The Atlantic & Mercury Sessions [Box]

Performer: Clyde McPhatter
Distributor: Gotham Distributing Corp.

Notes: 3 LPs on 2 CDs: LOVE BALLADS/CLYDE/THE MERCURY SESSIONS-LIVE. Liner Note Author: Mark Marymont. This limited-edition two-disk 40-song compilation is made up of two solo albums cut for Atlantic Records, Love Ballads and Clyde, as well as The Mercury Sessions Live (aka Live at the Apollo), which included three bonus studio tracks. Clyde McPhatter recorded for MGM in between Atlantic and Mercury, but none of those tracks are included. McPhatter fans will note that his 1962 Top Ten hit, "Lover Please" (his most successful Mercury recording and final Top 40 hit), is missing, as is "Seven Days," his first solo effort, which made the pop charts but not this collection. So this is not the be all and end all McPhatter collection, but there are some pleasant surprises for those who are only in sync with the smooth balladeer's hits, as well as two versions of his biggest solo hit, "A Lover's Question" (the original and a live rendition). There are 11 live selections and the three bonus studio cuts, "I Told Myself a Lie," "Let's Try Again," and "Twice as Nice," comprising the second disk, which was recorded at Harlem's Apollo Theater with MC Bill Murray handling the intro. The clean CD sound is mesmerizing; backed by an ample orchestra, McPhatter does solid performances of "Lucille," "Second Window, Second Floor," "Without Love (There Is Nothing)" (his favorite recording), and others. These are excellent pop/R&B recordings that should have made McPhatter an international star, popular television performer, and icon in Vegas, but it never really happened like that, as he mainly worked the chitlin circuit. ~ Andrew Hamilton

With his keening high tenor and gospel inflections Clyde McPhatter--whether as leader of Billy Ward's Dominos, the Drifters, or solo--was one of the most distinctive and influential vocalists in '50s and early '60s R&B.

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