WILLIAM DEVAUGHN 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: This album might well be best known for its title track being used as a source of inspiration for a lovely trip-hop tune by genre-pioneers Massive Attack but the rest of it is just as good. To mark its 50th anniversary, it now gets a special reissue having already sold over two million copies at the time of its first release. D.C. native and soulful stalwart William DeVaughn was backed by some of the best session musicians in Philadelphia with MFSB men Norman Harris, Vince Montana and John Davis all impressing. The hit single 'Give the Little Man a Great Big Hand' is well worth checking.

Review: William Devaughn's most famous song has been covered umpteen times over the years, in all kinds of styles, but sometimes nothing can beat the original. 'Be Thankful For What You Got' is just one of those universal messages, delivered in such smooth, engaging insistency you feel it from the first time you hear it. Now Demon Singles Club are pressing it up as a single backed with the equally excellent but perhaps less well-known 'Blood Is Thicker Than Water'. The 1974 track tracks the same groove as its A-side counterpart and offers up a different lyrical message on top - something you'd normally associate with reggae, but when the backing track is this perfect it translates very nicely over to soul too.