BETTY WRIGHT soul funk LP “Hard to Stop” ALSTON orig ‘73 SEALED

$

33

Artist:   BETTY WRIGHT

Title:   “Hard to Stop”

Label:   ALSTON ~ SD 7026.  Stereo pressing.  

Date:  1973

Personnel: 

Vocals – Betty Wright

Guitars – Willie “Little Beaver” Hale, Phillip Wright, Joey Murcia

Keyboards – Clarence Reid, Arnold Albury, Joanne Shelby, Benny Latimore, Bobby “Birdwatcher” Pucetti, Fred Bogart, Al Kooper (on “Let Me Go Down”)

Bass – Ron Bogdon

Drums – Ivan “Breeze” Olander

Congas – Simeon Taylor & Fermin Goytisolo

Horn section – Mike Lewis, Vinny Tano, Ron Bogdon

Sax solo – Gerald Smith

Background vocals – Jeannette Holloway, Joanne Shelby, HW Casey, The Perfections, Betty Wright.

Condition: 

STILL SEALED in factory shrink wrap.  There is a large round punch hole at top left corner indicating the LP was originally sold as a cutout/deletion.  There are a couple very tiny separations in the shrink wrap along the opening edge, but all seams and corners are excellent.  No writing, stickers, or bar codes.  

Track Listing: 

Side One:

• I Am Woman – 4:20
• Sweet Wonder – 2:26
• The Experts – 3:02
• We the Two of Us – 3:00
• Let Me Go Down – 2:57

Side Two:

• Gimme Back My Man – 3:28
• Who’ll Be the Fool – 3:17
• The Babysitter – 3:02
• If You Think You’ve Got Soul – 2:15
• It’s Hard to Stop (Doing Something When It’s Good to You) – 3:14     

Review:

“While Hard to Stop lacked a big classic hit on the order of "Clean Up Woman," it was a very solid and varied platter of early-'70s soul.   Distinguished by the tight, lean Miami funk-soul of the backup players (particularly guitarist Willie “Little Beaver” Hale), it did offer a couple of pretty big R&B hits with the jittery rhythms of "The Babysitter" and "It's Hard to Stop (Doing Something When It's Good to You)," which was about as bluesy as soul got in 1973.   A far more off-the-wall highlight was the radical reinterpretation of Helen Reddy's "I Am Woman," which changed it from a hokey pop tune into something that sounded far more grittily proud and defiant.   However, it's a pretty consistent record throughout, with other cuts of note including "We the Two of Us," which has a great effervescent Miami organ, and "If You Think You've Got Soul," which weaves in and out of a quasi-tropical groove.  The "Clean Up Woman" guitar rhythm is reprised on "Gimme Back My Man," though to less memorable effect than on the hit single.”

(courtesy Richie Unterberger, allmusic.com.)

Guaranteed to be original and authentic first pressing from 1973.  I do not sell bootlegs or modern reissues.

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The records are removed from the jackets to protect the cover.
Both the LP and jacket are sandwiched between additional layers of cardboard.

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