Philadelphia's
Tymes
were one of the sweetest vocal groups to ever step into a recording studio. Led by the warm, expressive tenor of
George Williams
, whose voice and phrasing were heavily influenced by
Johnny Mathis
, and blessed with a producer at
Cameo Parkway Records
,
Billy Jackson
, who knew exactly how to record them,
the Tymes
hit right out of the box with their debut single, the sparse and elegant
ballad
"So Much in Love"
in 1963. Written by
Williams
, the song was given a simple, floating arrangement by
Jackson
that was driven by what would become the group's trademark finger snaps and featuring smooth-as-honey vocals by
and fellow group members
Al "Ceasar" Barry
George Hilliard
Norman Burnett
, and
Donald Banks
.
The Tymes
followed this classic with a version of
"Wonderful! Wonderful!"
(the song that launched
Mathis
' own career in 1957) that was every bit as strong as
"So Much in Love,"
and completed the hat trick with a third impressive single,
"Somewhere."
Everything
recorded with
at
Cameo Parkway
had this same high quality, and the future looked more than bright, but the group's run on the
pop
charts pretty much ended with the advent of Beatlemania in 1964, which signaled a sea change in the recording industry. For some reason
never released the
catalog on CD until 2005, and this collection marks the debut of
in the digital age, some 40 years after these classic
ballads
were recorded. Gorgeously arranged and sung, the tracks compiled here have an elegant, timeless quality that works in part because of their simple sparseness, which allows
plenty of breathing room to do what they do best, which is sing like the angels sing.
"Wonderful! Wonderful!,"
and
"Somewhere"
are all here, along with other gems like
"Here She Comes"
(one of the few instances where
go upbeat) and the sublime
"The Lamp Is Low."
Better late than never, this CD is essential listening for fans of the vocal group genre. ~ Steve Leggett