Best of Society Hill Records

Overview

A hodgepodge of generally generic slow and midtempo urban grooves spanning the early '80s through the early '90s, all of the tracks here were produced by label founder Butch Ingram, formerly of the family funk outfit Ingram. On an evidently very paltry production budget, it's hard to disguise lackluster melodies and mediocre vocal abilities. Hence, Michelle Gold's "Lost in Love," Marki's "Tell Me, Tell Me, Tell Me," and Butch Sam & the Central Station Band's "Say That You Will" are easily forgotten. Even the veteran soul artists featured here would've been better off to pass on the meaningless material supplied: Barbara Mason sounds tired and totally uncreative on the trivial, obnoxiously homophobic "Another Man," while Blue Magic and Major Harris simply seem stumped to be singing such inferior fodder. The fact that Ingram wrote or co-wrote all but four of the disc's 17 tunes explains a lot, though. Two tunes toward the latter part of the program present themselves as noteworthy in an otherwise empty ocean: Roz Ryan's semi-funky shuffler "Boy, Where Have You Been" and Vera Brown's emotive "Little Did I Know," which she co-wrote. But unless one is desperately seeking one of the latter, this unimpressive bunch is better left alone. ~ Justin M. Kantor

Product Details

Release Date:	03/16/2012
Label:	Essential Media Group
UPC:	0894231156823
Rank:	135453

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Sigma Sweethearts   Primary Artist
Butch Sam & The Central Station Band   Primary Artist
Julius Brown   Primary Artist
Brandi Wells   Primary Artist
Blue Magic   Primary Artist
Men   Primary Artist
Major Harris   Primary Artist
Edmond Daniels   Primary Artist
Alectra   Primary Artist
Roz Ryan   Primary Artist
Booker Newberry III   Primary Artist
Ronnie Dyson   Primary Artist
Vera Brown   Primary Artist
Marki   Primary Artist
Michelle Gold   Primary Artist
Barbara Mason   Primary Artist
Odyssey   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Ronnie Dyson   Performer
Roz Ryan   Performer
Odyssey   Performer
Men   Performer
Brandi Wells   Performer
Michelle Gold   Performer
Alectra   Performer
Vera Brown   Performer,Composer
Barbara Mason   Performer
Blue Magic   Performer
Paul Klein   Compilation Producer
Trent Gardner   Composer
Robert Sam   Composer
Marki   Performer
Julius Brown   Performer
L. Lopez   Composer
Amo Bagwell   Composer
Edmond Daniels   Performer,Composer
Booker Newberry III   Performer
August Darnell   Composer
Major Harris   Performer
Butch Ingram   Composer,Producer