Early Warning: Numero Group Makes The Canon Case For Syl Johnson
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Artist:
There's a story in the liner notes of the new Syl Johnson boxset due out this fall from Numero, about how, after some session work at Vee Jay Studios ('58), the label asked Syl if he had a demo because they might be interested in cutting a single on him. Syl didn't have one handy, so he ran home after the session, called up a buddy, wrote two songs, ran to a recording booth, and emerged with an acetate calling card.
Although he had played with folks like Magic Sam on the South Side of Chicago for a few years running and built up a small reputation in the Blues joints there, he only had a few sessions under his belt and hadn't dabbled much in songwriting. He wasn't so confident about his voice either, so it was with a bit of trepidation, that he boarded the bus and headed down to Record Row. Instead of switching busses once he made it down to The Loop, he decided to get out and walk the remaining nine blocks. As fate would have it, he never made it to Vee Jay, instead opting to save a few steps and pop up to King Records...who promptly signed him after their top Chicago A&R man, sat down and listened to his single, with Syl waiting in the office.
I bring all this up because it is new information. Not something sourced from previous liner notes or Robert Pruter's Chicago Soul. The Numero Group (easily one of the best reissue labels out there) did new research, uncovered lost masters, negotiated new royalty rates, talked to friends, relatives, associates, and Mr. Syl Johnson himself to make the Complete Mythology. What they've come up with is something very special...a coherent (as it can be)history of an artist who embodies what Chicago is all about and has continued to perform at a high level long past the end of Chicago's great run as a music capital.
Different Strokes
With his current straight Blues records and 70's material for Hi Records in Memphis fairly easy to come by, Numero has focused on his 60's material cut for a slew of labels, including the Twinight (originally,for a brief time, Twilight) label where he did the bulk of his recording and had a piece of the ownership action. To my mind these 60's sides slay anything he did later. Not that his newer stuff isn't good, it's just that these records are crackers. Dance oriented R&B (in the mode of James Brown), proto-protest songs (before it was fashionable), and guitar driven Chicago Blues...Syl did it all, and did it well.
On the tech side, this is the best these records have sounded since their initial appearance on vinyl, and more than a few are rare records that have never appeared on CD. Finally, Syl might get the recognition he deserves.
To find out more click through to the Numero site
If you have a mind to preorder the set on 4 CD's and 6 LP's (not one or the other, you get both formats), you also get (the first 350) a bonus 7" and a signed and numbered contact sheet. Tell 'em Cody sent ya.
If you don't wanna do all that, there's more about Syl (and me) below.
Syl Johnson was a case of hip hop osmosis for me. I first heard him compiled on the Ultimate Breaks and Beats Series , then on records by BDP and Eric B. & Rakim, who both sampled Different Strokes. Later on, after I moved to Chicago in the early 90's, I caught some of his Hi Records material, and witnessed his rebirth as a blues man on the Chicago scene that saw him performing and recording with his brother (no slouch himself) Jimmy Johnson. Truth be told though, the connection between the sampled guy and the blues guy, though they were one in the same, was lost on me.
The boost in Syl's recognition from sampling , a few tunes that made Northern Soul lists, and his continued presence in Blues clubs, finally got me to put all the pieces together and realize I needed to find more. It was right about then, around 1992 that I heard, Is It Because I'm Black? off of a HubBub comp called, Soul Selection. This stinging soul-blues from 1969, clocking in at over 7 minutes, got me on the Syl Johnson bandwagon for good.
Is It Because I'm Black?
Despite my new found fanhood, getting his records from around '69 was not so easy. Finally, the Collectables Label issued a comp of his Twilight/Twinight stuff, but -as with many Collectables issues- it was marred by terrible sound and next to zero information. Then there was the better sounding Ace twofer, covering his two LP's for Twinight, that didn't really dig into the backstory. Mr. Johnson, needed someone to fix his catalog up right..that's where the good folks at Numero came in.
As part of their Eccentric Soul series in '06 they put out a 2 Cd/4 LP set on Twinight artists other than Syl Johnson (Numero 013: Twinight's Lunar Rotation), with the extensive research that we've become accustomed to from Numero. The digging from that excavation branched off into a full blown Syl Johnson inquiry.
