You just can't do any wrong when you drop this album. Love his first 3 to death.
Is L H : The Man any good? Never found it.
Is L H : The Man any good? Never found it.
Soul Strut 100: #88 - Leroy Hutson - Hutson (1975)
- Thread starter RAJ
- Start date
The_Non said:LOVE Leroy Hutson. Love this album. Here's a hidden gem from a later album he did:
It picks up a bit after the initial AM Gold early part.
hellllll yesss. at the 4:44 mark is where i start getting chills. that was the first hutson album i ever found and that was my cut right there.
for the record, that suit on the cover is untouchable. i mean, dark skinned dudes in white suits is usually real sharp style combination. (please dont post the kobe in a bonnet photoshoot). i was working on my roof last easter and some dude walks down the street with a white suit and matching hat and it was just some jaw dropping shit. i thihnk i said "damn" outloud and when he looked up i had to give him props, which he had probably already gotten all day.
someone mentioned it, but i forget how Leroy Houtson The Man LP sounds. I gotta dig that and Love oh Love out.
It picks up a bit after the initial AM Gold early part.
hellllll yesss. at the 4:44 mark is where i start getting chills. that was the first hutson album i ever found and that was my cut right there.
for the record, that suit on the cover is untouchable. i mean, dark skinned dudes in white suits is usually real sharp style combination. (please dont post the kobe in a bonnet photoshoot). i was working on my roof last easter and some dude walks down the street with a white suit and matching hat and it was just some jaw dropping shit. i thihnk i said "damn" outloud and when he looked up i had to give him props, which he had probably already gotten all day.
someone mentioned it, but i forget how Leroy Houtson The Man LP sounds. I gotta dig that and Love oh Love out.
and soul power, thanks for all the insight into hutson and curtom.
so what does an arranger do? does that mostly concern the string section?
so what does an arranger do? does that mostly concern the string section?
LoopDreams said:You just can't do any wrong when you drop this album. Love his first 3 to death.
Is L H : The Man any good? Never found it.
The Man! was actually his second LP.
Confusingly, Hutson II was his fourth.
Is L H : The Man any good? Never found it.
The Man! was actually his second LP.
Confusingly, Hutson II was his fourth.
i resptcfully disagree with guzzo on this. "the man! writer/producer/artist/superstar!!" has some amazing shit on it and it. essential. my third favourite hutson.
check this song out:
check this song out:
tripledouble said:whoa. weird
I think he meant Hutson II as a sort of sequel to Hutson, same way War had a series of albums titled "The Music Band."
tripledouble said:and soul power, thanks for all the insight into hutson and curtom.
so what does an arranger do? does that mostly concern the string section?
You're welcome.
The role of an arranger can vary. In the case of the Impressions, Johnny Pate's role was huge. Curtis could not read and write music. He composed his music on his guitar and he'd record some simple demos, sometimes backed by a rhythm section (such demo of "Little Child running wild" was released on the "Superfly" CD set on Rhino.) Then he'd give the demo to Johnny, or later Richard Tufo, and they'd write the arrangement. That would not be just string arrangements, but also the band arrangements.
Leroy Hutson however is a trained musician. He studied music at Howard University, so he knows how to read and write music. That's why he was able to write the arrangements for his solo albums by himself, including the string arrangements. He's definitely a genius .. there aren't too many people around who are skilled song writers, singers, arrangers, instrumentalists and producers.
so what does an arranger do? does that mostly concern the string section?
You're welcome.
The role of an arranger can vary. In the case of the Impressions, Johnny Pate's role was huge. Curtis could not read and write music. He composed his music on his guitar and he'd record some simple demos, sometimes backed by a rhythm section (such demo of "Little Child running wild" was released on the "Superfly" CD set on Rhino.) Then he'd give the demo to Johnny, or later Richard Tufo, and they'd write the arrangement. That would not be just string arrangements, but also the band arrangements.
Leroy Hutson however is a trained musician. He studied music at Howard University, so he knows how to read and write music. That's why he was able to write the arrangements for his solo albums by himself, including the string arrangements. He's definitely a genius .. there aren't too many people around who are skilled song writers, singers, arrangers, instrumentalists and producers.
Soulpower said:
It should also be noted that Leroy wrote "The Ghetto" in collaboration with his friend and dorm roomate Donny Hathaway
indeed. Thanks for those posts.
From what I remember, he, Donny and Roberta Flack were all classmates in college. Would love to hear some stories from those days.
The orchestration and production on "Lucky Fellow" (especially the last 1/4) is goosebump good. Anthem lvlz for real. It's a shame he never had quite the same success as his peers.
It should also be noted that Leroy wrote "The Ghetto" in collaboration with his friend and dorm roomate Donny Hathaway
indeed. Thanks for those posts.From what I remember, he, Donny and Roberta Flack were all classmates in college. Would love to hear some stories from those days.
