Who's Making Love

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Johnnie Taylor’s sophomore LP for Stax following his brilliant debut <i>Wanted: One Soul Singer</i>, <i>Who’s Making Love…</i> is one of three albums Taylor released for the label in 1968. That year was pivotal for Stax, as Otis Redding’s death and Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination in Memphis had thrown the entire operation into upheaval. Stax wasn’t only changing behind the scenes; the sound was starting to change too, and Taylor was one of the stars who held on and changed with it. <i>Who’s Making Love…</i> bridges the “old” Stax with the “new” Stax, as the title song and “Take Care of Your Homework” represent the formula from which all the classic Sam & Dave hits were cut, while works like “Hold On This Time” and “Poor Make Believer” hinted at a shift in arrangement and production style. Taylor had long been one of the most adaptable performers in R&B, and he never recorded any truly bad music while he was with Stax. That said, Taylor was a blues singer at heart (to this day, he is a favorite on juke joint jukeboxes throughout the South) and the music truly ignites when he digs into “Can’t Trust Your Neighbor” and “Mr. Nobody Is Somebody Now.”

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

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