Arthur Prysock: The Milestone Years

Arthur Prysock lived in that murky area between jazz and R & B. He had a romantic bass/baritone voice which he applied with distinction to ballads in a manner comparable to Johnny Hartman. Prysock was less smooth than Hartman and had more of a throbbin' hitch in his voice which one also hears in Lou Rawls. At the same time he could go to upbeat R & B without missing a beat, working well with the instruments which characterize that musical genre, the honking, swinging tenor, lowdown guitar and keyboards programmed to replicate an organ.

This "best of" collection compiles tracks from three albums Prysock made for the Milestone label during the years 1985 to 1987. Even though they are among the last Prysock cut before he became ill, they represent some of his best work rivaling the Verve material, including his session with Count Basie. There are all sorts of gems on this compilation. "Baby You've Got What It Takes" with Betty Joplin rivals the 1959 Dinah Washington/Brooks Benton version. Lloyd Wilson's organ sounding keyboards get a healthy R & B workout here. Joplin also joins Prysock on "Everything Must Change", "Bring It on Home to Me", and a tug on the heartstrings renderings of "Teach Me Tonight". Arthur's brother, Red Prysock, does some soulful tenor on this cut making it a highlight of the album. There are few singers who could come close to Prysock when expressing emotional intensity in a ballad. Listen to his interpretation of "I Want to Thank You, Girl" and "It's all in the Game". Up tempo tunes are not ignored with swingers like "Next Time You See Me" and "Good Rockin' Tonight". The latter more than any other cut shows the similarity between Prysock and Rawls.

This compilation reminds us that Prysock was a vocal treasure who didn't get nearly the recognition he deserved during his life (what else is new). Kudos to Fantasy for issuing this compilation to let us get one more chance to hear and pay our respects to this marvelous voice.