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Soul S 35011 (A), March 1965
b/w Beautiful Brown Eyes
(Written by John Mitchell and Gerald Williams)
The Freeman Brothers, the third in a long-forgotten tbrilogy of one-and-done Motown acts to see their sole Motown single release this month (following the equally obscure Hillsiders and the entirely obscure Hit Pack) weren’t brothers, and they weren’t called Freeman. John Mitchell, once of the Majestics/Monitors, and Gerald Williams had first rechristened themselves “Johnny and Jerry Freeman” to record the genuinely excellent Otis pastiche I’m Counting On You in 1964, which brought them to Motown’s attention.
Their first Motown release, My Baby – not the Temptations song, more’s the pity – seems to have been much anticipated, with company president Berry Gordy and A&R director Mickey Stevenson producing. That sense of anticipation seems to have dissipated pretty quickly; the single was a flop, and the “Brothers” never had another Motown record.
The idea of a big, exciting start leading to something of a damp squib is spookily appropriate here, because that’s exactly what My Baby is like. You’d never in a million years have identified these guys as the ones who made I’m Counting On You; this is a midtempo R&B rocker with nary a trace of tortured Southern soul about it. But after an explosive start, it peters out completely, not only losing momentum but also somehow losing its attitude.
The beginning is pretty exciting, though. Whoever’s on drums – possibly one of the Freeman Brothers themselves, as it doesn’t sound like Benjamin, Allen or Jones (not professional enough, if I’m honest) – starts work by beating the hell out of the snare, a rolling fill leading to a loud, steady beat in flat, belting 4/4 Ringo Starr style, hitting the skins in an amateurish but impressively hard way, mixed right up front and dominating the track, so much so that the tambourine is almost drowned out.
But the drummer’s apparent lack of skill, or finesse, means they end up misinterpreting the mood of the song; their dramatic, direct attack doesn’t really match up to the paddling-pool shallow “song” that follows on, a meandering, almost gentle kind of number, though (perhaps in competition with the drums) the lead singer bellows and screams his lines as if he too was cutting a much hotter joint. He’s appealingly, throatily raw in places, but this isn’t really a cutting-loose kind of record and he quickly loses control, leading to just about the weakest lead vocal performance of any Motown R&B group for about two years. The effect is to turn the whole thing into a dismal, almost wilfully stupid stomper, highlighting the lack of lyrics; nothing to say and nowhere to go.
I’m just not convinced there’s a great deal of song going on here; no real hooks, no real tune, no real chance. Mind you, I bet if they’d given this to the Spinners, it would have worked great.
MOTOWN JUNKIES VERDICT
(I’ve had MY say, now it’s your turn. Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment, or click the thumbs at the bottom there. Dissent is encouraged!)
You’re reading Motown Junkies, an attempt to review every Motown A- and B-side ever released. Click on the “previous” and “next” buttons below to go back and forth through the catalogue, or visit the Master Index for a full list of reviews so far.
(Or maybe you’re only interested in the Freeman Brothers? Click for more.)
The Hillsiders “Rain Is A Lonesome Thing” |
The Freeman Brothers “Beautiful Brown Eyes” |
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Landini said:
Okay… I’m going to say something kind of strange. Thjis IS NOT A GOOD MOTOWN RECORD however… I still think it is a cool song. It sounds like something you would hear as the Pick Hit of the Week late at night on some faraway R&B station. The song has a very odd charm about it. I actually thought this might be a blue eyed soul group or maybe a Latin group like Thee Midnighters. The great thing about the 60s is that odd little records like this came out often. One song I was thinking about is “Candy” by the Astors (which I think came out of Stax). “Candy” has that same kind of bizarro world charm about it. In Washington, DC near where I grew up, there was this odd little oldies station in the early 70s. At night they would go on automation & play some really obscure records. This sounds like something they would have played late, late at night. I would tape all sorts of stuff at night & then call the station the next day to find out who did the record. That’s where I first heard “Candy” by the Astors. Anyway, a fascinating little find!