The orchestration and production on "Lucky Fellow" (especially the last 1/4) is goosebump good. Anthem lvlz for real. It's a shame he never had quite the same success as his peers.
I wouldnt call him a genius.
As good as he was, he was expanding on existing styles of R&B/Soul/Funk and didnt really change the game or cause a paradigm shift IMO.
Rick James and Prince come to mind whom put a heavier stamp on the game in terms of cats that were multi-talented.
day said:Soulpower said:
It should also be noted that Leroy wrote "The Ghetto" in collaboration with his friend and dorm roomate Donny Hathaway
indeed. Thanks for those posts.
From what I remember, he, Donny and Roberta Flack were all classmates in college. Would love to hear some stories from those days.
The orchestration and production on "Lucky Fellow" (especially the last 1/4) is goosebump good. Anthem lvlz for real. It's a shame he never had quite the same success as his peers.
yo D, i was saying the same in the Les McCann Layers thread. From what ive gleaned over the years from liner notes, there seemed to be a lot of collaboration and love between McCann, Roberta, Donny, Leroy and Eugene McDaniels. Man oh man that is a charisma all star team. Imagine if you were in school and you got to hang out with those characters for a semester?!
It should also be noted that Leroy wrote "The Ghetto" in collaboration with his friend and dorm roomate Donny Hathaway
indeed. Thanks for those posts.From what I remember, he, Donny and Roberta Flack were all classmates in college. Would love to hear some stories from those days.
The orchestration and production on "Lucky Fellow" (especially the last 1/4) is goosebump good. Anthem lvlz for real. It's a shame he never had quite the same success as his peers.
yo D, i was saying the same in the Les McCann Layers thread. From what ive gleaned over the years from liner notes, there seemed to be a lot of collaboration and love between McCann, Roberta, Donny, Leroy and Eugene McDaniels. Man oh man that is a charisma all star team. Imagine if you were in school and you got to hang out with those characters for a semester?!
batmon said:
I wouldnt call him a genius.
As good as he was, he was expanding on existing styles of R&B/Soul/Funk and didnt really change the game or cause a paradigm shift IMO.
Rick James and Prince come to mind whom put a heavier stamp on the game in terms of cats that were multi-talented.
I think he very much deserves to be called genius ... it's a term that I don't use lightly.
Back in the 1960s and 1970s, only very few Soul singers actually wrote their own songs and arranged and orchestrated them .. Hutson is one of a few, and he is also a multi-instrumentalist. During his prime years, he wrote some exceptionally beautiful music for himself and other artists with little or no help from outside producers/arrangers/composers. And he did in fact have a huge impact on Soul music .. not so much over here in the States, but in the UK. One could argue that the soulful side of the Acid Jazz movement and Modern UK Soul (or "London Soul") from the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s was based on the sound that Hutson created .. which is why he is possibly the prime artist in the so called Rare Groove scene in the UK, and when he performed there a couple of years ago, he created an excitement among his fans that I have rarely seen in my career in this biz.
Hutson never achieved the level of fame that Rick James or Prince did ... which had a lot to do with the fact that he was never signed to a major label and he never enjoyed performing live. In fact, most of his hits that his fans love so much, he had never performed live until his European tour two years ago. The guy is a studio musician ... that's where he unleashes his creative energy, and you can't possibly judge his talents unless you have seen him work in this environment.
I think one could call Prince a musical genius for sure .. but Rick James? Sorry, I'm not convinced ... If you gave Rick some sheet music paper and a pen, I doubt he could have written out the arrangements for a 15-piece ensemble and string orchestra ..
I wouldnt call him a genius.
As good as he was, he was expanding on existing styles of R&B/Soul/Funk and didnt really change the game or cause a paradigm shift IMO.
Rick James and Prince come to mind whom put a heavier stamp on the game in terms of cats that were multi-talented.
I think he very much deserves to be called genius ... it's a term that I don't use lightly.
Back in the 1960s and 1970s, only very few Soul singers actually wrote their own songs and arranged and orchestrated them .. Hutson is one of a few, and he is also a multi-instrumentalist. During his prime years, he wrote some exceptionally beautiful music for himself and other artists with little or no help from outside producers/arrangers/composers. And he did in fact have a huge impact on Soul music .. not so much over here in the States, but in the UK. One could argue that the soulful side of the Acid Jazz movement and Modern UK Soul (or "London Soul") from the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s was based on the sound that Hutson created .. which is why he is possibly the prime artist in the so called Rare Groove scene in the UK, and when he performed there a couple of years ago, he created an excitement among his fans that I have rarely seen in my career in this biz.
