Hiding behind the Coldwater Stone name, 1973's "Defrost Me" was actually the work of the late Freddy Briggs. Soul aficionados will recognize Briggs for his work as a songwriter and producer (plus the fact he was married to the late Kimberley Tolliver-nee-Briggs). Having attracted some attention for his early-70s efforts with Chess and Stax, in 1972 Briggs and Tolliver set up Castro Productions with the apparent goal of starting a solo career for Freddy. Over the next year Briggs recorded a host of material at sessions in Cleveland's Agency Sound Studio, Muscle Shoals, and Miami's Criteria Studios. Released on Lloyd Price's small GSF label, the resulting album was largely a one man show with Briggs credited with producing, arranging, writing nine of the ten songs (wife Tolliver wrote 'Outside Love Affair'), and handling all of the lead vocals. Musically this was prime early-'70s soul with Briggs voice reminding me a bit of a cross between Swamp Dogg, Clarence Carter, and Lloyd Price (who happened to serve as executive producer). Briggs didn't have the sweetest voice you've ever heard and his delivery was occasionally a bit rough, but to my ears, that raggedness made for some of his old-school charm. Without support from GSF the album did little commercially and has become a collectable among soul fans. Briggs continued to dabble in music, at least briefly paying his bills as a Cleveland taxi driver. Sadly, living in Los Angeles, Briggs died in November 2006. Having been in failing health for a decade, Tolliver died in 2007. "BadCatRecord"
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