In his own time on Immediate Records, British soul shouter Chris Farlowe's output was sliced and diced and re-compiled so many times that no one even remembers the names of his original albums for the label (not that those were any better or more coherent -- Immediate founder Andrew Oldham was always so busy trying to exploit Farlowe any way he could, as one of the two or three best-selling talents on his label).
Out of Time, subtitled "The Immediate Anthology," is the solution, its 49 songs drawn equally from Farlowe's singles, B-sides, EPs, and LP tracks, with the quality of the performances the only real deciding factor. The first half-dozen songs here could sell even the skeptics on Farlowe's talent, his renditions of "In the Midnight Hour," "Mr. Pitiful" and "Treat Her Right" are among the most convincing white soul you're ever likely to hear from either side of the Atlantic, and they also explain precisely how Farlowe was able to share a stage with Otis Redding (the equivalent of visiting royalty) on Ready, Steady Go (when Farlowe covered his first Stones' song, "Satisfaction," he used an arrangement that made it sound more like Otis than like the Stones).
The only disadvantage is that the hits are, of necessity, spread out to two platters, but if it were solely the hits one were concerned with, then one would be getting one of those compilations, instead of this jewel, the next-best thing to a Chris Farlowe box set. The sound is never less than excellent -- and good and loud -- and the annotation is very thorough.
by Bruce Eder
Tracks
Disc 1
1. The Fool (Naomi Ford, Lee Hazlewood) - 3:02
2. Treat Her Good (Deighton) - 1:58
3. In the Midnight Hour (Steve Cropper, Wilson Pickett) - 2:19
4. Mr. Pitiful (Steve Cropper, Otis Redding) - 2:33
5. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) - 2:28
6. Who Can I Turn To? (Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley) - 2:31
7. Think (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) - 3:37
8. Don't Just Look at Me (Andrew Loog Oldham) - 2:44
9. My Colouring Book (Fred Ebb, John Kander) - 3:01
10.Lipstick Traces (Naomi Neville) - 3:18
11.Summertime (G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin, DuBose Heyward) - 4:37
12.That's No Big Thing (Dixon, Emerson) - 3:29
13.Don't Play That Song (Ahmet Ertegun, Betty Nelson) - 3:30
14.Looking for You (Doctor Ragavoy, Jerry Ragovoy) - 2:24
15.It's All over Now, Baby Blue (Bob Dylan) - 3:39
16.I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself (B. Bacharach, H. David) - 2:32
17.Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu (H. "Piano" Smith, J. Vincent) - 2:30
18.Why Don't You Change Your Ways (Lutcher) - 3:28
19.My Girl Josephine (Fats Domino) - 2:13
20.Yesterday (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) - 2:30
21.Out of Time (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) - 3:14
22.Baby Make It Soon (Andrew Loog Oldham, Eric Woolfson) - 2:17
23.Ride on Baby (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) - 2:55
24.Headlines (Greenslade, Andrew Loog Oldham) - 3:25
25.What Becomes of the Broken Hearted (James Dean, Paul Riser, William Weatherspoon) - 2:40
Disc 2
1. We're Doing Fine (Horace Ott) - 2:38
2. Life Is But Nothing (A. Rose, Donald Ross Skinner) - 4:06
3. Paint It Black (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) - 3:00
4. Cuttin' In (Johnny "Guitar" Watson) - 2:59
5. Open the Door to Your Heart (Darrell Banks) - 2:34
6. North South East West (Farlowe, Lee) - 3:55
7. You're So Good for Me (W. Bell, A. Loog Oldham, A. Rose) - 2:15
8. It Was Easier to Hurt Her (J. Ragovoy, C. Richard, B. Russell) - 3:08
9. I'm Free (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) - 2:23
10.I've Been Loving You Too Long (Jerry Butler, Otis Redding) - 2:57
11.Reach Out (I'll Be There) (Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland) - 3:15
12.My Way of Giving (Ronnie Lane, Steve Marriott) - 2:34
13.Yesterday's Papers (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) - 2:38
14.Moanin' (Jon Hendricks, Bobby Timmons) - 2:33
15.What Have I Been Doing (Vincent Crane) - 3:53
16.Handbags and Gladrags (Michael d'Abo) - 3:58
17.Everyone Makes a Mistake (Vincent Crane) - 2:03
18.The Last Goodbye (Michael d'Abo) - 2:52
19.Paperman Fly in the Sky (Vincent Crane) - 2:47
20.I Just Need Your Lovin' (Vincent Crane) - 3:13
21.Dawn (Hammond, Waddell) - 3:49
22.April Was the Month (Vincent Crane) - 3:54
23.Moanin' (Jon Hendricks, Bobby Timmons) - 2:30
24.Paint It Black (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) - 3:35
*Chris Farlowe - Vocals
1970 Chris Farlowe With The Hill - From Here To Mama Rosa
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