Chairmen Of The Board - Give Me Just A Little More Time/In Session… Plus

General (Johnson) uprising

In 1969, powerhouse writers/ producers Holland-Dozier- Holland left Motown, alleging underpayment of royalties, and launched their own Invictus label. They got off to an explosive start with Chairmen Of The Board, a group they put together to showcase the distinctively cracked voice of General Johnson. With songs written by HDH in the guise (for legal reasons) of Ronald Dunbar and Edith Wayne, they knocked out a string of hits with all the unstoppable momentum and catchy hooks (and not dissimilar sound) of HDH’s old Isley Brothers hits. Give Me Just A Little More Time, You’ve Got Me Dangling On A String, Pay To The Piper and Everything’s Tuesday are all included here, along with their original, superior, version of Patches, a worldwide hit for Clarence Carter.

Patches was co-written by the talented General Johnson, who had hits 10 years earlier with The Showmen. On his solo album (also included here), he has a nice line in socially aware lyrics that would give Curtis and Marvin a run for their money. As does Harrison Kennedy, COTB’s “second voice”, whose solo album is also part of this set, along with the first two COTB albums in full. A few misguided covers of rock and showbiz tunes strike a jarring note but, otherwise, this is a value for money, well-annotated collection.

3 stars 3 stars 3 stars

Edsel | EDSD 2053 (2-CD)

Reviewed by Alan Lewis
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