Reflections On Garnet Mimms

By David Nathan

(Originally Published: 12/04/1970, Blues & Soul)

NEW YORK SOUL '64 TO '67
The object of this article is not to reminisce in the way so many writers do on the so-called "golden era" of soul, when, according to them, every record was a gem and masterpieces were produced daily. The implication is that the "good old days" can never be compared to the sounds we are hearing today in the seventies.

I was inspired to write this article after digging through my album collection and pulling out two albums by Garnet Mimms on United Artists which had been gathering dust after two or three years unplayed; and it occurred to me that these albums -- I'll Take Good Care Of You and As Long As I Have You -- exemplify the soul that emanated from the New York recording studios from 1964 to 1967. Whilst Detroit was beginning to sample the tastes of nationwide and pop acceptance with the Swinging Motown Sound and Stax/Volt was formulating the famed funky Memphis Sound, New York -- a hotch potch as a recording centre, capable of producing some of the most awful records, alongside some of the best -- was bursting forth with some of America's most soulful sounds

SHOWCASES
It isn't so much the artistry of Garnet Mimms -- although these albums are brilliant showcases for him and prove that he has done nothing since that comes anywhere near the power and sincerity displayed during his period with United Artists; the two major significant factors that emerge are the appalling dearth of new songs and the apparent lack of full-bodied production on many of today's soul records.

First things first: an oft-voiced complaint is the way so many of today's soul stars insist on rehashing soul standards ("My Girl," "Bring It On Home To Me," "Do Right Woman" etc.); current soul or pop hits, frequently only a matter of weeks after the original has left the charts; and the multitude of standards ("Let The Sunshine In," "The Shadow Of Your Smile," "Somewhere" ad infinitum). No one is innocent in this regard and the criticism should rightfully be leveled across the board in all music fields today -- country, underground, out-and-out pop! The reasons are self-evident: there is simply a dire lack of good new songs, and possibly good new songwriters. Take a look at today's R&B charts and you'll see that more than a goodly proportion are "new treatments" of old and not-so-old songs. When Mr Mimms' albums appeared relatively few of the songs were not his own originals. Of the handful which were given a boost of vitality, hardly one could be compared to either the original or contemporary versions in either arrangement or production.

WORK OF ART
Equally striking when comparing the two albums with today's soul output is the fact that the arrangement/production emerges as a work of art in itself. Great care seems to have been taken to ensure that no two tracks sound identical -- a fault which many of today's albums demonstrate. In many cases, not only do tracks sound similar, but their running order is such that you can't tell where one stops and the other begins! All too often, today's producers feeling that they have found a winning formula, stick to it for a whole album or more and unless the artist can vary the way he puts the song across, the effect can be extremely tedious; witness some of Wilson Pickett's Atlantic albums.

Fortunately, Garnet was under the wing of a brilliant producer, Jerry Ragovoy, who has since produced equally shining sessions with Lorraine Ellison, but has sadly reduced his output to the point of virtual non-existence. Most of Ragovoy's productions are full-bodied: he uses most instruments available plus a female vocal back-up group.

From the work he has done, it is apparent that Ragovoy feels that soul and strings can and do mix, when used properly. Many soul fans are under the mistaken impression that the use of a string section undermines the guts of R&B recordings and sometimes this can be the case. The theory is that a string section means the artist is "going white", "selling out" or "crossing over" (from R&B to pop); but with increasing frequency, today's soul people are proving that, when used properly, strings enhance the beauty and poignancy of their recordings. B.B. King's "The Thrill Is Gone" achieved probably the finest balance in this respect; Aretha Franklin's recent London concerts illustrated the effect strings can have in action; and one of the best soul records ever, Betty Lavette's "Let Me Down Easy" (cut in New York) would be nothing without strings.

PERFECT BACKDROPS
Many producers seem to go wrong in their assumption that they must choose between strings and brass and they seem unable to conceive that when the two are blended properly, they can provide perfect backdrops for vocalists. Jerry Ragovoy's work proves that the contrary is the case and on each of the tracks, he employs sufficient dosings of both strings and brass to give Mr Mimms the necessary accompaniment against which he can emote powerfully. He uses guitar and drums to highlight the vocalist's brilliant pyrotechnics (vocal acrobatics) -- as on, for example, "It's Just A Matter Of Time" where a bluesy guitar seems to come in just at the right time. There are many other outstanding examples on these two albums which really emphasize how important well-thought out productions can be, but as this is not supposed to be a track by track review, but an overall commentary, suffice it to say that Jerry Ragovoy knows where it's at as far as instrumental backing and accompaniment are concerned. Mention should also be made of Garry Sherman, who arranged and conducted nearly all of the tracks on As Long As I Have You and seven of the tracks on I'll Take Good Care Of You. Garry has sessions with Dionne Warwick, amongst many others to his credit, and he too is a master of the baton!

Now briefly to vocal back ups. Jerry Ragovoy used a back up group on both albums and every track. The group in question is based on what is now the Sweet Inspirations. In those days it centred on Dee Dee Warwick and its members included, at one time or another, Dionne Warwick (although she is not featured on either of these two albums), Doris Troy, Cissy Houston, Judy Clay, Sylvia Shemwell, Myrna Smith and Estelle Brown (the latter three remain at the core of the Sweets today). At this time, Dee Dee had not finally taken the solo road and her group were at the peak of their success as vocal backers. They were doing up to three sessions a day, five days a week and a big proportion of their work was in and around New York, on records by The Drifters, Wilson Pickett, Solomon Burke and many, many others. The girls' work on these two albums constitutes some of their best and I doubt that there are another two sets in existence which really outline what vocal backing is all about.

The production aspects have been covered but some mention is needed of the songs. Several of them were written by Jerry Ragovoy in conjunction with various others -- "It Was Easier to Hurt Her" with the brilliant Bert Berns, who was also responsible for "It Won't Hurt (Half As Much)" and "I'll Take Good Care Of You"; "More Than A Miracle" and "Angel On My Doorstep" written with Doc Pomus of the Pomus-Shuman team; "As Long As I Have You" written with Elgin, "Thinkin" with Chip Taylor who also wrote "Welcome Home" (the Walter Jackson song) and who is the writer behind the Billy Vera-Judy Clay hits. Three other writers who continually appeared on the albums are Russel, Meade, & Raleigh who together or in different permutations wrote five of the songs on the Mimms' albums. Most of the songs are ballads, some faster than others and all have some of the best lyrics on record.

SET FORMULAS
So, what in comparison, is wrong with today's soul? In many ways the total pop acceptance of soul from 1967 through to today, although necessary, inevitable and desirable -- resulted in a tendency for set formulas featuring a marked lack of imagination, to be the rule. Motown, Stax and Atlantic have all been guilty and it has been left to the smaller independents to prove that soul of the Mimms/Ragovoy calibre can be and still is produced. The predominance of sock-it-to-me sounds has declined (and there's nothing wrong with them, if you just want a beat to dance to) and the beautiful string-and-soul productions of the Delfonics and Brook Benton have sprung into prominence to continue the soulful tradition of the New York sixties.

In conclusion, I should mention several of Garnet's contemporaries whose work tagged them as exponents of the soulful New York sound of the sixties. The Drifters and Ben E. King were forerunners; Baby Washington with Juggy Murray, The Spellbinders with Van McCoy, Freddie Scott with Bert Berns and Lou Johnson and Dionne Warwick (on her earlier sides) with Bacharach and David all indicate that Detroit, Memphis and Chicago were by no means the only soulful centres! As a postscript maybe some enterprising gentleman at United Artists would consider releasing a Garnet Mimms compilation to demonstrate what I've been saying!