Delaney & Bonnie - Genesis 1971

For an album that is clearly a compilation of older material meant to capitalize on the fame from Delaney & Bonnie's 1971 hits on Atco, this is a true find! There are only three tracks from the duo, all produced by Leon Russell; the nine other titles are Delaney Bramlett solo, six produced by Jackie DeShannon, three others with no producer credited. Despite the slight deception -- that this is a Delaney Bramlett album with three bonus tracks by the hit group -- the disc still works on its own. DeShannon has Delaney sounding like Gene Pitney on "Tomorrow Never Comes," while "Heartbreak Hotel" and Ray Charles' "I Got a Woman" have him emulating Elvis. On the uncredited production of "Lonely Me," Mr. Bramlett goes for an early John Lennon vocal style, then veers off to Gerry and the Pacemakers territory on his originals, "Without Your Love" and "Better Man Than Me," quite revealing in that they are so different from the music Jimmy Miller produced for the group when Delaney & Bonnie on Tour With Eric Clapton emerged. Jackie DeShannon's pop production kicks in again with "Liverpool Lou," and it is back to that Gene Pitney sound. Hearing Delaney Bramlett go through these chameleon-like mutations, and pull it off, is as musically amazing as it is historically important. The half-hearted liner notes give a clue that maybe the label didn't really appreciate what they had.
They note that Glen Campbell, Billy Strange, Hal Blaine, Al Casey, and James Burton provide backing, but outside of some mandatory hype, there's not much else. On Clyde Pitts' "You Never Looked Sweeter," Bramlett sounds like Roy Orbison. Delaney ran the risk of giving the impression this was a tribute to male sixties vocalists, but he really does a decent job and that's what makes these tapes so charming. The Jackie DeShannon original "You Have No Choice" feels like it is straight from a beach party movie, trademark '60s production, and this time you can't peg Delaney on who he is trying to sound like; perhaps he's just being himself. The three tracks that are by Delaney & Bonnie together, all Leon Russell sessions, are the husband and wife as a Sonny & Cher type pop duo. Bacharach/David's "What the World Needs Now" (yes, the Jackie DeShannon hit from 1965) is resplendent in Nik Venet strings straight out of Linda Ronstadt's "Different Drum." It's a fun version, more fun than "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" which follows, so up-tempo that it is unnerving. "Lovin' Feeling" also shows how Bonnie Bramlett's voice overshadows Delaney, she leaves him in the dust with some phrasings. Possibly realizing this, GNP separates the third track from the duo with two Jackie DeShannon productions of Bonnie's husband. Their strongest track together is the Delaney Bramlett co-write "I Can't Take It Much Longer," the best example of the excellent direction they were heading towards. Genesis is surprisingly listenable and sheds light on an influential group that should have been much bigger. AMG.

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