Ray King Soul Band str8 outta Coventry!
The Ray King Soul Band, The Legenary British Soul Band Str8 outta Coventry, West Midlands
Line up: Ray King (vocals), Jim Lang (tenor), Ken Horton (baritone), Terry Leeman (organ), Paul Williams (guitar), Paul Slade (bass), Malcolm Jenkins (drums).
The Coventry British Soul Group broke out in a big way in 1968 with this smash hit live album that was recorded at the Playboy Club in London. Ray King Soul Band “Live at the Playboy Club” showcased their song writing skills with the powerful soul song "Malita" and the signature sound from the thrilling song, "Dupy." Both songs highlighted what was best about the Ray King Soul Band: Solid group instrumental harmonies, a sense of drama and the soul stirring vocals of lead singer, Ray King.
For anyone to stumbled upon what, by any measure, was one of the truly great albums of that year. And now, 44 years later, the digital reissued “Ray King Soul Band Live At The Playboy Club” sounds just as good as it did at that performance.
Live At The Playboy Club opens with the upbeat "Dupy” a fun energetic soul track that sets a nice tone for the disc, but more importantly provides a warm up for the killer song that follows: "Mercy" became an instant soul classic, an cracking song that builds and builds until the Hammond Organ brings it home, with the organ, over a thrilling and tight rhythm section.
While "I’m A Man" would have been enough to make the album worthwhile, RKSB had many more ideas and a surprising number of directions yet to show, from “Knock On Wood / Funky Broadway” to "So Tired Of Dreamin”," the ever popular Shotgun and Hold On I’m Comin’ to the blistering “Respect”.
These nine tracks were simply among the cream of the crop in terms of late 1960s British soul. Virtually every one of these songs had commercial potential, or some performance characteristic that kicked them far above the competition.
Live At The Playboy Club became the critical and commercial high point for RKSB, And it is largely the reason why this act is still so revered today by classic soul music fans.
RKSB bore a full sound that few groups since have been able to match, and they were arguably one of the top five British Soul Bands of the 60s leading the UK scene; And as good as the other British Soul Bands sounded, they never were as uniformly enjoyable as on Ray King Soul Band “Live At The Playboy Club”, one of the essential soul music albums of its time. One of the best soul albums ever! Highly Recommended.
