Shades Of Brown: "S.O.B."

Had this on the want-list for five years, and it finally came ‘round.  One of the holy grails of vocal group soul, for sure.  The music is in a Chicago groove, but there is also a heavy Motown influence, which wasn’t necessarily common on other Cadet releases from this time.  Charles Stepney and Richard Evans were both involved with this LP, so it’s hard to say who was going for the Motown vibe, much less why, although it was the early ‘70’s and thus a potential commercial goldmine.  The Motown-sounding style can be found on cuts like “Lie #2” and “Ho-Hum World,” though there are other musical paths explored as well, such as the James-Brown-on-speed intro “Lite Y’all Up,” the brassy blues of “Man’s Worst Enemy,” the surprisingly rural break-beat longing of “The Soil I Tilled For You,” and the political funk track “Garbage Man.”  The Shades Of Brown, as a group, come through wonderfully, definitely taking a page out of the Dells’ playbook but also reveling in the electricity of their own youth and enthusiasm.  It’s the rare group soul album that is both funky and tasteful all at once.