Tymes – The Trustmaker ’74

Sounds of The Tymes
Life is stranger than fiction-and the music industry is stranger than life.
For example, for years we’ve heard it said that recording stars of the „fabulous fifties“ or „industrial sixties“ were either too old or too „far­out“ of it to compete in today’s ever-changing, perplexing recording scene. lt’s come to be considered simply as too great a feat to accomplish for any of these stars.
Yet strange as it may seem, today as we look around what do we see! Here in the „fissionable percussion seventies“ there seems to be nothing but
by-products of the late fifties or sixties-„Oldies but Goodies“-veterans of the charts making it. And what city is spearheading this phenomenon­Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love … the 1976 Bicentennial City … no officially „Group City“: the O‘ Jays (’50s), Harold Melvin’s Bluenotes (’50s), the lntruders (’50s), the Spinners (’60s), Stylistics (’60s), MSFB f50s), Trammps (’60s). Yes, Philadelphia has quite an impressive list on today’s recording scene.
One of the finest of Philadelphia’s recording stars of the sixties emerging stronger than ever today-The Tymes. The smooth singing, finger-snapping daddies of love songs, whose special brilliance has always been their patent harmony, return triumphantly with a pulsating, heart-thumping, explosive single „You Little Trustmaker“ and this collector’s item debüt album on RCA Records, TRUSTMAKER.

The scope of the material in this album is so all-encompassing it’s one of those „something for everyone“ packages-the old, the new, the soulful, the blue. The Tymes‘ former million-seller „So Much in Love“ takes on a completely new, refreshing approach although never losing its charm. „The Sha-La Bandit“, „Miss Grace“ and „North Hills“ recall many fine memories of the past.
„Innerloop“ which includes a Spanish lyric; „The Crutch“, an excellent performance of a fine piece of material written by producer-writer Billy Jackson; the classics „Are You Lookin'“ and „Someway, Somehow l’m Keepin‘ you“ plus the splendid form of The Tymes and the equally fine musical arrangements of Richie Rome round out a most impressive album.
This welcome sound of The Tymes should be around right into the eighties!
Luz Rivera