Eccentric Soul: Twinight's Lunar Rotation

[coll]: Eccentric Soul: Twinight’s Lunar Rotation
Reviewed by Sadie O., 5/5/07
Big collection of uncharted wonders from a moderately successful Chicago soul label of the late 60’s and early 70’s. Tightly produced with great musicians and a range of singing talents. The funk stuff is hot as hell, but the less funky cuts are pretty second string – tend to remind me of better stuff that DID chart. The liner notes are huge, but not linked to individual tracks.
This was not the time nor place for FCC violations. Follow the stars…
CD I:
1. 1:57 ***upbeat funky strut. Great male romantic braggadocio.
2. 2:28 *skippy, happy, like early Jackson 5, “mama he treats your daughter mean” lyrics.
3. 2:38 *uptempo and upbeat, big band and horns, falsetto vocals.
4. 3:14 *slick Lou Rawls-y stuff, big band, female chorus and dynamic male lead.
5. 2:48 **great bass and strong female vocals.
6. 2:50 rather lightweight female vocals.
7. 3:20 *hyperdramatic, slow love lament, falsetto vocals. Oh, he REALLY wants to be Smokey Robinson… Cool chorus, though.

8. 2:42 ***slow soul march with bass sax and amazing guitar sound, very strong male vocals. THIS should have been a hit…
9. 2:58 **midtempo jazzy piano, classic male vocal group sound.
10. 2:40 ****downtempo, great intro, funky instrumental. You can actually hear the mosquiter’s tweeter that this is funkier than.
11. 2:34 ***odd intro with effects, then somewhat uptempo funky strut. The band is HOT. HOT!!!
12. 2:46 ***downtempo funky soul, great piano and vocal group harmonies. Given a better songwriter, these guys could have given the Temps a run for their money.
13. 2:23 ***midtempo funk with falsetto vocals. Danceable as nobody’s business.
14. 2:35 *slow, over-produced, great vocals but the harp and bells are a bit much.
15. 2:24 ***OWWW! Uptempo funk with wah wah – if you can sit still to this, that’s a problem.
16. 2:27 **quite uptempo with lots of umph, and this girl can sing.
17. 2:38 *uptempo happy soul with falsetto vocals.
18. 3:19 **midtempo orchestra and vocal group, falsetto lead. It gets an extra star because that falsetto lead is damn good.
19. 3:19 ***midtempo, smooth, great harmonies… No funk, but gets an extra star for some amazing vocal passages.
20. 2:41 **slow gospel blues. Nice. Dramatic, builds.
CD II:
1. 3:10 **downbeat intro, midtempo soul with nice bass work, vocal group. Groovy peace lyrics.
2. 2:20 ***funky, a bit uptempo, fuzz guitar, falsetto and baritone vocals. Getting close to Temps level.
3. 2:37 ***funky and a bit uptempo, a bit Superfly. Vocal group sound.
4. 2:39 **uptempo, big band and horns, strong male lead.
5. 2:52 **great piano intro, rather uptempo soul stomp. Danceable.
6. 2:39 **doubletime drum and guitar, male lead and rather overdone chorus harmonies. Quite spare sound for this label.
7. 2:58 ****uptempo funk romp – ya gots ta shake a tail feather! Both the band and the singer has got it goin’ on!
8. 2:27 ***midtempo funky jazzy big band, vocal group. Almost lost a star for that flute solo in the middle though…
9. 2:33 *mysterious siren song, downtempo and melodramatic, uber-sweet male (yes, that’s a male) vocals.
10. 3:38 *slow, big band drama. Very strong male vocals, otherwise it’d be pretty dreary, frankly. Awful female chorus.
11. 2:51 ***slow soul strut with big horns and… glockenspiel? An extra star for creative instrumentation and reverb.
12. 2:32 *big horns, downtempo, female vocals.
13. 2:55 downtempo, overproduced and overwrought. She’s trying…
14. 2:50 slow, sweet soprano female vocals. ookie. Sometimes I have to sacrifice a LOT to review this stuff, folks. Eergggh…
15. 2:41 *midtempo with a bit of talking blues intro, male vocals.
16. 2:57 *slow gospelish blues with organ, strong female vocals. Loses a star for the crap strings, though.
17. 2:30 ***THAT’s what I’m talkin’ bout! Uptempo funky strut with sassy female vocals. You go on, honey!
18. 2:46 *pooky intro, male vocal group.
19. 2:22 *uptempo bounce – and our boy’s balls have dropped!
20. 2:58 *slow orchestra with violins, soulful tenor vocals. Really nice bass and piano, once that violin quits…