Millie Jackson has been beloved by soul fans of every persuasion since she laid down countless seminal tracks at Spring in the 70s. Her career was so successful there that she made nearly 20 albums. Each of them was a mix of current soul styles, with rap an increasing influence towards the latter part of her Spring tenure. Inevitably, some excellent ballads were hidden within LPs dominated by rap numbers that may not have been to many soul fans’ taste.
Millie had such a large output that the very best of her slower numbers make a stunning package that caters to collectors who might want a convenient collection of her best down-tempo moments or music fans who don’t need Millie’s full catalogue.
The classics ‘It Hurts So Good’ and ‘If Loving You Is Wrong’ stand side by side with lesser known gems such as ‘Special Occasion’, ‘Angel In Your Arms’ and ‘I Can’t Say Goodbye’. Compiler Sean Hampsey has programmed the tracks to flow in the same way the “Caught Up” album, with very short gaps between the numbers, sequenced to flow into each other as if the record was a concept album itself.
The songs come from such illustrious writers as Sam Dees, Phillip Mitchell, Banks & Hampton, Bobby Womack and Allen Toussaint. What makes some of the numbers so powerful is Millie’s involvement as a composer with fellow musicians. She appears as co-writer on four of the tracks.
Kent’s previous Millie Jackson compilation “Soul For The Dancefloor” has been very well received. We resisted naming this one “Soul For The Sofa”, although that might well be its most appropriate setting.
By Ady Croasdell
