Something Silver

by Patti LaBelle, Labelle

Overview

With 1974's "Lady Marmalade," LaBelle placed itself in a spotlight that would last until Patti LaBelle left the group for a solo career some two years later. A darling of New York's Apollo Theater, the group never compromised, delivering its fiery, passionate R&B exactly as its members wanted to. Leaving behind the cookie-cutter big hair and lookalike dresses of its Blue Belles era, LaBelle took the stage after dropping out of sight to reinvent itself, and emerged as a group of glamorously modern individuals -- three strong styles that melded into a universal whole of staggering proportion. This compilation rounds up the group's best songs and includes many of its covers, alongside original material. The members of LaBelle were masters of interpretation, blessed with the uncanny ability to completely co-opt a song -- to turn it into something of their own without disturbing the integrity of the original and, in most cases, elevate it to heights previously unimagined. Through the use of classic R&B, funk, and dance beats that foreshadowed the disco movement, LaBelle turned its audience's attention to something vitally fresh and unique. This collection opens with LaBelle's reinvention of Gil Scott-Heron's Black Power manifesto "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," which bleeds out of a revolutionarily balladic version of Thunderclap Newman's "Something in the Air." Coincidentally, that band's producer, Pete Townshend, then gets in on the act, as LaBelle gives "Won't Get Fooled Again" the classic girl group treatment -- both bratty (in a good way) and strong. Cat Stevens' "Moonshadow" also becomes an entirely different song, slowed down and harmonized. Treatments of the Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses and folksinger Laura Nyro's "Time and Love" are also included. The band's own songs, meanwhile, round out this chunky set with the classics "If I Can't Have You," "Shades of Difference," and "Touch Me All Over." The eternal "Lady Marmalade" winds the whole thing down with what remains, for many people, LaBelle's defining moment. An anthem for everybody, it stood apart by serving as a signpost for future generations. After all, without LaBelle to pave the way, would TLC, Destiny's Child, or the striking images of Moulin Rouge exist nearly 30 years later? ~ Amy Hanson

Product Details

Release Date:	02/11/1997
Label:	Warner Bros.
UPC:	0093624635925

Tracks

1. Something in the Air/The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
2. Shades of Difference
3. Sunday's News
4. Won't Get Fooled Again
5. Moonshadow
6. Time and Love
7. Morning Much Better
8. Touch Me All Over
9. Wild Horses
10. Runnin' Out of Fools/If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody
11. If I Can't Have You
12. I Believe That I've Finally Made It Home
13. Sunshine (Woke Me Up This Morning)
14. (Can I Speak to You Before You Go To) Hollywood?
15. Lady Marmalade

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Labelle   Primary Artist
Patti LaBelle   Primary Artist,Vocals
Rick Marotta   Drums,Congas
Michael Powell   Piano
Buzzy Linhart   Guitar (Rhythm)
The Sweet Inspirations   Vocals
Russell George   Bass
Howard "Buzz" Feiten   Guitar
Clyde Kerr   Trumpet
Bill Takas   Bass
Lon Price   Flute,Tenor (Vocal)
Emry Thomas   Drums
Maxayn Lewis   Piano
Steve Howard   Trumpet
Daniel Ben Zebulon   Congas
Don Payne   Bass
Kenny Ascher   Organ,Piano
Andre Lewis   Organ,Clavinet,Kettle Drums,Guitar (Bass),Piano (Electric)
Art Neville   Organ
Allen Toussaint   Piano,Percussion,Piano (Electric)
Herman V. Ernest III   Drums
George Porter, Jr.   Bass
Harold Vick   Sax (Soprano)
Leo Nocentelli   Guitar
Clarence Ford   Alto (Vocals)
Kenneth "Spider Webb" Rice   Drums
Gene Casey   Piano,Director
Dick Frank   Guitar (Acoustic)
Lester Caliste   Trombone
Carl Blonin   Baritone (Vocal)
James Budd Ellison   Piano
Hank Redd   Guitar
Maurice Saunders   Congas
David Williams   Drums
Luther Rix   Drums
Bob Mann   Guitar
Chuck Rainey   Bass
Marlo Henderson   Guitar,Guitar (Rhythm)
Earl Turbinton   Alto (Vocals),Soprano (Vocal)
Gene Cornish   Guitar
David Spinozza   Guitar
Leon Pendarvis   Piano
Judy Clay   Vocals
Alvin Thomas   Flute,Tenor (Vocal)

Technical Credits

Rudy Clarke   Composer
Michael Zager   Composer
Nona Hendryx   Composer
Pat Kraus   Digital Mastering
Gil Scott-Heron   Composer
Keith Richards   Composer
Jack Adams   Producer
Gregg Geller   Compilation Producer
Vicki Wickham   Producer,Executive Producer,Compilation Producer
Pete Townshend   Composer
Kay Rogers   Composer
Mick Jagger   Composer
Patti LaBelle   Composer
Bob Crewe   Composer
Kenny Ascher   Arranger
Kenny Nolan   Composer
Kit Lambert   Producer
Allen Toussaint   Arranger,Producer
John "Speedy" Keen   Composer
Jo Motta   Production Coordination
Aram Schefrin   Composer
Bob Gruen   Photography
Vince Aletti   Liner Notes
Andre Lewis   Arranger
Labelle   Performer
Larry Fallon   String Arrangements
Laura Nyro   Composer
Cat Stevens   Composer
Leon Pendarvis   Arranger
Richard Ahlert   Composer