Oscar Toney Jr - Loving You Too Long: The Contempo Sessions

Sublime soul set unearthed on CD for the first time.

Back in 1975 (gulp) I reviewed this in Black Music magazine as “a goosepimpling trip for deep soul buffs”. Such was my persuasive power that it went on to sell, er, zilch. But 32 years on, it still sounds good.

In 1967 Toney had achieved the rare distinction of upstaging Jerry Butler with his tortured reading of For Your Precious Love. But by the mid-70s he was struggling, until British soul entrepreneur John Abbey decided to capitalise on Toney’s popularity on the Northern soul scene by producing this LP of classic ballads. It was (and probably still is) the first time anyone had attempted to recreate a deep soul session in a London studio. But the local lads had learned those Muscle Shoals licks well, and with sensitive arrangements by Gerry Shury, the result was a minor masterpiece.

Toney’s isn’t the greatest soul voice of all time, but unlike many of his peers he doesn’t overdo it; he’s never too sweaty or heavy-handed. His voice is lighter, more plaintive, and really sounds like he’s singing these songs for the first (and possibly last) time, and he brings something fresh even to familiar anthems like My Girl, I’ve Been Loving You Too Long and Make It Easy On Yourself. Apart from the incongruously funky “bonus” track, this is a great wallow for soul nostalgics.

Shout/RPM | SHOUT 40

Reviewed by Alan Lewis
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