What emerges with the comp and the Syl box is an excellent history of the Chicago scene in the 60's and how the music moved in, out, and around the blues. Chicago, for a time, was the center of the blues/soul/R&B world, and this box set goes a long way in showing how Syl Johnson was in the thick of the action. It's a small step from there, with a lot of high quality music in between, for Numero to make the case, that Syl Johnson deserves a much higher rank in the soul music canon.
I'll be back with more when this bad boy releases (November, maybe?)...but I have no problem recommending this collection for the Soul/Blues/R&B fanatic in your life. It's a welcome surprise and a revelation.
Pre Order info from Numero here...
As you can see in this vid...it looks pretty (ha,ha, who am I kidding..I'm drooling) good.
Locating MOG account...
Comments (20)
Thanks Cody, the only Syl I know is from a Hi anthology. It's Friday night at the end of a long workweek, so I just had a couple beers and watched a couple episodes of The Wire, will read the whole thing later, just bookmarked it, may play the tunes right quick. Cheers.
This is one of the best written review of any release that I was ever able to read. I'm a big fan of the Chicago sound and Syl Johnson. That track "Is It Because I'm Black?" was an epiphany for me.
Beautiful foreshadowing for this release, Cody. My only criticism is that the photos would have best been ordered according to the length of Syl's 'fro. ;>)
Outstanding!...I learned alot here this morning, and enjoyed it immensely. Well written. Thank you!
code b scores again!
Thanks all..sorry to be slow responding, but I'm on vacation...special thanks to Brooklynspo for that video..best commercial I've ever seen!! and apologies for the copy..I did this at 3 AM and upon waking this morning I noticed numerous errors and omissions..which I have tried to correct. Now..to the beach!
nice one cody, love numero.
beach well buddy I'm already immersed (in your post) I'm such a blues greenhorn that stuff like this is like a candy shop with no attendant!!
Cody, great review. Love, Syl Johnson's sound, he is new to me. Also thanks for the info on the Numero Group, looks like a good resource.
one of those "name sounds familiar but couldn't tell ya nothing" artists to me, might only be familiar from seeing him on your last played widget cody, but thanks for the info and tracks, will be listening to more.
have fun at the beach!
oh and words and music for Is it Because I'm Black is just awesome, love the subtle Sly and JB references.
I was only familiar with "Is It Because I'm Black" from its numereous Jamaican covers - Lloyd Williams at Studio One, as versioned by Im & David and Jackie Mittoo, Delroy Wilson for Gussie Clarke, and Ken Boothe for Lloyd "Charmers" Tyrell. Nice to hear the original.
Love, love, love the Ken Boothe version..I guess I need to hear the other ones..Thanks Mr. B.
Will do bilbo..in the liners Syl explains away his short tenure at King as JB jealousy...The Mythology title of his box is kind of a play on the Anthology moniker as well as a descriptor of the way Syl courted myth...including his assertion that he was the son of Robert Johnson..
No problem Greg...and you got that right..Numero is really incredible.
Thanks for passing by CP..I know that you know about the Numero..you have a bunch of those right?
Mr. Free..no need for any blues degrees to understand these records...for me, the real Chicago Blues are heavily infused with soul...take as much candy as you like...if your sweet tooth isn't sated..check this post about yet another incredible Numero release.
These two songs are topnotch, Cody; thank you for introducing me to him. The name was familiar, but his sound here is unforgettable enough to convince me I've never heard him before.
Glad to hear that Mr.Spike..his sometime backing band, Pieces Of Peace, was really good..able to fly right with the blues as well as the contemporary R+B sounds of the day. Unlike the usual deep,deep material Numero mines this is thouroughly professional material.
If you don't end up putting down for this box (even though you know you should:)...that Ace 2-fer is a lot better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
just got my copy in the mail today it feels like Christmas.
How cool is that..I'm jealous.
I'm sorry I missed this post last month, but thanx cody for introducing to Syl. I'm gonna check out more of his stuff.
Cool, Dash...unfortunately MOG doesn't have his best material, but perhaps in time it will get licenced.