Barbara Acklin: A Place in the Sun (1975)

In 1974, and after cutting some of the finest records to come out of the Windy City in the late '60s, Barbara Acklin departed Brunswick Records and signed with Capitol. Her first single for the label was ‘Raindrops’ - a R&B hit (#14) in June of that year - and a subsequent album, A Place in the Sun, was released on May 1975. Produced by Chicago soul mainstay Willie Henderson, who was also at Brunswick, it contained two more singles: ‘Special Loving’ and ‘Give Me Some of Your Sweet Love.’ While A Place in the Sun updated their classic Chicago soul sound for the disco era, the slicker approach served Acklin's sweet, heartfelt vocals rather well, even if the album's commercial failure spelled the end of her brief tenure with Capitol. Acklin's songwriting is typically top-notch here, encompassing an impressively wide span of moods and rhythms, and Henderson's signature production blends seamlessly with the era's prevailing sensibilities. The overall vibe is a bit more open, and a bit more modern than her previous work for Brunswick, with a really unified batch of material that shows Barbara in many moods, working together to craft a totally solid LP. There is an even greater sophistication here than before, a style that makes wonder why Barbara faded from view so quickly after this record, and didn't grow into a more dominant soul force in the late ‘70s. But that mystery is only one of a number of aspects that make this album even more compelling, with titles that include ‘Give Me, Lend Me’, ‘Special Loving’, ‘Fire Love’, ‘Give Me Some of Your Sweet Love’ and 'You Don't Have to Beg Me to Stay'. Despite a promising start and critical acclaim, Capitol dropped Acklin from their artist roster. After joining her husband's own label, Chi-Sound, Barbara continued to tour as both a solo artist and as a background singer with the Chi-Lites and other acts. In 1980 she recorded further tracks with Gene Chandler. In short, this is an underrated effort from another underrated talent. http://www.allmusic.com/, http://www.dustygroove.com/