Spanky Wilson: The Westbound Years (1973-75)

Spanky Wilson’s Specialty from the House Lp, from 1975, was recorded at Westbound Records in Detroit with a crack team of session musicians arranged by David Van De Pitte (the arranger on Marvin Gaye’s 'What’s Going On'), and was produced by Al Kent, veteran of many classic Detroit sessions. The ten tracks on the album included her excellent debut single 'Shake Your Head,' and nine new tracks. The music was a perfect vehicle for Spanky’s vocal style. It is a record that would fit comfortably in anyone’s collection in a space alongside Marlena Shaw’s mid-70s Blue Note and Esther Phillips’ Kudu releases of the same time. Backings penned by David Van DePitte, Paul Riser, and others gave Wilson a nicely mature sound that was a good change from her aging style of previous years, allowing for a nice range of modes. For the most part, the best cuts are actually those that depart a little from the mainstream soul format, like a satisfyingly funky take on Bill Withers' 'Kissing My Love,' the nice crossover 'Easy Lover,' and a chance to revisit her somewhat jazz-poppier origins on 'Home.' Six unissued tracks have been also included here. Harlan Howard’s 'He Called Me Baby' is a great understated funky take on the song, and the same can be said of 'Chokin’ Kind', Mitty Collier’s 'I Had a Talk With My Man' and the jazzy blues of 'Standing Room Only' and 'Spend the Night With Me'. 'Can’t See the Forest for the Trees', the final unreleased cut, would have made a wonderful single. While the Spanky Wilson vocal magic continues to march on with the Quantic Soul Orchestra, the recordings that she made in Detroit over 30 years ago are a wonderful moment in the history of that magic. http://www.systemrecords.co.uk/, http://www.dustygroove.com/

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