Sidney Joe Qualls

Sidney Joe Qualls Was A Southern-Born Soul Singer Who Was Heavily Influenced By Al Green. Although His Sound Did Capitalise On The Success Of The Reverend He Did Have A Quality That Was All Of His Own. He Released A Couple Of LP’s That Are Heavily Sought After Gems One Released At The Back End Of The 70s On 20th Century Featuring ‘I Don’t Do This’. This Is His Debut On Dakar Records Which Bathes Unashamedly In All That Is So Rich About The Early 70s Sound. A Classic. Research Indicates That Mr Sidney Joe Qualls Often Spelt Sydney Was Raised In The Small Town Of Jacknash In Arkansas Where He Turned Professional After Leaving High School With A Voice Enriched By The Joys Of Testifying To The Lord. In Itself This Would Appear To Be A Relatively Traditional Education For Most Soul Greats. But It Is The Small Town Of Jacknash That Is So Curious. For This Has Been Cited As The Birthplace Of The Reverend Al Green Although Most Biographies Reference Forrest City. I Have Been Unable To Confirm If Jacknash Is A Small Satellite Town Of Forrest City But If Misters Qualls And Green Did Grow Up Within Throwing Distance Of One Another That Would Be Quite Significant. For Sidney’s Primary Influence Is Undeniably The Great Al Green. Indeed After His Meeting With Otis Leavil Prior To Moving To Chicago And Signing For Dakar Records Otis Believed He Had Welcomed The ‘new Al Green’ To The Fold. Originally Set Up By Carl Davis While Still Under Contract To Brunswick Records Dakar Was Coming To The End Of Its Near Decade Of Soul Decadence. However Carl Still Had A Lot Of Spirit Left In Him Which He Duly Graced This Record With. Several Singles Were Released From This Delicious Morsel The Tremendous “How Can You Say Goodbye” – An Awesome Reminder Of How Al Green Could Tear Up Those Midtempo Ditties With The Utmost Ease The Beautifully Arranged Tunefully Complex “Where The Lilies Grow” And The Vibrant “Run To Me” – A Thumping Goodie From One Of My Favourites Sam Dees. Interestingly There Is A Heavy Influence Of Sam Dees In His Singing Approach Especially If You Are Familiar With Sam’s Version. The Influence Is Even More Apparent On My Favourite Track Of The Platter The Crippling “I’m Being Held Hostage”. One Listen To This And You’ll Willingly Sell Your House To Fund The Ransom. And Again The Sam Dees Are Subtly Present On My Other Favourite “The Next Time I Fall In Love” - A Huge Hit With The Rare Groove Circuit For All The Reasons That Make This Genre Those Addictive. Magical. His Most Powerful ‘Al Green’ Performance Is Probably The Sublime “Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love” Complete With Those Bumping Hi Records Skins And A Creative Girl Chorus. There Are A Couple Of Tasty Bluesy Funk Numbers In The Title Track And “Shut You Mouth” A Very Nice Light Pop Number In The Shape Of “Please Help Me” And The Sole Ballad A Cover Of “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” - Which I Feel Only Serves To Highlight His Weaknesses And None Of His Strengths. As An Album This Is An Exceptionally Fine Tenderiser For The Soul With Too Many High Points To Fit These Pages. As An Artist I Feel He Had More To Offer Than Being Another Al Green Clone That When He Hints At Those Sam Dees Inflections Also Check Out His Glorious ‘I Don’t Do This’ Favourite Really Captures A Unique Timbre That Is Something Special Indeed. read less