The Originals: Sunrise
From Down to Love Town (Motown, 1976)
The Moonglows: Sincerely
From Return of the Moonglows (RCA, 1972)
Though I post up songs that have been sampled, I usually don’t try to draw attention to that because I think it’s myopic to just rave about a song because some rap producer looped it. That said though, I couldn’t help but want to spotlight this innocuous love ballad by Detroit’s Originals just to offer more proof that Kanye West is a goddamn genius. Seriously – would it have occured to anyone to take the beginning of this song, with the pinging keys and incoming strings and make a beat out of it? Not just any beat but Scarface’s “Guess Who’s Back?”, one of the best singles of 2002. It’s a perfectly fine song on its own but seeing how Kanye transforms it is a marvel.
I know of Harvey Fuqua because the producer was responsible for some killer albums by the Nite-Liters and New Birth but his background is with the legengary doo-wop group of the ’50s, The Moonglows. On their comeback album, Fuqua brings his funky sensibilities to this deceptive cut which begins in classic doo-wop fashion but then Fuqua updates it with a sweet, funky ’70s swing. I’m not saying this is the best thing ever but if it doesn’t put you in a good mood, I’d be kind of worried about you.
chatter