Good Love!

Performer: Johnnie Taylor
Distributor: Distribution N. America

Notes: Personnel: Johnnie Taylor, Tasha Taylor (vocals); Will McFarlane, Jimmy Johnson (guitar); Jim Horn, Gary Armstrong, Binnie Ciesielski, Dennis Soule, Harvey Thompson, Charles Rose (horns); Clayton Ivey, Butch Bonner (keyboards); David Hood (bass); Roger Hawkins (drums); Thomisene Anderson, Jewel Bass, Quandra Brooks (background vocals). Producers: Charles Richard Cason (tracks 1, 3); Tommy Couch, Wolf Stephenson (tracks 2, 4-12). Engineers: Wolf Stephenson, Steve Melton, Kent Bruce, Jerry Masters. Recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, Sheffield, Alabama and Malaco Studios, Jackson, Mississippi. Personnel: Johnnie Taylor (vocals); Tasha Taylor (vocals); Jimmy Johnson , Will McFarlane (guitar); Gary Armstrong, Dennis Soule, Jim Horn, Vinnie Ciesielski, Charles Rose, Harvey Thompson (horns); Clayton Ivey, Butch Bonner (keyboards); Roger Hawkins (drums); Quanda Brooks, Jewel Bass, Thomisene Anderson (background vocals). Recording information: Malaco Studios, Jackson, MS; Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, Sheffield, AL. Photographer: Marion Silber. Arranger: Charles Richard Cason. GOOD LOVE! finds the veteran R&B singer updating his style while maintaining the rich, soulful quality that has served him throughout his 35-year solo career. Taylor is in a somewhat schizophrenic mood on this release. Many cuts take a modern approach, with the instrumental focus on synthesizers and drum machines. Elsewhere, Taylor is accompanied by the storied Muscle Shoals rhythm section, dishing up some fine, horn-punctuated soul as gritty and powerful as anything in his stellar back catalog. Long-time fans will be glad to hear that the more techno-minded cuts do not detract from the intensity of Taylor's voice. Rather, they cast it in sharp relief, emphasizing its character, like a deep shade of blue viewed against a translucent backdrop. There are more surprises along the way, including a guest vocal by Taylor's daughter Tasha and a subtle, hypnotic cover of Leon Russell's "This Masquerade." The new twists and the old reliable virtues of Taylor's talent make for an album that establishes a hero of yesteryear as a man of the moment.

Johnnie Taylor first achieved notoriety when he joined Sam Cooke's former group, the Soul Stirrers, in 1957. Taylor's blues-based R&B records of the '60s, like his biggest hit, "Who's Makin' Love?," featured an irresistible beat and Taylor's gruff, emphatic vocals. While he never achieved the fame of Otis Redding or Wilson Pickett, Taylor stuck around long enough to enjoy a second surge in popularity with the lusty hit "Disco Lady" in 1976.

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