Bob & Gene If This World Were Mine… Label: Daptone Release Date:02/20/2007

When I first saw this album, I thought it was a trick. Daptone Records has a habit of disguising their stellar new releases, by artists like Sharon Jones, the Sugarman 3, and Lee Fields, as unearthed treasures from a distant golden age of funk and soul. The label’s latest release, “If This World Were Mine…” by Bob & Gene, turns out to be a legitimate rediscovered treasure, coming from late 60s Buffalo, originally recorded on the obscure Mo Do label.

Mo Do was a reaction to the economic decay William Dunn, factory worker and musician, saw in his community. Building a studio in his basement, Dunn used his neighbors as investors in an effort to give local youth a disciplined, creative alternative to the delinquency that comes from hopeless urban blight: soul music. Mo Do was a local enterprise, like many around the nation at the time, built on hope and passion for his community. As it turns out, this was not enough to finance the release of an album. Regrettably, “If This World Were Mine…” is just now seeing a release.

It is lucky that devoted labels take the time to bring such lost classics to our modern attention, but truly unfortunate that it did not see a release in its time for its community. Bob & Gene had songwriting savvy and performance chops beyond their teenage years, while retaining the puppy love vulnerability that makes the great teen romance records so touching. This is clear on self penned songs like “Gotta Find a Way” and “I Can Be Cool,” as well as the Marvin Gaye song that gives the album its name. “Somebody’s Doin’ It (War)” reflects the discontent of the era, and with songs like “You Don’t Need Me” shows the teen duo reflecting the rise of funk in its heavier percussion and rhythmic instrumentation.

Had this album originally seen a release, things may have been different for Bob & Gene, who clearly could have grown into substantial soul artists rather than high school heroes. Not only are the voices and arrangements tremendously sweet, but the production by William Nunn is much more lovingly finessed than it has to be, sporting crisp orchestration and recording as well as rich string and keyboard tones. It is clear that their community certainly supported them, and that there was much more amazing music produced for public consumption when there was a legitimate regionalism and local personality in radio, rather than the corporatism that currently has all of America programmed directly from Los Angeles.

Bob & Gene - Gotta Find A Way
Bob & Gene - Your Name

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 27th, 2007 at 4:51 pm and is filed under CD/LP. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.