Name: Too Late Baby: The Old Town Singles 1958-66
Brand: Ace (Label)
SKU: 52572938
Price: 13.45 GBP
Availability: InStock

Too Late Baby

Rating

Album: Too Late Baby: The Old Town Singles 1958-66
#	Song Title		Time
1)	The Greatest Gift	More Info...
2)	I Just Want To Make Love To You	More Info...
3)	Keep A Light In The Window For Me	More Info...
4)	I Worry 'Bout You	More Info...
5)	If I Should Ever Fall In Love	More Info...
6)	Do You Believe	More Info...
7)	Good Rockin' Tonight	More Info...
8)	One More Time	More Info...
9)	Pianissimo	More Info...
10)	Come And See This Old Fool	More Info...
11)	Our Love Will Last	More Info...
12)	Crawdad	More Info...
13)	There Will Never Be Another You	More Info...
14)	Ebb Tide	More Info...
15)	Close Your Eyes	More Info...
16)	Full Moon And Empty Arms	More Info...
17)	Teardrops In The Rain	More Info...
18)	I'm Crossing Over	More Info...
19)	It's Too Late Baby (Too Late)	More Info...
20)	My Special Prayer	More Info...
21)	Only A Fool Breaks His Own Heart	More Info...
22)	Again	More Info...
23)	House By The Side Of The Road	More Info...
24)	Let It Be Me	More Info...

Album: Too Late Baby: The Old Town Singles 1958-66
#	Song Title		Time
1)	The Greatest Gift	More Info...
2)	I Just Want To Make Love To You	More Info...
3)	Keep A Light In The Window For Me	More Info...
4)	I Worry 'Bout You	More Info...
5)	If I Should Ever Fall In Love	More Info...
6)	Do You Believe	More Info...
7)	Good Rockin' Tonight	More Info...
8)	One More Time	More Info...
9)	Pianissimo	More Info...
10)	Come And See This Old Fool	More Info...
11)	Our Love Will Last	More Info...
12)	Crawdad	More Info...
13)	There Will Never Be Another You	More Info...
14)	Ebb Tide	More Info...
15)	Close Your Eyes	More Info...
16)	Full Moon And Empty Arms	More Info...
17)	Teardrops In The Rain	More Info...
18)	I'm Crossing Over	More Info...
19)	It's Too Late Baby (Too Late)	More Info...
20)	My Special Prayer	More Info...
21)	Only A Fool Breaks His Own Heart	More Info...
22)	Again	More Info...
23)	House By The Side Of The Road	More Info...
24)	Let It Be Me	More Info...

Performer Notes

Liner Note Author: Tony Rounce.
Arthur Prysock straddled two different eras, emerging during the twilight of the baritone big-band singers and making a run at the charts during the rise of soul music in the late '50s and early '60s. Ace's 2014 compilation Too Late Baby: The Old Town Singles 1958-66 chronicles this phase, which arrived after he had several singles for Decca, but before he settled into a role as a jazz singer with a series of albums for Verve in the late '60s. This means his stint at Old Town Records, the New York-city based soul and R&B label, was indeed transitional, finding the elegant vocalist easing into standards that were straight in his wheelhouse but also tackling jump blues, splashy supper club material, and straight soul. No matter the setting, Prysock sounds like himself -- robust, strong, classy, masculine, the bridge between Billy Eckstine and Lou Rawls -- which is a blessing and a curse. When the material is a little bawdier, as it is on versions of "I Just Want to Make Love to You" and Roy Brown's "Good Rockin' Tonight," Prysock's inherent smoothness feels out of place, but he fares better with the ebullient uptown rhythms of "One More Time," a song that walks the line between adult and adolescent audiences. That record reached 30 on the R&B Singles chart in 1961 and, four years later, he had his biggest hit with the slow-burning "It's Too Late, Baby Too Late," a single that existed right at the cusp of jazz and soul. Both of those singles are here, along with 22 other selections (most make their CD debut; Prysock's catalog never received much digital attention), and the compilation is a snapshot of the shifting tides of adult-oriented black pop, hearing how it slowly shifted from nightclub standards to softer soul and, eventually, landing on a jazz informed by soul but not belonging to it. As such, Too Late Baby is interesting as period soul but it also demonstrates that no matter the setting, Arthur Prysock was a consummate vocalist. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine