THE MAIN INGREDIENT: AFRODISIAC & EUPHRATES RIVER (2 CDs.)

THE MAIN INGREDIENT
Quando postei o primeiro album do The Main Ingredient - "Everybody plays the fool" -
aqui no Blog, eu escrevi:

"Em 1973, quando Buenos Aires era o "quintal" dos brasileiros, devido à nossa brutal
vantagem cambial, eu caminhava, despreocupadamente, pela Calle Florida quando, ao passar em uma loja de discos, parei, extasiado, diante do som que ouvi: era um conjunto de negros mas, para minha surpresa, cantando numa linha completamente diferente da agressividade dos conjuntos da MOTOWN, com uma voz suave, linhas harmônicas perfeitas, e melodias maravilhosas, do repertório de STEVIE WONDER, com músicas até então inéditas. O vinyl se chamava AFRODISIAC. De quebra trouxe ainda um outro álbum deles, EUPHRATES RIVER. A grande curiosidade é que um dos cantores, CUBA GOODING, é pai do famoso ator CUBA GOODING JUNIOR.

Conforme prometi na ocasião, aí vão os dois LPs, em dose dupla.

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THE MAIN INGREDIENT
Formed: 1966 in Harlem, NY ,The Main Ingredient toiled in obscurity for the better part of the '60s before making it big as a sweet, romantic soul outfit with a particular flair for ballads. Paced by the impassioned lead vocals of Cuba Gooding during their prime hitmaking years, the Ingredient is best remembered for their 1972 classic "Everybody Plays the Fool," but released a number of other fine singles , mostly during the first half of the '70s. The group was formed in Harlem in 1964 as a trio called the Poets, composed of lead singer Donald McPherson, Luther Simmons, Jr., and Panama-born Tony Silvester. They made their first recordings for Leiber & Stoller's Red Bird label, but soon changed their name to The Insiders and signed with RCA. After a couple of singles, they changed their name once again in 1966, this time permanently to the Main Ingredient. Nothing much happened until the Main Ingredient hooked up with producer Bert DeCoteaux, who had an excellent sense
of the lush, orchestrated direction soul music would take in the early '70s. Under his direction, the Main Ingredient reached the R&B Top 30 for the first time in 1970 with "You've Been My Inspiration." But tragedy struck in 1971: McPherson, who had suddenly taken ill with leukemia, passed away unexpectedly. Stunned, Silvester and Simmons regrouped with new lead singer Cuba Gooding, who'd served as a backing vocalist on some of their previous recordings and had filled in on tour during McPherson's brief illness. The Gooding era began auspiciously enough with the million-selling smash "Everybody Plays the Fool". Silvester was replaced by Carl Tompkins, but the chemistry wasn't the same, and Gooding departed for a solo career on Motown in 1977, which produced two albums; Simmons, meanwhile, left music to work as a stockbroker.
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MINHA OPINIÃO - a delicadeza dos vocais do MAIN INGREDIENT e da voz do Cuba Gooding são o diferencial, numa época dominada pelo som pesado da Motown. As grandes faixas são de autoria de Stevie Wonder: "Superwoman", "Girl Blue". "Don´t you worry ´bout a thing". Mas tem muito mais coisa boa, como "Summer Breeze" e "Happiness is just around the bend". Os dois álbuns, na verdade, são excelentes. UM POÇO DE PETRÓLEO.
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THE MAIN INGREDIENT
Cuba Gooding
Jerome Jackson
Tony Silvester
Donald McPherson
Luther Simmons Jr.


ALBUM # 1: THE MAIN INGREDIENT: AFRODISIAC

TRACKS/FAIXAS
1. Superwomen
2. Where Were You When I Needed You
3. I Am Yours
4. Work To do
5. Girl Blue
6. You Can Call Me Rover
7. Something Bout Love
8. Love Of My Life
9. Something Lovely
10. Goodbye My Love

DOWNLOAD: AQUI

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ALBUM # 2: THE MAIN INGREDIENT: EUPHRATES RIVER

TRACKS/FAIXAS
1. Euphrates river
2. Have You Ever Tried It
3. Summer Breeze
4. California My Way
5. Happiness Is Just Around the Bend
6. Looks Like Rain
7. Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing
8. Just Don't Want to Be Lonely
9. Let Me Prove My Love to You

DOWNLOAD: AQUI

THE MAIN INGREDIENT : EVERYBODY PLAYS THE FOOL

THE MAIN INGREDIENT

Em 1973, quando Buenos Aires era o "quintal" dos brasileiros, devido à nossa brutal vantagem cambial, eu caminhava, despreocupadamente, pela Calle Florida quando, ao passar em uma loja de discos, parei, extasiado, diante do som que ouvi: era um conjunto de negros mas, para minha surpresa, cantando numa linha completamente diferente da agressividade dos conjuntos da MOTOWN, com uma voz suave, linhas harmônicas perfeitas, e melodias maravilhosas, do repertório de STEVIE WONDER, com músicas até então inéditas. O vinyl se chama AFRODISIAC e eu vou ripá-lo, assim que puder, para postar aqui no CBVB.
De quebra troxe ainda um outro album deles, EUPHRATES RIVER, também a ser ripado e postado.
A grande curiosidade é que um dos cantores, CUBA GOODING, é pai do famoso ator CUBA GOODING JUNIOR.

