When Marshall Chess decided to combine a rock group with some of the best voices he could get his hands on he invented a stream of psychedelic rock that was quite different from the one that emerged in Detroit with the help of George Clinton and Norman Whitfield.
Partly this was Marshall’s hippy sensibility, but it was one that fused perfectly with vocalist Minnie Riperton’s own word-view and the musical genius – “no other word for it”: Marshall Chess − of Charles Stepney.
Working across a cleverly arranged mix of originals and cover versions, the recordings featured some of the finest musicians that you could find in Chicago including drummer Morris Jennings, bass players Louis Satterfield and Phil Upchurch, and revolutionary guitarist Pete Cosey, who would later join Miles Davis’ group. Cosey’s guitar playing on their fourth album “Songs”, released in 1969, is incendiary and unparalleled. The vocals were arranged as a perfect choir with a series of leads most notably Minnie, Sidney Barnes and Mitch Aliota.
SIDE ONE
1.IF I SING MY SONG
2.THE SEA & SHE
3.I AM THE BLACK GOLD OF THE SUN
4.HANGING ROUND THE BEE TREE
5.HEY, LOVE
SIDE TWO
1.LOVE HAS FALLEN ON ME
2.SONG FOR EVERYMAN
3.LOVE IS
4.VINE OF HAPPINESS