If there is such a thing as an average 1960s soul singer, Bobby Patterson is it. That's not meant as a putdown, necessarily; it's just the way it is. He drew from both Northern and Southern soul styles, from Motown and Stax, and from other trends. He also wrote and sang competent tunes that sounded like filler in the work of greater artists. Perhaps the difference between Patterson and the hundreds of other similar performers that did one or three singles, is that Patterson had a much lengthier career, putting out singles ...
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If there is such a thing as an average 1960s soul singer, Bobby Patterson is it. That's not meant as a putdown, necessarily; it's just the way it is. He drew from both Northern and Southern soul styles, from Motown and Stax, and from other trends. He also wrote and sang competent tunes that sounded like filler in the work of greater artists. Perhaps the difference between Patterson and the hundreds of other similar performers that did one or three singles, is that Patterson had a much lengthier career, putting out singles constantly. This album presents 29 tracks that he did in the mid- and late 1960s, most of which came out as singles on the Jetstar label, although there are a couple of previously unreleased cuts. The material is agreeable but unmemorable, with the occasional number that sticks deeper in the craw, like "If I Didn't Have You," a good pop-friendly Southern soul tune with minor key changes and organ. In a similar vein is "Long Ago," a relatively unknown song with a co-writing credit for Dan Penn. Sometimes it's easy to determine where the inspiration comes from: "You Just Got to Understand" has a sound very much like the Marvin Gaye single "Ain't That Peculiar"; "Soul Is Our Music" is an upbeat brassy number in the Otis Redding-Arthur Conley mold; "I'm Leroy, I'll Take Her" has a boogaloo Joe Tex flavor; "Broadway Ain't Funky No More" rides the James Brown/Dyke & the Blazers train; and "My Baby's Coming Back to Me" has a riff similar to that of the Temptations' "Get Ready." As a warm-up act he wouldn't have been bad, but once the headliners take over, he's definitely just one of the crowd. ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi
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