from ATTITUDES
Written by Attitudes/B.J. Cook & Eric Mercury
At the dawn of 1975, the great George Harrison (1943-2001) was about to start the recording of his new album Extra Texture (Read All About It). He decided to follow the advice of legendary drummer Jim Keltner who suggested David Foster’s name as a smart addition to the album’s line-up. The former Beatle immediately called Foster and asked him to join them for those sessions. As a result, Foster and Keltner apperared on several tracks of the album along with a young bass player named Paul Stallworth.
Soon after, those three talented cats with the great Danny Kortchmar on guitar, became the group Attitudes that recorded two albums for Harrison’s Dark Horse label. Their debut, simply titled Attitudes, was also released in 1975 and presented an interesting mix of funk, rock and soul. Unfortunately, Attitudes went unnoticed. The material included was good, but not great even though the group’s superior musicianship and masterful arrangements still gave listeners plenty of reasons to enjoy the effort.
For this week’s review, the pick is “You And I Are So In Love,” a soulful ballad co-written by singer/songwriter Eric Mercury with Foster’s then-wife, B.J. Cook.
“You And I Are So In Love,” was preceded by an instrumental titled “A Moment” that showcases Foster’s skills on electric piano and goes into the smooth ballad that features Stallworth’s tender and melodious vocal performance. Stallworth said in an interview that he became the group’s main singer only by chance when it was needed to add vocals to the intrumental tracks. It must be said that he did an excellent job and added the right amount of soulfulness to this song. “You And I Are So In Love” was also a nice listen for Foster fans because it featured his great work on the electric piano and synths. The arrangement was a fine example of sophisticated pop/soul. It could even be said it gave a good preview of Foster’s fantastic work for acts including Hall & Oates, Earth, Wind & Fire and Boz Scaggs.
For those interested, there’s a review in the archives of “Ain’t Love Enough,” another track from Attitudes that’s absolutely worth a listen.
Listen
- Lead Vocals & Bass: Paul Stallworth
- Keyboards: David Foster
- Guitar: Danny Kortchmar
- Guitar: Jesse Ed Davis
- Drums: Jim Keltner
- Backing Vocals: Carmen Twillie, Venette Gloud & kathryn Collier
- Arranged by Attitudes
- Produced by Lee Kiefer & Attitudes
Lyrics
No lyrics