Search - Jesse Colin Young :: Best of Jesse Colin Young

Whatever Happened to "Soul of a City Boy?"

01/06/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"About 40 years ago (could it really be that long ago?) I had a great solo folksinger record by Jesse Colin Young -- his first release -- called "Soul of a City Boy." In a kitchen in North Beach in late 1969 I heard a live radio interview with JCY in which he mentioned this little known album and that he no longer had a copy of it himself. And there I had it... so I called the station! But couldn't get through. What happened? I wound up selling it along with a crate of other 60s classics to a record store owned by some Rastafarians in Providence RI in 1982 or so, and haven't heard JCY sing "Four in the Morning" since. Could this be the same "Four in the Morning" on this "Best of..." CD? If so, it is worth buying for that track alone! -- A 60s Refugee"

Yes, same "Four in the Morning"

Mike | Youngstown, Ohio United States | 05/03/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Indeed, the "Four in the Morning" on this CD is the version taken from the original Capitol album "Soul of a City Boy." I fell under the spell of this song when it was played by Billy Bass on WMMS in Cleveland in 1969, at a time when I just happened to be taping his program. I added it to my own repertoire, and searched in vain myself for many years for the original album (I still even remember the catalog number: Capitol T2070!).Capitol did reissue "Soul of a City Boy" briefly on LP sometime in the 70s or 80s, and I got a copy then. The rest of it is rather standard blues fare; there's nothing on it quite as wonderful as "Four in the Morning." Jesse also did a rather ill-advised electric remake of this song on the first Youngbloods album.I love Jesse's voice; he's a great talent, but to me the rest of his solo stuff pales next to his work with The Youngbloods, and of course, the original "Four in the Morning." Nice to see that it reached someone else too!"