby (O'Day)
  16. Pacific Holiday (Mauriat) Soloist: MB Marcel Bianchi (Hawaiian guitar)
  17. I Got a Name (Fox, Gimbel)
  18. Rock Your Baby (Casey, Finch)
  19. Have You Never Been Mellow (Farrar)
  20. Feel Like Makin' Love (McDaniels)
  21. Until the End of My Song (Mauriat, Coupeau)
  22. The Entertainer (Joplin)
  23. The Way We Were (Hamlisch, A & M Bergman)
  24. I Won't Last a Day Without You (Nichols, Williams)

Review
This pairing of Mauriat's 1969 and 1975 LPs on a single CD showcases the maestro's extraordinary capabilities of keeping up to date with pop music fashions.

To capture the mood of the sound of rhythm and blues from the Sixties, Mauriat deployed his horn section upfront in a bold way and arranged his strings to mimic the drawn-out, emotive soul-dripping vocal passages of an Otis Redding, Percy Sledge, James Brown or the lead singers from groups like the Chi-Lites and the Supremes.

There's something extra-special about the bold strokes of Mauriat's brass players that render this selection exceptional in capturing the musical beat innovations of the 1960s. Intriguingly there is a 'tip of the hat' to the Beatles in the introduction to Diana Ross & the Supremes' hit You Keep me Hanging On. This was the Beatles' 'guru-centred' phase and the opening sitar notes evoke that. The rest of the fast tempo tracks such as Unchain my Heart, Aretha Franklin's RESPECT and My Girl evoke plenty of a-go-go rhythms so ts in our lives. ypical of that decade.

Now 1975 saw a slew of very mellow ballads on the hit parade which Mauriat has carefully arranged to sound in tune with his newer audiences while keeping to his knack for blending strings and brass into a 'pop-jazz' sound. Listen to Mandy, Feel Like Makin' Love and The Way We Were and you'll realize how much first-rate ballad writing came out of the Seventies. Then there are amazing continuities with Rhythm & Blues through the enigmatic and addictive Angie Baby with his trumpet-laden midsections evoking Papa was a Rolling Stone and SHAFT, and Rock your Baby giving his listeners a chance to get up and dance.

Those of you still enamoured with the 70s iconic love comedy THE LOVE BOAT will adore his interpretation of the Carpenters' hit I Won't Last a Day without You. Then there's Mauriat's own mid-70s instrumental smash El Bimbo which actually takes after an Arabic tune (if I'm not mistaken) with disco-like panache, and some very pleasant surprises on Until the End of My Song and Pacific Holiday (with Marcel Bianchi's guitar solos) evoking memories of dancing Hawaiian girls on a picture postcard holiday.

BEAUTIFUL

- ALAN CHONG