Por absoluta falta de tempo para traduzir - "I mean", excesso de trabalho, vou postar a biografia do THE MAIN INGREDIENT em inglês mesmo.

"Vamu -lá:


Formed: 1966 in Harlem, NY
Genre: Soul and R&B
Styles: Urban, Oldies, Pop, Dance, Disco, R&B, Soul
Group Members: Cuba Gooding, Jerome Jackson, Tony Silvester, Donald McPherson, Luther Simmons Jr.

Biography
The Main Ingredient toiled in obscurity for the better part of the '60s before making it big as a sweet, romantic soul outfit
with a particular flair for ballads. Paced by the impassioned lead vocals of Cuba Gooding during their prime hitmaking years, the Ingredient is best remembered for their 1972 classic "Everybody Plays the Fool," but released a number of other fine singles , mostly during the first half of the '70s. The group was formed in Harlem in 1964 as a trio called the Poets, composed of lead singer Donald McPherson, Luther Simmons, Jr., and Panama-born Tony Silvester. They made their first recordings for Leiber & Stoller's Red Bird label, but soon changed their name to the Insiders and signed with RCA. After a couple of singles, they changed their name once again in 1966, this time permanently to the Main Ingredient.
Nothing much happened until the Main Ingredient hooked up with producer Bert DeCoteaux, who had an excellent sense of the lush, orchestrated direction soul music would take in the early '70s. Under his direction, the Main Ingredient reached the R&B Top 30 for the first time in 1970 with "You've Been My Inspiration." Things grew steadily from there; a cover of the Impressions' "I'm So Proud" broke the Top 20, and "Spinning Around (I Must Be Falling in Love)" went Top Ten. They scored again with the McPherson-penned black power anthem "Black Seeds Keep on Growing," but tragedy struck in 1971: McPherson, who had suddenly taken ill with leukemia, passed away unexpectedly. Stunned, Silvester and Simmons
regrouped with new lead singer Cuba Gooding, who'd served as a backing vocalist on some of their previous recordings and had
filled in on tour during McPherson's brief illness.

The Gooding era began auspiciously enough with the million-selling smash "Everybody Plays the Fool," which hit number two R&B and number three pop to become the group's biggest hit ever. The accompanying album, aptly titled Bitter Sweet, became their first to hit the Top Ten on the R&B charts; its follow-up, 1973's Afrodisiac (*), featured several songs written or co-written by
Stevie Wonder, although it didn't produce any huge successes on the singles charts. They returned to the R&B Top Ten in 1974 with "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely," which sold over a million copies and also reached the pop Top Ten, and the disco-flavored "Happiness Is Just Around the Bend," which did not. In 1975, the group recorded several songs co-written by Leon Ware, including the R&B Top Ten "Rolling Down a Mountainside." By this point, however, Silvester was harboring other ambitions; he released a solo album called Magic Touch that year, and left the group to form a poduction team with Bert DeCoteaux.

Silvester was replaced by Carl Tompkins, but the chemistry wasn't the same, and Gooding departed for a solo career on Motown in 1977, which produced two albums; Simmons, meanwhile, left music to work as a stockbroker.
Gooding, Silvester, and Simmons reunited as the Main Ingredient in 1979, and cut two more albums, 1980's Ready for Love and 1981's I Only Have Eyes for You (the latter featured a minor hit in "Evening of Love"). The trio reunited for a second time in 1986, but their Zakia single "Do Me Right" flopped, and Simmons returned to his day job. He was replaced by Jerome Jackson on the 1989 Polydor album I Just Wanna Love You. In the wake of Aaron Neville's Top Ten revival of "Everybody Plays the Fool, Gooding resumed his solo career and issued his third album in 1993. Silvester and Simmons re-formed the Main Ingredient in 1999 with new lead singer Carlton Blount; this lineup recorded Pure Magic in 2001. Gooding's son is, of course, Cuba Gooding, Jr., the actor best known for his Oscar-winning performance in Jerry Maguire.

(*) Nota - confere com o que contei acima, sobre o disco Afrodisiac.
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ALBUM: THE MAIN INGREDIENT
"Everybody plays the fool"


The Main ingredient is:

Cuba Gooding
Jerome Jackson
Tony Silvester
Donald McPherson
Luther Simmons Jr.


TRACKS / FAIXAS

1. Traveling
2. Where Are You?
3. You've Got To Take It (If You Want It)
4. Everybody Plays the Fool
5. Whirl-Wind
6. Fly Baby Fly
7. I Can't See Me Without You
8. Where Do Broken Hearted Lovers Go?
9. Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)
10. No Tears (In the End)

DOWNOAD - AQUI