THE BLUE NOTES: AFRO-CARIBBEAN SOUL

The Blue Notes: Fever
Quando Quando
Can I Change My Mind
From Moving Up With (Proctor and Blue, 196?)

Picked this one up from Good Records in NYC when I was out East the other week. Given that one style of West Indies music – steel drum – can be real hit and miss, I wasn’t sure if the Blue Notes were going to deliver on the promise of their tracklisting but the moment I threw it on and started listening, I realized – whoa, real deal!

Though the instrumentation has a subtle island touch, the vocals are pure American R&B in inspiration; the lead singer has a lovely baritone and does an especially good Nat King Cole-style for “Quando Quando.” The group’s version of “Fever” is quite solid and personally, I love love love that they decided to record one of my favorite Tyrone Davis songs of all time: “Can I Change My Mind.”