I'm just walking in the rain with the one I love on my mind. That's what happens when I fall deep into the sounds of the late Gene Page, whose signature string arrangements are gorgeous throughout Gloria Scott's soul cult classic What Am I Gonna Do.
Scott's 1974 album, most recently reissued by the Japanese branch of Polydor, is a rare case in which a fabulous cover photo is more than matched by the music inside. All eight tracks serve up wide-screen sadness. Scott can make even the silliest lyric -- see: "(A Case of) Too Much Lovemakin'" -- resonate deeply and seriously. Tracks such as "Love Me, Love Me, Love Me, Leave Me, Leave Me, Leave Me" and "That's What You Say" ache with a majestic melancholy you won't find in any soul or R&B songs today.
A graduate of the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, Page decorated the audio suites of sweet-nothing masters such as Marvin Gaye (contributing to 1973's Let's Get it On) and his most frequent collaborator, love walrus Barry White. If that doesn't certify his underrated greatness, then consider this: his brooding, gloomy 1972 score for Blacula (reissued on CD by Razor & Tie, and on vinyl by RCA), is one of the best Blaxploitation soundtracks, ranking up there with those of Curtis Mayfield, with whom he collaborated in the early '80s.
Page arranged Love Unlimited's "Walking in the Rain (With the One I Love)," a gem from 1972 which features a phone call interlude -- guest-starring White -- that rivals the Shangri-Las' "Past, Present, Future" for sublime spoken words set to music. More recently, sonic collagists and peerless crate-diggers Saint Etienne revived Page's stellar triumphant burst of pure uplift "All Our Dreams are Coming True" and a Scott track on their contribution to the mix series The Trip. "All Our Dreams are Coming True" comes from Page's out-of-print 1974 solo album Hot City, which includes a track titled "I Am Living in a World of Gloom."
Considering Page was the invisible magic man behind signature hits for the Righteous Brothers, Diana Ross and others, and considering at least one other Page collection, 1976's Lovelock, is also out-of-print, this guy is overdue for a deluxe disco revival and the attendant biographical investigation. If Jack Nitzsche gets reissues and best-of tributes (deservedly so), why not Page?
digg •
del.icio.us •
sphere •
google
•
