The Kind of Candi That's Good For You!
S. Sarabia | Portland, ME, USA | 08/10/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Finally! Thirty years after having been only available on vinyl, Wounded Bird Records releases her final, eponymous Warner Brothers album on CD! Although this one didn't boast the huge hits which the previous three albums did ("Young Hearts Run Free," "Run to Me," "Victim," "Honest I Do Love You" or "When You Wake Up Tomorrow,") it DID BOAST some good material including the first single, "Looking For Love," which was a nice little midtempo jam that leaned more toward Funk/Rock stylings with its impressive Rock guitar solo and sexy lyrics. Bear in mind that by 1980, The Disco trend was fading and morphing into more Funk-infused R&B and Quiet Storm formats. And speaking of Quiet Storm, you cannot ignore the gorgeous "Halfway to Heaven" as well as a playful remake of "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game." "Candi Staton" is a little different from her three previous "Disco" releases where you can HEAR the "Disco" influence fading away. Check it out and celebrate in knowing that her entire Warner repertoire is now completely available on CD! This album was a modest success and not NEAR as successful as the previous three ("Chance," "House of Love" and "Young Hearts Run Free"), but it is certainly a vital part of her very soulful and colorful catalog. I highly recommend it. There's somethin' really, really sexy and compelling about her raw and raspy alto and passionate delivery."
Surefire Inspiration For A Future Tarantino Film
Robert E. Greenlaw | Austin, TX | 07/17/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Someday, Quentin Tarantino will discover (or rediscover) this great unheralded soul dynamo and pluck her from obscurity by featuring a song or two of hers in one of his films. I can say this with gleeful assurance because this is precisely the kind of music he seems to love rescuing from the dreaded Bargain Bin Of The Arcane: plenty funky, abundantly sassy, deep southern soul with a side of wounded vulnerability. Just as Dusty Springfield's "Son Of A Preacher Man" bewitched a whole new generation after "Pulp Fiction" premiered, it is entirely foreseeable that "I'm Just A Prisoner" and "Love Chain" will eventually grace the opening/closing credits of his inevitable women-in-prison movie.
These are the kind of hard-livin' soul songs you hear for the first time and lament that so much of your life has passed by without them in it. Staton's vocals swagger and shimmer with the best southern belters out there, easily placing her in the ranks of the esteemed Etta James, a fellow Muscle Shoals Studios graduate. And, like Etta, Candi finds the perfect balance of tough and tender to appeal to men and women equally.
The few reviews I've found on this album heaped praise on her rendition of "Stand By Your Man", which is brilliant, no doubt. But for the life of me, I cannot understand why "He Called Me Baby" was never a massive hit. Over a transcendent mix of staccato guitar, saloon piano, orchestral strings, and lovesick horn blasts, Candi absolutely wails away the pain and longing. Women will empathize, men will fantasize. It is, in short, three and a-half minutes of perfect pop.
This album is replete with such heart-breaking, hip-shifting moments. Future-You will owe Present-Day-You a big debt of gratitude if you spring for this record. It'll be the one you reach for instinctively every time you're heartsick--or hope to be. And when Mr. Tarantino finally catches up with you and makes Ms. Staton a star, you can say you knew her when."
