Billy Price
The Soul Collection
produced by H.B. Bennett and Billy Price
Green Dolphin, Pittsburgh

by Phil Harris.
Philophonic - In Pittsburgh, December 17, 1997.

These are by far the best recordings yet made by Billy Price. The Soul Collection is 16 cuts of obscure but still first-rate soul songs written by the likes of O.V. Wright, Eddie Hinton and Lamont Dozier, and rerecorded with the utmost care. This CD features some of the area's best musicians, such as drummer H.B. Bennett, guitarist Don Garvin and bassist Paul Thompson from the Billy Price band, keyboardist Max Leake, and a slew of horn players including Ralph Guzzi, Nick Dialoiso, Eric DeFade and Mark Snyder.

Price has never sounded, dare I say it, more soulful and passionate. He never really seemed comfortable with the Keystone Rhythm Band's move to be more commercial in the '80s, and the recordings from that era captured his distance from the whole star-making machinery.

On this CD, Price is back where he belongs, doing what he loves best: reinterpreting great soul songs and giving them new life. The Soul Collection features three songs by Otis Clay, whom Price describes as his "friend and mentor." Recorded in Chicago, "That's How It Is" features Clay himself and you can actually hear Billy Price beaming as he sings with his idol.

The Soul Collection is a true labor of love and that feeling comes through loud and clear.

The Internet Business Pages (Pittsburgh Home Page)
Copyright © 2000 The Internet Business Pages (webster@lonewolf.com)