I'm going with the Labelle years, to me those years cemented their legacy as one of the best artists period, they were innovative and they had a great album run from Labelle - Chameleon, NightBird being their greatest work.
So anyway, which era throughout Patti Labelle 's career do you prefer?
I agree. The group Labelle's entire output stands with Stevie's, Marvin's and Rufus and Chaka's work of the same time as a groundbreaking run of stellar albums. In contrast, though Patti's solo work gave us some timeless gems, she was never a consistent album artist.
I pick the LaBelle years!
Labelle years. I love Nona, Sarah and Patti. To me, none of their solo projects
equaled that of Labell. Sometimes it takes a village.
For me, it's her solo years. I like some of the stuff she did with Labelle, but to me, during those years, it sounded like she was over-singing on a lot of the recordings. It was all just very loud, like she and the girls were competing with one another. To my ears, her solo recordings generally have a lot more restraint and nuance with her vocals, in comparison.
I prefer Patti's solo years, particularly the Philly International albums. Although I was always aware of her, I never felt the urge to buy anything until IF ONLY YOU KNEW. After that, I really enjoyed seeing her career shoot into the stratosphere with A SOLDIER'S STORY, MOTOWN RETURNS TO THE APOLLO, WINNER IN YOU, and all of her success since then.
It was her solo success that made me look backward and purchase all of the Bluebelles and Labelle albums. I must confess that I don't play the Labelle albums all that much but I gained a new appreciation for those recordings after seeing their reunion concerts at the Apollo and the Beacon in NYC.
Labelle, hands down. The solo recordings have good material here and there, and the first PI lp is a classic, but other than that a lot of sub-par material and a lot [[a lot) of over-doing.
I'd have to pick [[if I had to pick!) Pressure Cookin' as the 'best': songwriting, performance, production and political content make the lp an utter classic.Quote:
Originally Posted by MichaelSherry59
I don't think of Labelle as just Patti -- Sarah and Nona were key to the magic of Labelle. I love Labelle and I love Patti.
Hi, Reese. Yet another moment for me to re-live the transcendent moments that were those Labelle reunion concerts. Be well!Quote:
Originally Posted by reese
Quote:
Originally Posted by PeaceNHarmony
Oh Boy! 'Pressure Cookin'. Hands down, indeed. Those ladies tore the roof off!
Labelle. Not even close. Nona is a fantastic song-writer
By the way, the whole plan with Labelle was to sing as if all three singers were lead singers--that explains the "loudness" of their vocals. I loved it but I can see why people of thinner temperament might find it jarring. On Chameleon you had layers of stacked vocals on all the tracks, all at full volume, which was a big 180 from Nightbirds and Phoenix. Pressure Cookin' also had layered vocals, which I loved. Sarah and Nona once said that the Phoenix album was them going for a live sound, a rough sound. I loved all four albums.
https://i.ebayimg.com/thumbs/images/...cW/s-l225.webpAnybody that likes PRESSURE COOKIN' , the song itself, HAS to get this LP which features a 5:12 version of the song that I have never seen posted on youtube, or available anywhere else. I think I recall Tom Moulton being involved in this collection.
It is fandiscotastic!!!
Personally, I favor the very early days of Patti Labelle and the Bluebells. Three of their fabulous songs from that period are "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman;" "You'll Never Walk Alone;" and "Danny Boy." I am uncertain if she sang on any of these three, but in the early days our legendary Cindy Birdsong was a member of the group.
I think Cindy is on all of these except the hit version of JUNKMAN, which was recorded by the Starlets. The Bluebelles later recorded a faster version of JUNKMAN for their first album.Quote:
Originally Posted by woodward
When it comes to the Bluebelles era, I really love their Atlantic recordings.