Carla Thomas: Love Means... / Memphis Queen CD Track Listing

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Carla Thomas Love Means... / Memphis Queen
Compilation Released June 1997\n"Love Means..." LP Originally Released 1971\n"Memphis Queen" LP Originally Released May 1969\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: (This Compilation) Although Carla Thomas had her share \nof R&B hits in the 1960s, the Queen of Memphis Soul wasn't as visible \non the pop charts as Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick or Gladys Knight. Thomas \nwasn't a superstar in the pop world, but Stax's Al Bell believed she had \nthe potential to become one and encouraged her to take a sleeker, more \nMotown-ish approach. Thomas had flirted with Northern soul sounds on some \nof her previous albums, and it became a primary direction on the LPs Memphis \nQueen and its follow-up Love Means..., which Fantasy combined on this \nsingle CD in 1997. Most of Queen was produced by Detroiter Don Davis, \nwhile the main producer on the even more pop-minded Love was Thomas' brother, \nMarvelle Thomas. Though this change of direction didn't turn Thomas into \na pop superstar, she did have a major hit in "I Like What You're Doing \n(To Me)" and moderate hits with "You've Got a Cushion to Fall On" and \n"Guide Me Well." The soul goddess had a low opinion of Davis' production \nstyle, but the fact is that "Precious Memories," "Strung Out Over You" \nand other Davis-produced material is highly enjoyable. And the songs from \nLove are equally impressive. But sadly, Love turned out to be Thomas' \nfinal Stax project. -- Alex Henderson\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: (Memphis Queen) Half recorded in Memphis with the usual \nstellar Stax crew and half recorded in New York with local session musicians \n(all overdubbed in Detroit), Memphis Queen finds Thomas and the Stax label \nin transition. Motown alumnus Don Davis handled production, draping many \ncuts in large, lush orchestral settings. "I Like What You're Doing (To \nMe)" was a Top Ten R&B hit, and three other tracks had brief chart runs. \nIn 1997, this was reissued on a single-disc CD that also included her \n1971 album Love Means. -- Rob Bowman\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: (Love Means...) Thomas had gone in a Memphis-meets-Motown \ndirection on her previous album (Memphis Queen), and Love Means continued \nin that vein, with much more pop-conscious production (mostly courtesy \nof her keyboardist brother Marvell) and material that sometimes recalled \nDiana Ross. Thomas herself has noted that "we wanted a good listening \nalbum to send to [people like] Johnny Carson." While these sound like \nbad omens, in the event it's a pretty good pop-soul LP, coming off like \nDiana Ross with more grit. There weren't any obvious singles, which helped \naccelerate her commercial downfall at Stax, though one of the worst tracks \n-- "You've Got a Cushion to Fall On," a dated stand-by-your-man piece \n-- was a small hit. In 1997, this was reissued on a single-disc CD that \nalso included her 1969 album Memphis Queen. -- Richie Unterberger
This rock cd contains 21 tracks and runs 68min 32sec.
Freedb: 53100e15
Buy: from Amazon.com

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