Georgie Fame - Seventh Son 1969 - Going Home 1971

While it remains Georgie Fame's closest brush with psychedelia, Seventh Son nevertheless suffers from few of the more clichéd affectations of its era. Apart from sparing use of vocal effects and some fuzzed-out bass, the record is very much of a piece with Fame's catalog as a whole, continuing his maturation from R&B-inspired amateur to jazz-influenced sophisticate. Recorded with an ace session band featuring trumpeter Les Condon, trombonist Chris Pyne, and percussionist Frank Ricotti, the session boasts an intimacy somewhere between the blues and folk-pop, even if the overall approach appropriates from sources far more varied than either source. Soul and jazz still dominate, but their absorption into the overall approach is more seamless and organic than before. Songs like "Am I Wasting My Time?" and "Ho Ho Ho" cement Fame as a storyteller as much as a singer, complete with a perfectly calibrated flair for the dramatic.
Going Home boasts a maturity and subtlety often missing from Georgie Fame's previous LPs. Its simple approach strips away some of the more gimmicky elements of his earlier efforts, emphasizing the increasingly honest soulfulness of his vocals. Keith Mansfield's thoughtful arrangements likewise eschew excess in favor of a wonderfully mellow sound that perfectly underscores Fame's natural warmth and grace. Electric piano grooves further establish the set's smoky, jazzy atmosphere. Best of all are the songs, each of them covers and impeccably chosen. Kenny Rankin's "Peaceful" proves a particularly evocative selection. AMG.

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