Margie Joseph: Margie Joseph Makes a New Impression/Phase II (1971)

Frequently compared to Aretha Franklin, singer Margie Joseph earned neither the fame nor the critical success lavished upon the Queen of Soul, but a series of excellent records during the ‘70s nevertheless won her a spot in the pantheon of soul cult favorites. In 1969 Joseph signed with the Stax subsidiary Volt, and with New Orleans soul legend Willie Tee assuming production duties, she released the underground favorite ‘One More Chance.’ Producer Freddy Briggs took the helm for Joseph's next effort, ‘Your Sweet Loving’; released in the summer of 1970, the single proved a minor R&B chart hit. The following year, she cracked the R&B Top 40 with a cover of the Supremes' classic ‘Stop! In the Name of Love,’ boosting sales of her fine debut LP, Margie Joseph Makes a New Impression, in the process. This was Joseph's most successful and aesthetically pleasing album. Like some of Stax's product from this era, there's a Stax-meets-Motown air to much of the material. Although it was cut in Memphis and Muscle Shoals, some orchestral and vocal overdubs were done in Detroit, perhaps accounting for some of that Motown feel. ‘Punish Me,’ ‘Sweeter Tomorrow,’ and ‘Temptation's About to Take Your Love’ are prime examples of this. Much the same approach was used on her 1972 follow-up Phase II, right down to another drawn-out Supremes cover (of ‘My World Is Empty Without You’), but the album sold poorly. Both records are agreeably competent, intelligently varied mainstream soul. If one had to choose only one of Margie Joseph's albums & comps, this two-fer would be it; her later sides on Atlantic, and other labels are slicker and not as raw as these great tracks. I added as bonus tracks three of her previous singles, 'One More Chance', 'Your Sweet Loving' and 'What You Gonna Do', which were not originally included on this set. http://www.allmusic.com

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