Hutson never achieved the level of fame that Rick James or Prince did ... which had a lot to do with the fact that he was never signed to a major label and he never enjoyed performing live. In fact, most of his hits that his fans love so much, he had never performed live until his European tour two years ago. The guy is a studio musician ... that's where he unleashes his creative energy, and you can't possibly judge his talents unless you have seen him work in this environment.
I think one could call Prince a musical genius for sure .. but Rick James? Sorry, I'm not convinced ... If you gave Rick some sheet music paper and a pen, I doubt he could have written out the arrangements for a 15-piece ensemble and string orchestra ..
day said:Soulpower said:
It should also be noted that Leroy wrote "The Ghetto" in collaboration with his friend and dorm roomate Donny Hathaway
indeed. Thanks for those posts.
From what I remember, he, Donny and Roberta Flack were all classmates in college. Would love to hear some stories from those days.
The orchestration and production on "Lucky Fellow" (especially the last 1/4) is goosebump good. Anthem lvlz for real. It's a shame he never had quite the same success as his peers.
The story of how Hutson and Hathaway wrote "The Ghetto" is quite interesting .. In short, they roomed together in DC during their time at Howard University and one day, Hutson came up with the basic idea for this song, playing on his Wurlizter in their apartment. Hathaway came home, heard Hutson jam and sat next to him .. he hammered out the lyrics .. starting with "This ... is the Ghetto" and the two of them wrapped up the entire song in a couple of hours. Hutson remembers how they listened to the playback of the song while looking outside, watching the traffic on U-Street, and both felt like the way the traffic lights were moving they were in harmony with the rhythm of the song. He has a very vidid memory of this moment.
It should also be noted that Leroy wrote "The Ghetto" in collaboration with his friend and dorm roomate Donny Hathaway
indeed. Thanks for those posts.From what I remember, he, Donny and Roberta Flack were all classmates in college. Would love to hear some stories from those days.
The orchestration and production on "Lucky Fellow" (especially the last 1/4) is goosebump good. Anthem lvlz for real. It's a shame he never had quite the same success as his peers.
The story of how Hutson and Hathaway wrote "The Ghetto" is quite interesting .. In short, they roomed together in DC during their time at Howard University and one day, Hutson came up with the basic idea for this song, playing on his Wurlizter in their apartment. Hathaway came home, heard Hutson jam and sat next to him .. he hammered out the lyrics .. starting with "This ... is the Ghetto" and the two of them wrapped up the entire song in a couple of hours. Hutson remembers how they listened to the playback of the song while looking outside, watching the traffic on U-Street, and both felt like the way the traffic lights were moving they were in harmony with the rhythm of the song. He has a very vidid memory of this moment.
Soulpower said:batmon said:
I wouldnt call him a genius.
As good as he was, he was expanding on existing styles of R&B/Soul/Funk and didnt really change the game or cause a paradigm shift IMO.
Rick James and Prince come to mind whom put a heavier stamp on the game in terms of cats that were multi-talented.
I think he very much deserves to be called genius ... it's a term that I don't use lightly.
Back in the 1960s and 1970s, only very few Soul singers actually wrote their own songs and arranged and orchestrated them .. Hutson is one of a few, and he is also a multi-instrumentalist. During his prime years, he wrote some exceptionally beautiful music for himself and other artists with little or no help from outside producers/arrangers/composers. And he did in fact have a huge impact on Soul music .. not so much over here in the States, but in the UK. One could argue that the soulful side of the Acid Jazz movement and Modern UK Soul (or "London Soul") from the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s was based on the sound that Hutson created .. which is why he is possibly the prime artist in the so called Rare Groove scene in the UK, and when he performed there a couple of years ago, he created an excitement among his fans that I have rarely seen in my career in this biz.
Hutson never achieved the level of fame that Rick James or Prince did ... which had a lot to do with the fact that he was never signed to a major label and he never enjoyed performing live. In fact, most of his hits that his fans love so much, he had never performed live until his European tour two years ago. The guy is a studio musician ... that's where he unleashes his creative energy, and you can't possibly judge his talents unless you have seen him work in this environment.
I think one could call Prince a musical genius for sure .. but Rick James? Sorry, I'm not convinced ... If you gave Rick some sheet music paper and a pen, I doubt he could have written out the arrangements for a 15-piece ensemble and string orchestra ..
I tend not place too much wieght on the number instruments a cat can play. Each cat can provide many things to the table regardless of string arrangments that the other cat cant. "He plays 12.......But He plays 20!"
I disagree that one cant judge a musicians ART unless i see him tinkering in his or her studio. Does one really need to be in the studio to appreciate Angela Winbush, Lionel Ritchie, Barry White, Stevie Wonder,Isaac Hayes, or Maurice Whites ART?
Good call on the UK love though.
I wouldnt call him a genius.
As good as he was, he was expanding on existing styles of R&B/Soul/Funk and didnt really change the game or cause a paradigm shift IMO.
