Tom Brock: "I Love You More And More"

Man!  So difficult to find an OG press of this one anymore, I got super-lucky and found a lovely copy for far less than it usually sells for.  The question is, as per usual with rare records, does the rarity surpass the quality?  In this case, not at all.  This is a gorgeous, lush, ‘70’s soul masterpiece, produced by Brock’s friend and collaborator Barry White, although I like this more than a lot of White’s solo material from the same period.  It’s not nearly as over-the-top as Barry’s stuff could be, some of which verged on self-parody at its worst.  Instead, Tom Brock hits just the right balance between White’s ‘70’s cinematic funk romanticism and his own mellower tendencies, crafting the kind of funk-soul record that you just want to swim in, so sublimely groovy and layered is its foundation.  My favorite songs are the bouncy, hard-hitting title track, the smooth “Have A Nice Weekend Baby,” the confessional “Naked As The Day I Was Born,” and the optimistic, album-closing “If We Don’t Make It, Nobody Can.”  Do yourself a favor and search this one out, it has a staying power and accessibility that many other rare soul burners of its ilk can’t even come close to matching.