{"id":603,"date":"2011-09-19T05:10:58","date_gmt":"2011-09-19T10:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=603"},"modified":"2011-09-19T05:10:58","modified_gmt":"2011-09-19T10:10:58","slug":"cd-review-the-dramatics-whatcha-see-is-whatcha-get","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2011\/09\/19\/cd-review-the-dramatics-whatcha-see-is-whatcha-get\/","title":{"rendered":"CD Review: The Dramatics – Whatcha See is Whatcha Get"},"content":{"rendered":"

Though Stax\/Volt was (and will remain) closely linked with its hometown of Memphis, not everything that came out on the legendary label was Memphis-based. Some of it wasn\u2019t even recorded on McLemore Avenue. Some artists worked out of Muscle Shoals AL, and some were from even farther afield. The Dramatics<\/strong>, for example, were from Detroit. This vocal group enjoyed an impressive string of hits in the early 70s. With something of a revolving-door lineup across that period, the Dramatics nonetheless created enduring and influential music.<\/p>\n

In terms of quality, 1971\u2019s Whatcha See is Whatcha Get<\/em> ranks at or near the top of the group\u2019s efforts. The record opens with the literally screaming intro of \u201cGet Up and Get Down.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>The song quickly settles into a rubbery groove that features multiple vocal turns from each of the group\u2019s five singers. Soaring strings, beefy brass and funky lead (and rhythm) guitar lines transform what (on paper) looks like a song that goes nowhere (technically speaking, it\u2019s little more than a two-chord workout) into something majestic, something that\u2019ll move you to do what the title says. As a single, the track made #79 on Billboard<\/em>\u2019s Hot 100, and it soared to #16 on the R&B charts; the Dramatics had crossover power.<\/p>\n

The smoother sounds of \u201cThankful For Your Love\u201d were a bit more standard, but Johnny Allen<\/strong>\u2019s peerless arrangement does the same duty: though all of the songs on Whatcha See is Whatcha Ge<\/em>t (written by producer Tony Hester<\/strong>) are sturdy compositions, the arrangements \u2013 instrumental and vocal \u2013 make them more than they would otherwise be. The slow jam \u201cHot Pants in the Summertime\u201d certainly boasts a dated title and subject matter, but musically it stakes out territory between Sly & the Family Stone<\/strong> and the more traditional Four Tops<\/strong>-type sound.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to imagine a more effective piece of music in this genre than the title track. With hints of everything from Latin\/salsa to rock, to R&B, pop and funk, the song even presages disco. Musically dynamic but nailing down a steady groove, \u201cWhatcha See is Whatcha Get\u201d showcases the Dramatics\u2019 vocal prowess, setting it against a primordial guitar riff. The song displays judicious use of horns; you\u2019ll actually look forward to the recurring riffs coming back around so you can punch your fists into the air along with them. This monster hit made it to #9 on the mainstream chart and #4 R&B in 1971.<\/p>\n

A study in contrasts, the title track is followed by \u201cIn the Rain.\u201d Featuring the heavily echoplexed guitar work of legendary Detroit sessioner Dennis Coffey<\/strong><\/a>, \u201cIn the Rain\u201d is a shimmering song of heartbreaking intensity. Three decades later, fellow Detroiter Mayer Hawthorne<\/strong><\/a> would revive this style \u2013 happily citing his influences — on his debut album A Strange Arrangement<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cGimme Some (Good Soul Music)\u201d is another entry in the popular \u201cLet’s do a song about a song\u201d subgenre, but it\u2019s effective as an album track. \u201cFall in Love, Lady Love\u201d is a relatively standard romantic sweet soul number, but again, it\u2019s elevated by its arrangement. Some intriguing synthesizer work further enlivens the funky album closer \u201cMary Don\u2019t Cha Wanna.\u201d<\/p>\n

On its most recent Stax\/Concord reissue, Whatcha See is Whatcha Get<\/em> is curiously appended with \u201cbonus tracks\u201d that more than double its length. What\u2019s curious is that these bonus tracks are actually A Dramatic Experience<\/em>, the group\u2019s 1972 followup album, presented here in full. So what we really have here is a twofer, though oddly it\u2019s not billed as such.<\/p>\n

A Dramatic Experience<\/em> represents an even more ambitious approach for the group. Calling the record a concept album might be overstating things, but no less than three tracks deal with the scourge of drugs in the inner city (the disc was originally to be called The Devil is Dope<\/em>). Soul\/R&B isn\u2019t the first genre that comes to mind when thinking of concept albums, but A Dramatic Experience<\/em> is up to the task. Featuring the same level of quality and attention to detail on instruments and vocals, the album is a consistently engaging listen. In fact it works a bit better as a whole.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not all heavy messages, though: tracks like \u201cYou Could Become the Very Heart of Me\u201d are catchy soul numbers. \u201cFell For You\u201d \u2013 with its insistent horn figures contrasting with an almost cocktail-lounge arrangement — was a hit (#45 on the Hot 100, #12 R&B). But songs like \u201cJim, What\u2019s Wrong With Him?\u201d and \u201cBeware the Man (With the Candy in His Hand)\u201d lean more toward the sound Curtis Mayfield<\/strong> and Isaac Hayes<\/strong> showcased (on their respective Superfly<\/em> and Shaft<\/em><\/a> soundtracks). \u201cHey You! Get Off of My Mountain\u201d borrows its subject matter from a similarly-titled song by a five-member group from England, but it\u2019s fun nonetheless.<\/p>\n

A minor mystery is appended to the 2011 reissue. Previously issued as bonus tracks on the 1990 CD version of A Dramatic Experience<\/em>, the song \u201cStand Up Clap Your Hands\u201d sounds as much \u2013 if not more — like a mainstream hit as anything else on this CD.\u00a0 <\/span>The mystery is this: apparently nobody knows who wrote the song, and the publishing credit is also unknown. Sporting a more rocking arrangement, \u201cStand Up Clap Your Hands\u201d sound like a lost Rare Earth<\/strong> song, but with the Dramatics taking the vocals. And \u201cHum a Song (From Your Heart)\u201d sounds like Sly\u2019s band again, but with a young Michael Jackson<\/strong> (crossed with Smokey Robinson<\/strong>) -sounding lead vocals.<\/p>\n

The liner notes for the reissue are lifted from a pair of facing pages in Rob Bowman<\/strong>\u2019s weighty and essential tome Soulsville U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records<\/em>, adding a couple of \u201cfor my money\u201d phrases onto both ends to no great effect.<\/p>\n

Anyone interested in the history of Stax\/Volt needs this album. Anyone who enjoys Detroit soul of the 70s needs it as well.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Though Stax\/Volt was (and will remain) closely linked with its hometown of Memphis, not everything that came out on the legendary label was Memphis-based. Some of it wasn\u2019t even recorded […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-review","cat-65-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=603"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}