Oscar Toney, Jr.

Including the entirety of Toney Jr.'s 1967 LP For Your Precious Love, this CD reissue is really a survey of his entire late-'60s Bell output, as it adds nine bonus tracks from 1967-1968. Issued in the wake of Toney Jr.'s hit cover of "For Your Precious Love," this is mostly filled with covers of soul oldies and then current soul songs, including "Dark End of the Street," "Moon River" (again following the Jerry Butler version), "Do Right Woman - Do Right Man," "Turn on Your Love Light," and "Any Day Now." Toney specialized in updated, well-produced (sometimes orchestrated) versions of familiar soul tunes, and while he sang them well, the format was kind of retro and unoriginal, even in 1967. Top Southern soul session guys Tommy Cogbill (bass), Reggie Young (guitar), Bobby Emmons (keyboards), and Chips Moman (engineer) provide accomplished backing for Toney's emotional vocals, which have traits in common with both Jerry Butler and (more strongly) Otis Redding, and favor ballads. Toney did contribute one original to the LP, "Ain't That True Love," and the good-time "No Sad Songs" would be covered a year later by Joe Simon. This CD adds seven songs from 1967-1968 Bell singles, as well as the previously unreleased demo "Gettin' Ready for the Heartbreak" and an alternate take of his 45 "You Can Lead Your Woman to the Altar." The non-LP singles are respectable, yet not outstanding, Southern deep soul efforts, a bit poppier than Stax's product. These are again at their best at their slowest, when they're comparable in some respects to Otis Redding's ballads. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide