Soulin’ – LOU RAWLS****

A Whole Lotta Woman/Love Is A Hurtin’ Thing/So Hard To Laugh So Easy To Cry/You’re The One/Don’t Explain/ What Now My Love/Memory Lane/Old Man’s Memories/It Was A Very Good Year/Growing Old Gracefully/Old Folks/Autumn Leaves/On A Clear Day/Breaking My Back

Gritty and silky soul singer Lou Rawls enjoyed another significant US album chart success in 1966 with Soulin'. Includes the No. 13 US hit Love Is A Hurtin' Thing. (US:7)

"Lou Rawls began his roll onto the R & B and pop charts with this 1966 work. He was now doing soul material, songs where his gospel background and instincts took over, and he simply wailed, soared, and shouted, rather than interpreting or working with blues progressions. He scored a huge hit with Love Is A Hurtin' Thing and had finally found a successful formula."

"This is classic Lou Rawls at his best. There are some bluesy numbers like So Hard To Laugh So Easy To Cry where the deep voice timbre of Lou Rawls is full of vitality and vigour and so unmistakeably Lou Rawls. Likewise Don't Explain features Rawls wailing and swinging in his unique style. There are also more well known songs, like the often recorded in the sixties, What Now My Love with a nice big band ensemble sound full of individual jazzy solos."

"All of the songs on this LP were recorded flawlessly. The musicians were very gifted as well as inspired. I only wish that they had been acknowledged in the liner notes as they deserved to be. They perfectly complete one of the best all-time greatest collection of songs."

"If you are a Lou Rawls fan, this is a must for your collection. But if you love an excellent male uptempo jazz singer, this is a must for your collection as well. Get it before it is gone forever. You will want to play it over and over again 'to satisfy your soul'."

"Soulin' may be Rawls' apex: you hear his depth artistically if not politically. Here, producer David Axlerod and arranger H R Barnum set a horn strewn, echoing jazz/soul bed for Rawls to work over, and work he does. Listen to the melodic Love Is A Hurtin' Thing. What clicks so well with Rawls' singing is, he has ability to make his vocals gritty and silky at the same time. He stays in his range, and each note he sings is pungent."