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Robb Klein said:
I had always thought that The Freeman Brothers were three blokes from New York. Interesting to learn that Johnny Mitchell, former lead singer of The Majestics (during their heyday), was the lead for this duo (not a “group”). I had enjoyed his singing very much on The Majestics’ quality singles on Tony Ewing’s Chex label (“Give Me A Cigarette”, “Gwendolyn”, etc.)out of Detroit, working with Motown’s Pocorn Wylie. Interesting that he left The Majestics in 1964, surrendering the lead in that group to Richard Street, and yet returned to Motown the next year, to sing in a duet team on a completely unmarketed release.
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Robb Klein said:
I think your rating of “3” is fair for this non gem, not really worthy of Motown release.
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Landini said:
Hi Robb, I think you would have enjoyed the Washington, DC Oldies radio station I mentioned above. I heard a good deal of Chicago soul & Motown & other Soul on there, especially in 1973-74. Here are some of the songs I heard for the first time on that station:
The Entertainer – Tony Clarke
Voice Your Choice – Radiants (thought they were the Impressions at first)
Rainbow / Just Be True – Gene Chandler
Pushover – Etta James
Shake a Tail Feather – 5 Dutones
Other stuff they used to play included :
Lipstick Traces / Lonely Drifter – O’Jays
Handful of Memories – Baby Washington
Harlem Shuffle – Bob & Earl
Who Do You Love – Sapphires
LIttle Latin Lupe Lu / This Little Girl of Mine – Righteous Bros
Motown stuff they played (besides the hits);
Yesterday’s Dreams / I’ll Turn to Stone – 4 Tops
Money (that’s what I want) Jr Walker version
Pucker Up Buttercup / Hip City pt2 – Jr Walker
Workout Stevie / Hey Harmonica Man – Stevie Wonder
Everybody’s Gotta Pay Some Dues – Miracles
It was really fun listening late at night at about 2am when they were on automation. You never knew what you might hear!
Anyway, that was a cool station. In 1976 they went Top 40 & then in 1977 they went (arghhh!) country which they are to this day. I actually got in touch via email with a guy who used to work at the station when they were oldies. He was very nice & gave me a lot of info about the station. I wish I had kept the tapes I made way back then. Oh well.
Hope you are doing well! I could be feeling better I guess, but I am hanging in there.
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Robb Klein said:
There were a lot of good oldies radio stations around during the 1970s. I am doing fine. My father died a few months ago at 90, but I am well. Sorry to hear that you are not feeling well. I wish you the best of luck and a speedy recovery.
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Landini said:
Robb, I do hope you have a very good holiday season!
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Landini said:
Thank you. Sorry about your father. You and your family have my prayers.
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Kenny Hamilton said:
Johnny Mitchell is not the one you refer to. These Freeman Bros were formerly the Isley Bros backup band during the Twist and Shout era. This Johnny Mitchell wasn’t even a vocalist, he played all the sax solo’s on Isley record’s like Twisting With Linda. The other voice on the “My Baby” side is guitarist Joe McCoy who is the primary lead on “Beautiful Brown Eyes”
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Landini said:
Mr. Hamilton, Wow! That is very interesting to hear more about this group. As I said above, I find this to be a cool, offbeat kind of song. Are you a musician? Your name sounds familiar. I hope you have a very nice Christmas sir!
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Robb Klein said:
Thanks for clearing that up. I remembered The Freeman Brothers having records out on two other labels, BOTH in New York, using New York production people. In fact, I’m wondering if these two cuts were New York productions just leased to Motown (some connection to the pressing plant/labeling misprint that stated “Distributed by The Amy-Mala-Bell Distribution Group”?). If they were formerly The Isley Brothers’ band, they probably WERE located in New York. I really wondered why Johnny Mitchell sounded so weak on these cuts as opposed to his nice vocals on Chex.
