Stan Mosley - Man Up

CDS Records

www.cdsrecords.com

12 tracks/47:45

Stan Mosley is one of the stars of the southern soul-blues circuit, music based on good-time grooves, sexual braggadocio and a few ballads for slow dancing. Blessed with a dynamic vocal style that rivals the best in the business, Mosley manages to overcome the one major drawback of the disc - the lack of real musicians. Two guitar players , Walter Scott and Jim Simms, appear on one track each. All of the keyboards, other guitar parts and the programmed rhythm tracks are the work of Floyd Hamberlin Jr., who also wrote all of the songs as well as producing the disc. Stan supplies all of the lead and backing vocals.

It is a testament to Mosley’s skill that his singing often transcends the artificial backing common to this genre. That point is brought home on “You & Me”. With spare accompaniment, Mosley unleashes a stirring performance, his voice earnestly pleading before breaking into a soaring falsetto cry. It is the best track on the recording and unfortunately, it’s also the shortest. Other highlights include the ballad ”Bitter with the Sweet”, with Mosley’s vocal conjuring up visions of Rev. Al Green - circa the Hi Records era. “Barstool Woman” has a tougher sound with Mosley testifying about the wife that doesn’t do anything but sit in the bar every night. “ I Came to Party” opens the disc with a strong beat. Mosley wrings every bit of emotion that he can out of the simple lyrics. The title track finds Stan promising to be a better man for his woman, his taut vocal conveying the intensity of his promise.

“Backbone” is requisite tune glorifying sexual prowess while “Mr. DJ” serves up a slow groove made to order for those who want to dance up close and personal. Once again, Mosley turns in a compelling vocal that captures your attention right from the start. It is amazing how much emotion he can wring from such basic material.

The last two tracks are a bit deceiving. “Backbone” is listed as an extended track. Technically it is longer but the additional forty seconds don’t add much. The so-called “live“ take of “I Came to Party” adds thirty seconds to the track along with dubbed audience noise.

That still leaves Mosley plenty of time to showcase his marvelous voice. Someone should put together a solid band, gather a up a batch of strong tunes and give Mosley the opportunity to showcase his talent. Based on the work he does on this recording, the results would undoubtedly be a recording for the ages. Until that time, give Man Up a listen. Mosley certainly deserves to be heard by a wider audience.

Reviewer Mark Thompson is president of the Crossroads Blues Society in Rockford. IL