Rick James and Prince come to mind whom put a heavier stamp on the game in terms of cats that were multi-talented.
I think he very much deserves to be called genius ... it's a term that I don't use lightly.
Back in the 1960s and 1970s, only very few Soul singers actually wrote their own songs and arranged and orchestrated them .. Hutson is one of a few, and he is also a multi-instrumentalist. During his prime years, he wrote some exceptionally beautiful music for himself and other artists with little or no help from outside producers/arrangers/composers. And he did in fact have a huge impact on Soul music .. not so much over here in the States, but in the UK. One could argue that the soulful side of the Acid Jazz movement and Modern UK Soul (or "London Soul") from the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s was based on the sound that Hutson created .. which is why he is possibly the prime artist in the so called Rare Groove scene in the UK, and when he performed there a couple of years ago, he created an excitement among his fans that I have rarely seen in my career in this biz.
Hutson never achieved the level of fame that Rick James or Prince did ... which had a lot to do with the fact that he was never signed to a major label and he never enjoyed performing live. In fact, most of his hits that his fans love so much, he had never performed live until his European tour two years ago. The guy is a studio musician ... that's where he unleashes his creative energy, and you can't possibly judge his talents unless you have seen him work in this environment.
I think one could call Prince a musical genius for sure .. but Rick James? Sorry, I'm not convinced ... If you gave Rick some sheet music paper and a pen, I doubt he could have written out the arrangements for a 15-piece ensemble and string orchestra ..
I tend not place too much wieght on the number instruments a cat can play. Each cat can provide many things to the table regardless of string arrangments that the other cat cant. "He plays 12.......But He plays 20!"
I disagree that one cant judge a musicians ART unless i see him tinkering in his or her studio. Does one really need to be in the studio to appreciate Angela Winbush, Lionel Ritchie, Barry White, Stevie Wonder,Isaac Hayes, or Maurice Whites ART?
Good call on the UK love though.
batmon said:I tend not place too much wieght on the number instruments a cat can play. Each cat can provide many things to the table regardless of string arrangments that the other cat cant. "He plays 12.......But He plays 20!"
I disagree that one cant judge a musicians ART unless i see him tinkering in his or her studio. Does one really need to be in the studio to appreciate Angela Winbush, Lionel Ritchie, Barry White, Stevie Wonder,Isaac Hayes, or Maurice Whites ART?
Good call on the UK love though.
These are fair points. But the difference between Hutson and the other artists you mention is that they are well known and so are their talents. Very little is known about Leroy Hutson ... If you didn't do your research, you would believe he was just another obscure Soul singer who never got his break ...
If you play Hutson's music to any Soul music lover with superficial knowledge, especially here in the States, you generally get a very positive and very surprised response ... surprised because people usually love his music immediately but have to admit that they've never heard about him.
Bottom line, on a different label, with better promotion, Hutson could have definitely enjoyed more commercial success. But I still maintain my belief that his music was a bit too complex for the average Soul music listener of his day. Going by my many long conversations with him, I believe that he is content with that ... there is no bitterness. He found his place, and he appreciates his music being valued as it is. I am proud to be able to call him my friend today, and I can honestly say that he is one of the nicest people I've ever met in my life. And that's a rare thing in the music biz.
I disagree that one cant judge a musicians ART unless i see him tinkering in his or her studio. Does one really need to be in the studio to appreciate Angela Winbush, Lionel Ritchie, Barry White, Stevie Wonder,Isaac Hayes, or Maurice Whites ART?
Good call on the UK love though.
These are fair points. But the difference between Hutson and the other artists you mention is that they are well known and so are their talents. Very little is known about Leroy Hutson ... If you didn't do your research, you would believe he was just another obscure Soul singer who never got his break ...
If you play Hutson's music to any Soul music lover with superficial knowledge, especially here in the States, you generally get a very positive and very surprised response ... surprised because people usually love his music immediately but have to admit that they've never heard about him.
Bottom line, on a different label, with better promotion, Hutson could have definitely enjoyed more commercial success. But I still maintain my belief that his music was a bit too complex for the average Soul music listener of his day. Going by my many long conversations with him, I believe that he is content with that ... there is no bitterness. He found his place, and he appreciates his music being valued as it is. I am proud to be able to call him my friend today, and I can honestly say that he is one of the nicest people I've ever met in my life. And that's a rare thing in the music biz.
i dunno. lets say hhis prime was the entire decade of the 70s. The average "soul" listener probably was coppin early Earth Wind @ Fire or some of the experimental steez done by artist that heads appreciate.
But the radio still played Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, George Clinton, Mandrill, (Feel free to add on) cats that were far from pedestrian in their music.
That was one of the most fertile times in Soul/Funk and to place Hutson on some Rubic Cube of Soul is an exagerration IMO.
Similar threads
