Tuesday, July 19, 2005

The Falcons and Band (Ohio Untouchables): I Found A Love/Swim (Lu Pine L-1003)


Let's start off here by saying that "I Found A Love" is without a doubt one of the rawest examples of doo-wop you're ever likely to hear. The guitar is heavy in the mix and while the harmonies are tight as can be, the lead vocals yell, scream and wail. That can only be because the lead singer here is none other than Wicked Wilson Pickett, who would soon be off making his own hits. Pickett later re-recorded this song for Atlantic and had his own sizeable hit with it. That version is quite swank in its own right (not to mention at two parts, it's longer), but it doesn't quite hold a candle to this one, in which rawness is all over the place. And while we're on the subject of rawness, flip this record over for a smokin' slice of hip-shakin' 1962 groove. A couple of years before Bobby Freeman showed everyone how to do The Swim, The Falcons were spreadin' the word to those who ventured to play thie side. I believe The Ohio Untouchables would later become The Ohio Players, but I'm not sure. At any rate, this joins the ranks of the great two-siders. It does in my book, anyway.

4 comments:

Todd Lucas said...

You beat me to the punch on this one, a personal favorite of mine. I concur, a great two-sider. "Swim" is one of those things that's just too good to get lost on the b-side of something. As swim records go, it's hard to pick a favorite between this and the two Bobby Freeman records on Autumn.

The Ohio Untouchables had a few of their own releases on Lu Pine. The one that I have, "Love Is Amazing"/"Forgive me Darling" appears to have been released twice on the label. Who knows, maybe it was because they backed the Falcons on their big hit in the interim.

Stuart Shea said...

I found this record not too long ago--at least the "I Found a Love" side, on the LuPine label. The other side is Chris Kenner's "Land of a Thousand Dances" on the Instant label. I assume it was done as a jukebox 45, as both LuPine and Instant were subsidiaries of Atlantic.

And I have read in several places that the Ohio Untouchables indeed were an early iteration of the Ohio Players. Skin tight indeed!

Anonymous said...

Robert Ward played guitar in this band. He was very influential on Lonnie Mack's style. As far as I know, Robert still plays and has had some CDs out early in this decade.

munchkin59 said...

would love a mp3 of this side never heard it, flipside is great email too kevin dot spittle at googlemail dot com
thanks alot