General Crook

General Crook – General Crook

The only full album ever cut by General Crook – a great soul talent from Chicago who's best known for his earlier funky 45s.
This album's great, though, and it has Crook moving past the hard funk of earlier days – into a sweet mellow soul vein that's somewhere in the territory of Leroy Hutson or Bobby Wilson, but a little bit funkier at times.
Many tracks have keyboards (moog, clavinet, Fender Rhodes) in the lead, always played by Crook – but the real treat is the vocals, which are extremely soulful on the best cuts, in an honest indie early 70s mode that's rarely duplicated!
In fact, the ballad cuts are really the best on the album – and even though we dig Crook's funk work, we're really sent by the mellower cuts on the LP, like "The Best Years Of My Life", "I'm Satisfied", "Tell Me What'cha Gonna Do", and his sweet remake of "If This World Were Mine", which starts with a great monologue! Other cuts include "Reality", "Fever In The Funkhouse", and "Lyin Cheatin Woman".
CD features bonus tracks – single mixes of "Testing" and "Fever In The Funkhouse"

1 Tell Me What'Cha Gonna Do 3:37
2 Reality 2:44
3 Fever In The Funkhouse 2:59
4 The Best Years Of My Life 6:10
5 Lying Cheatin' Woman 3:17
6 I'm Satisfied 3:56
7 Thanks But No Thanks 3:02
8 If This World Were Mine 7:07

Bonus Tracks:

9 Testification (Original 7" Version) 6:59
10 Fever In The Funkhouse (Instrumental) 2:41

Label: Octave Lab – OTLCD5376