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Kenny Hamilton said:
Jerry Freeman regrouped in New York with ex Isley Bros band members Johnny Mitchell {alto sax and vocals on “My Baby”} Robert “Chocolate” Wright {drums} Sam Campbell {bass and tenor sax} Jerry Freeman {bass and Hammond organ} and Joe McCoy {gutiar and vocals}. The song “My Baby” was inspired by the Isley Bros song entitled “Simon Says”. Jerry Freeman had recorded in New York before as stated above.
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Kenny Hamilton said:
Speaking of rare Motown, I speak quite often with Floyd Lawson, lead singer of The Hearts Of Stone group that recorded the song “It’s a lonesome road” and the album “Stop The World” at Motown under the production of Hank Cosby.
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W.B. said:
This comment about the Freeman Brothers – “But the drummer’s apparent lack of skill, or finesse, means they end up misinterpreting the mood of the song; their dramatic, direct attack doesn’t really match up to the paddling-pool shallow “song” that follows on, a meandering, almost gentle kind of number, though (perhaps in competition with the drums) the lead singer bellows and screams his lines as if he too was cutting a much hotter joint. He’s appealingly, throatily raw in places, but this isn’t really a cutting-loose kind of record and he quickly loses control, leading to just about the weakest lead vocal performance of any Motown R&B group for about two years. The effect is to turn the whole thing into a dismal, almost wilfully stupid stomper, highlighting the lack of lyrics; nothing to say and nowhere to go” – seems to encapsulate their entire style. I have their last single – a 1970 effort on the Sprout label (associated with Zell Sanders’ J&S label) called “Sally Go’s Up the Ladder” b/w “Life of Love” – and though I am fond of the record, it does seem a bit weak and hackneyed, especially “Life of Love,” whose string section was way on the cheap on top of everything.
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Robb Klein said:
I have heard a few others of their cuts (Bell Records and another). ALL of their songs wander all over the place, with little structure, and their singing seems uninspired. It’s a wonder to me that they got ANY records pressed up, when one thinks of all the great talent that got recordings made onto tape, acetates, and demo records, but never even had vinyl DJ copies pressed.
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John G. Mitchell said:
Thanks for comments on My Baby. My name is John G. Mitchell and yes I was with back up singers for the Isley Brothers back in the twist and shout days. I also wrote “My Baby.” Concerning that song and Beautiful Brown Eyes… the recording at that time was a “rush job” – yes, I too wish it had been better performed and better arranged. We only had one shot at it with no rehearsal. During the recording: I sang “My Baby” and at that time I was far from being considered a singer. The company was in a hurry at that time to get the record out – we had no practice as alot of the more seasoned or popular groups of that time. We had just come from Pensacola FL after hopping a ride off a train to make the gig. We were told to go in right away with what we had. Beautiful Brown eyes as you stated sung by Joe McCoy. I was playing the sax on that side of the record. The comments above do have a few inaccuracies. We all were tired sleepy etc after the trip from FL. No further chances came after that recording. And no residuals , no further credits other than being listed on the label. I never sang with the Majestics – that was another John. Not me. After the above flop we moved down to the village in NY and recorded the Album and changed out name to The Purpose. I don’t remember the label it was on. I just wanted to clear up a few things about that. But thanks folks for listening .
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The Nixon Administration said:
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your information! It’s always good to get the facts , and to hear the other side of the story. Everyone being knackered is certainly understandable!
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Richard free said:
John G Mitchell please note your record my baby has been appreciated by the soul community in England for many years . It has a certain charm about it .I often still give it a spin and have introduced many people to the tune over the years . Thank you for the music
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motownfan1962 said:
There’s a certain odd charm about the vocals here for me. The harmony vocals are never exactly in tune (though they come close enough for show choir).
As for the song as the whole, I couldn’t stop myself from tapping my toes. It’s got almost a garage rock feel. It also kinda reminds me of Bill Deal and the Rhondels’ “I’ve Been Hurt”. Also, the guitar part in the intro seems very reminiscent of early Motown (“I’m Giving You Your Freedom” in particular comes to mind).
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motownfan1962 said:
Actually, the more I think about it, it’s “Your Heart Belongs to Me” that the guitar part reminds me of.
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