JANICE'S BLUES ALLEY PRESENTS
BLOODSTONE
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Bloodstone was a key group in creating the shift from the R & Band soul group concepts of the '50s and '60s to the funk and black rock ideas of the '70s and afterward.
The group began in Kansas City, while the original members were in high school, as an a cappella doo wop group, the Sinceres, around 1962. They evolved with the decade, and by 1968 were ensconced in Las Vegas, playing lounges like many other soul minor leaguers (Sonny Charles & the Checkmates, most notoriously). From there, they went to Los Angeles and did the unexpected: They learned to play instruments and became a band (like the Clash and Steely Dan, they never did settle on a permanent drummer).
In fact, Bloodstone was a very good funk-soul group using the Hendrix-derived licks of Charles Love and Willis Draffen against multiple percussion ideas to underpin a vocal blend that still owed its soul to gospel and doo wop. (If this makes you think of the Isley Brothers of "That Lady," you're on the right track.)
Bloodstone received no record company interest in L.A., however, so at the advice of its manager, the group relocated to London in 1971. There, they teamed up with Mike Vernon, founder of the Blue Horizon label, who'd made his bones producing an album with the great Chicago pianist Otis Spann; white blues acts like Fleetwood Mac and Savoy Brown; and early Euro-rock with Focus. Vernon took Bloodstone into the studio and by early 1973, its debut single, "Natural High," had cracked the R & Band pop Top Ten, becoming the group's defining song.
Vernon produced the first five Bloodstone albums, which garnered seven Top 20 R & Bsingles, almost all of which made the pop Top 40. The group was a big concert draw, and its album sold well, if not spectacularly. Somehow, all of this was parlayed into a 1975 film deal. Train Ride to Hollywood is arguably the funniest picture of the whole '70s blaxploitation film boom, derived in equal parts from the Marx Brothers and such early spoofs as The Palm Beach Story and International House. Somehow, amidst the slapstick and the reefer jokes, Bloodstone wedges in a fairly complete history of black vocal harmony music from the Mills Brothers to the Coasters to their own bad selves. They do it even better on the soundtrack album. (All of the Vernon-produced Bloodstone albums contain versions of '50s and '60s oldies.)
We Go a Long Way Back The group then faded from popular view, despite a brief stint at Motown, until the early '80s, when it hooked up with the Isley Brothers' T-Neck and scored a commercially and artistically successful album, We Go a Long Way Back, produced by the Brothers. The title track returned them to the R & BTop Ten in 1982, but although several other T-Neck singles charted, the group's recording career essentially ended there. Nevertheless, this heartland group had made a significant mark and can lay fair claim to being one of the first to figure out its particular era's future.
-- by Dave Marsh, All Music Guide
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01. Sadie Mae 02. Take These Chains 03. You Don t Mean Nothin 04. Little Green Apples |
05. This Thing Is Heavy 06. Friendship 07. Lady of the Night 08. Dumb Dude |
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01. You Know We've Learned 02. Who Has the Last Laugh Now 03. Peter's Jones 04. That's The Way We Make Our Music 05. Damn That Rock'N'Roll: Bo Diddley/Diddley Daddy 06. Natural High 07. I Need Your Love 08. Tell It To My Face |
09. Ran It In The Ground 10. Never Let You Go 11. Girl (You Look So Fine) 12. Judy, Judy 13. Sadie Mae 14. Take These Chains 15. You Don't Mean Nothin' 16. Little Green Apples |
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01. Outside Woman 02. What Did You Do To Me? (Part 1) 03. What Did You Do To Me? (Part 2) 04. Unreal 05. Everybody Needs Love 06. Something 07. Keep Our Own Thing Together 08. Let Me Ride |
09. The Traffic Cop (Dance) 10. Moulded Oldies: Hound Dog/Searchin'/So Fine 11. This Thing Is Heavy 12. Friendship 13. Lady Of The Night 14. Dumb Dude 15. You Don't Understand |
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01. Closer Together 02. Funky Park 03. That's Not How It Goes 04. Out of My Life 05. Loving You Is Just a Pastime |
06. I Need Time 07. Little Linda 08. I Believe You Now 09. Get Up (Or Get Out) 10. We Did It |
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01. For The First Time 02. I Just Learned To Walk 03. Sign For Me Dad 04. My Little Lady 05. Something's Missing 06. A Time For Reflection |
07. This World Is Funky 08. Young Times Old Times 09. Wasted Time 10. Nobody But You 11. Save Me |
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01. As Time Goes By 02. Yakety Yak 03. Train Ride 04. What Do I Have To Do? 05. Hooray For Romance 06. Rock 'N' Roll Choo Choo |
07. Go To Sleep 08. Toot! Toot! Tootsie (Goodbye) 09. I'm In Shape 10. Sh-Boom (Life Could Be A Dream) 11. Money (That's All I Want) |
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01. Don't Stop 02. I'm Just Doing My Job 03. Throw a Little Bit of Love My Way 04. It's All Been Said Before |
05. She Wants to Hear the Words 06. Just Wanna Get the Feel of It 07. You Bring Out the Best in Me 08. It's Been a Long Time |
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01. Go On and Cry 02. How Does It Feel 03. We Go a Long Way Back 04. Funkin' Around 05. My Kind of Woman |
06. My Love Grows Stronger 07. Nite Time Fun 08. My Love Grows Stronger, Pt. 2 09. We Go a Long Way Back [Extended 12” Version] 10. Go On and Cry |
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01. Bloodstone's Party 02. Feel That Heat 03. Contagious 04. Men Need Tenderness Too |
05. Instant Love 06. It Feels So Good (With You) 07. I Adore You 08. Why Be the First One Home |
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01. Go On And Cry 02. How Does It Feel 03. We Go A Long Way Back 04. My Kind Of Woman 05. Nite Time Fun |
06. My Love Grows Stronger 07. Funkin' Around 08. Bloodstone's Party 09. Instant Love 10. It Feels So Good {With You) |
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01. Tears in My Eyes 02. Now That's What I'm Talking About 03. I've Never Found a Girl 04. I Feel Good 05. Just for You 06. Good Old Days 07. Just the Thought of You |
08. Baby 09. God Knows 10. Big City 11. B With U-2 Nite 12. Come and Get It 13. You're My Baby 14. Bloodstone Party Train |
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01. INTRO 02. STRIKEOUT 03. CONFRONTATION 04. THIS IS ME! 05. NEXT LEVEL FEAT PRINCESS |
06. WEST COAST RIDIN FEAT KRISTY WILLIAMS 07. HEATED! 08. FULL MENTAL 09. GET NONE 10. CRIME LAND |
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01. Stand Up, Let's Party 02. If You Wanna Be My Baby 03. Just Like In The Movies 04. Do You Wanna Do A Thing |
05. Shake The Building 06. This Is It 07. When We're Doin' It 08. Give Me Your Heart |
