The Five Keys, "Story Of Love" c/w "Serve Another Round," Aladdin 45-3312 (rel. 1/1956)
Capitol Records wanted a Black vocal group in 1955. Every other label had at least one, and many groups had regular hits. Thus: good for business. Double-thus, The Five Keys, a leading vocal group with several hits for indie label Aladdin, were lured to the once-indie. Capitol was purchased by EMI (Electrical and Musical Industries Limited), the UK mega-corp who'd send The Beatles their way in less than a decade.
Capitol had a bigger budget and fancier studios than Aladdin and other local imprints, but...they didn't understand the music. In a misconception they'd continue with other Black groups, the label's head honchos decided the Keys were a pop vocal group. Though some solid, hard-hitting r&b still emerged on the group's Capitol singles, a grating, gimmicky series of tricked-up songs were assigned to the quintet, whether they liked 'em or not. There are some gems in The Five Keys' Capitol platters, but an equal amount of "ooh! why did they do that?" sides exist, to the chagrin of modern-days collectors and fans.
Aladdin still had some unissued masters in their inventory, and once the Keys experienced Top 5 r&b hits with "Ling Ting Tong" and "Close Your Eyes," they dropped two "new" singles onto the market. The four songs were from 1951 and '52 sessions and they benefitted from a deeper understanding of record mastering for the seven-inch format.
Today we'll hear the last of the Aladdin releases, with two songs recorded in 1952 that sound like a million bucks. Just a year before, they might have still been mastered with the wider 78 rpm groove, which does not translate well to the smaller styli of hi-fi playback. The mastering of this single is superb; it's like hearing the group right in front of you. You don't think, "oh, this is a mono recording;" every note and voice has such great resonance and presence.
"Story of Love," penned by lead man Rudy West, is similar to their big 1952 hit "The Glory of Love" but not a soundalike or answer song. It's an elegant, classy ballad with that jazz-flavored vibe that was still a part of vocal group r&b in 1952. It's delivered with an atmospheric passion that's just right.
This might have been a hit when it was fresh from the studio, and despite its being an obvious sequel in theme and vibe, it's so well-achieved by the group (Rudy West's lead is a thing of beauty) and the house band those little nit-picks mean nothing. Listen to West's performance and marvel!
"Serve Another Round" is better yet; a Latin-beat laid-back groover with booting sax, cascading piano and resonant stand-up bass. Its composer, Rudolph Toombs wrote many great r&b songs and this is up there with his best work. The Keys deliver an inspired performance with a sharp arrangement that makes excellent use of the whole group.
As with the A-side, the band's jazz roots bring depth to this side. The pianist pounds out modern jazz chords and the sax man is just shy of a Lester Young or Ben Webster. Their solo, with the group doo-wopping over it, is a magic moment. This is one worldly song; not the innocent stuff of doo-wop yet to come. I rate this as one of The Five Keys' all-time best performances and it's a pity nobody heard it. The two Aladdin singles were ignored by the music mags and Aladdin did little to publicize their existence.
Longtime fans displeased by some of the group's Capitol material might have welcomes the bluesier standard of these Aladdin sides. Vocal groups had moved on from this sound by 1956, but, as this single reminds us, the quality of this music was much more aligned with jazz when these two sides were recorded four years earlier.
Thanks, dusty-musty antique shop, for delivering this delightful record unto me!
Tomorrow: Rockin' rugged country-folk-rock from Marvin Rainwater, via his final single for M-G-M Records, 1960.
Re-listening to the Keys' "Glory of Love" I found "Story of Love" too much like that earlier song. Yes, I know, its cool jazz vibe blows the earlier song away. Love "Serve Another Round." It definitely is 'a laid back groover' as you say. Any idea what this lyric is: 'Gotta drink, drink, get high, ball 'till something something'? What is the something something?
ReplyDeleteThe missing words are "...'til my roll is spent." I had to listen four times to finally hear those words, but there they are!
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