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The Servicemen – Meet the Servicemen
Reviewed by Sadie O., 4/27/10
REAL SOUL MUSIC. One of the killingest comps to come through the station in my memory was “Soul Side of the Street: Hot Phoenix Soul from the Vaults of Hadley Murrell”, so when Murrell emailed me asking if we’d like a copy of his latest exploration of his vaults, you better believe I jumped. NOT a disappointment, folks – just some amazing soul singles from group stationed on an Air Force Base in Phoenix in 1966, and every bit as good as anything Motown ever released.
No FCCs. All great.
1. 2:34 ****upbeat, with big choruses and big sound – the Sound of Young America, seemingly.
2. 3:02 ***same track, a cappella – voices and claps replacing the music. You’d think it’d be doo-wop, but it ain’t. It is pretty amazing, however! The arrangments really boggle in this version.
3. 2:10 ****uptempo, prominent chimes and killer vocals.
4. 2:40 ***great a cappella version of the previous track – the intro is especially fun, but the vocal ensemble just rips throughout.
5. 2:32 ***a bit relaxed groove, but full and tight – you might think you’d found a lost Miracles track.
6. 2:48 ***so sweet and cool – this is the best slow dance number EVER. Even better than Santa and Johnny, no kidding!
7. 2:48 ****a cappella version of the previous track – and this is doo-wop of the tastiest variety – AWESOME.
8. 2:15 ****doo-wop with a full band, killer vocals – damn! Wow!
9. 2:54 **down-key and downbeat a cappella doo-wop, sweet and sad. Builds to some seriously impassioned howling.
10. 2:04 *****OH YEAH. I don’t wanna talk about this – just listen to it!
11. 2:08 ****swingy a cappella – great vocalized music.