Ben E. King is probably best know and remembered as the
lead singer with The Drifters in the 50s and for his 60s solo output and
world-wide smash "Stand By Me". However, one of my favourite albums from
him was the Lamont Dozier produced "Let Me Live In Your Life" released in 1978 on Atlantic.
The album spawned only two singles (four tracks) ("Spoiled" / "Fly Away To My Wonderland" and "Tippin'" / "I Saw The Light") both of which sunk without trace not even entering the R&B
chart, although "Spoiled" was later picked up on by the UK modern soul
scene.
The best track on the album, for me, has always been the title track "Let Me Live In Your Life" which has remained an album only track and as such has been sadly
neglected. I was going to post just that track but as the full album is
available on Spotify then I may as well post the full album.
The album has been posthumously reissued on CD in the UK in 2016 (he died in April 2015 aged 76) but did get
a CD release in Japan in 2013 and it is also now available digitally but it
is cheap and easy to pick up on original vinyl.
UPDATE: Thanks to BlueSky for leaving a comment pointing out that "Let Me Live In Your Life" was recorded first by The Originals in 1975 on their "California Sunset" album.
| Rating: | 8.5 |
| Explicit: | N |
| Genre/Style: | Modern Soul |
| Format: | Album |
| Media: | Digital/LP |
| Label: | Atlantic |
| Cat No: | SD 19200 |
| Date: | 1978 |
| Value: | £6.99 / £5-£10 approx. |
Excellent track originally recorded by (no pun intended) The Originals on their California Sunset album. In fact several of the Ben E King album tracks feature on that Originals album and a couple of others on the first Lawrence Hilton Jacobs album. Lamont liked to share them around!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment which has prompted me to post the The Originals album as well.
ReplyDeletehttps://soulstrutter.blogspot.com/2022/04/the-originals-1975-california-sunset.html