Tuesday 15 January 2013

The Mandells

“We emulated everything they [The Impressions] did.” The Mandells, from Chicago’s west side, were the tightest band in town. They backed up Jackie Ross, Garland Green, Tyrone Davis and Jackie Wilson, among others, on stage. That’s them you can hear on The Unknowns’ classic Please Don’t Go.

Their own singles sound like the songs Curtis Mayfield forgot to write. They really are that good. A compilation of their singles is well overdue. They never make a bad record; in fact, they only made superb ones.

Most of The Mandells’ catalogue sits in the Chicago soul sweet spot. When they upped the tempo and switched the funk dial to 10, they really went for it. They really jam it out on There Will Be Tears Part 2; here’s the funk gold of There Will Be Tears Part 1 on the a-side.


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