Martin Yarbrough - Mixed Moods

Martin Yarbrough - Mixed Moods - Argo LP 4043 - Original Argo Pressing, Stereo, Dark Blue Label

Martin Yarbrough - Vocals and Guitar
Phillard Williams - Drums
Henry W. El - Bass

Recorded - September 1964, Ter Mar Recording Studios, Chicago

Album Production & Supervision - Esmond Edwards
Engineer - Ron Malo
Cover - Don Bronstein

Released - August 14, 1965

Here's something slightly off kilter, a rare piece of Chess-Argo Southside Chicago African American folk music by Martin Yarbrough! Yarbrough is a really nice singer, perhaps a bit proto Terry Callier esque, but a bit more folky with slightly less soul. This is the second of his two sides in Argo's Lp 4000 Blues-Pop-Folk series and it's a side that rather scarce and difficult to acquire. Thankfully, the cheesy folk material is kept to a bare minimum as Yarbrough experiments with more pop-gospel-bossa nova/jazzy currents - there's a nice early Dylan cover, 'Farewell; and a couple of nice Yarbrough originals, '63rd Street Bag' and 'Judy Samba' which cook.

Yarbrough is still active these days, and his daughter Raya has achieved some modest success, but he never recorded again after this side. Just Ok/below average fidelity as I acquired a quite scuffed and scratched vinyl which I've managed to restore to somewhat listenable quality, also a bit of a thin stereo sound which takes getting used to.

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