Search - Maxine Brown :: Oh No Not My Baby: The Best of Maxine Brown

Brilliant pioneering soul goddess

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 08/16/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although there had been great female R+B and pop singers before Maxine came along, it is generally accepted that Maxine was the first female soul singer of any significance. Given the excellence of the music that Maxine recorded, it is remarkable that she did not achieve superstardom. Some suggest that Maxine's downfall was her versatility - she could sing a wide variety of material, whereas Dionne Warwick and Aretha Franklin (for example) both focused on a particular style.Maxine, like so many singers, is now remembered primarily for just one song - her song is Oh no not my baby. This song, written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, provided Maxine with a top thirty American hit. Manfred Mann covered the song and took it to the top ten in Britain. Despite not having the UK hit, Maxine gained some recognition and eventually did some live UK shows.Before her success with Oh no not my baby, Maxine had American hits with All in my mind and Funny. They are represented here by re-recordings, the originals having been on a small independent label.Perhaps my favorite here is the touching Bacharach-David ballad I cry alone, but there are many fine songs here and the more I listen to this collection, the more I am mystified by Maxine's modest level of success. If you enjoy sixties soul music and you are interesting in looking beyond the obvious big names, Maxine Brown's music is just what you are looking for."

Second-rate Godess

Sasha | at sea...sailing somewhere | 10/31/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Today remembered chiefly because of Goffin/King penned "Oh no,not my baby" golden-voiced Maxine Brown was one of those singers whose versality was infact a curse: while others specialised in sensual purr (Dionne Warwick),gospel shout (Aretha Franklin) or soul scream (Tina Turner),Brown could do all of this and floundered all over the music map without obvious vision what excatly she should do.Like several second-rate soul godesses (second rate being a term of selling records rather than quality) Maxine Brown goes in a category with Irma Thomas,Esther Phillips,Baby Washington and Carla Thomas whose body of work is today known only to adventurous music lovers in search of hidden treasures beyond known chart-singles.This is not to say that this compilation would not excite music wise: sophisticated and earthy at the same time,Maxine Brown presents a link between gospel-uptown soul-Brill Building-Motown-Otis Redding and in search for perfect fit,she left not only a feeling of music adventure but also some strong music on her trail,its just that she lacked a man like Jerry Wexler who focused Aretha's talent in the right direction so at the end Maxine ends up more seductive visualy in her glamourous evening gowns than by her music identity.Clearly,she was entirely capable to hold pop ballads and Motown-inspired material but she was also sensational in gospel-like "Coming back to you" or Otis Redding produced Stax soul shout "Baby Cakes".What this compilation does NOT presents are her early material recorded for "ABC" and "Wand" companies (beautiful "All In My Mind" is here from a live concert,not a classic single version) or her later duets with Chuck Jackson,all of this noted in excellent liner notes but still frustratingly available on another compilations (but if you are hoooked on Maxine Brown,then you need at least several compilations to get a complete picure).Dressed in her beautiful evening gowns,Maxine Brown was a classy,soulful pop singer who ended up eclipsed by more succesful Dionne Warwick and Diana Ross,while gritty,screaming and different kind of soul music was just around the corner."