Title: Do You Have the Time
Company: 20th Century Fox
Catalog: T-427
Year: 1972
Country/State: Los Angeles, California
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: --
By the time The Younghearts got around to releasing their third album the line-up had shrunk to a trio consisting of Charles Ingersoll, Ronald Preyer, and Bobby Solomon. Produced and arranged by Vernon Bullock (who also wrote, or co-wrote all ten tracks), 1972's "Do You Have the Time" was a mixed success. Musically it was far slicker than their earlier releases, with most of the collection wrapping the trio in heavy strings and orchestration. On a positive note, the group remained blessed with three talented lead singers, each bringing slightly different strengths to the album - Ingersoll having the most conventional soul voice, Preyer's falsetto shining on some of the lighter, pop-flavored material, while Solomon fell somewhere in the middle ground. Nothing on the set was earth shattering, but the overall results were pretty consistent and enjoyable.
- To be honest, given Preyer's extended, preachy opening monolog, the title track took awhile to kick into gear. Adding to the problem, the song morphed from preachy vamp, to equally irritating scat segment. Luckily, about two minutes into the performance the basic melody revealed itself. A breezy, slightly jazzy track which showcased the trio's smooth harmonies over an uplifting lyric, the end result wasn't half bad, but would have been even better with a bit of judicious editing. rating: *** stars
- 'Stop What You're Doing Girl' was a far more conventional slice of early-1970s group soul. The problem with this one was that it took awhile for the melody to kick in (to say nothing of the criminally overlook chorus being wasted). Add to that, slathering the song with an ocean of anonymous strings repeatedly threatened to drown the trio out. rating: ** stars
- A professional, but ponderous ballad that you forgot the minute if was over, 'I Said ... To Myself ' was the first true disappointment. rating: ** stars
- After all these years 'All the Love In the World' is still a mystery to me. With Preyer on lead, it literally didn't sound anything like the rest of the album - almost a straightforward pop song. This one actually sounded like something The 5th Dimension might gave recorded had Florence LaRue and Marilyn McCoo been replaced by a pair of guys. rating: *** stars
- With a nice, slow old school steamy groove, 'Wildfire' was my pick for one of the standout performances. rating: *** stars
- 'Don't Crush My World' started side two started with an upbeat, vaguely Gospel-flavored number. Nice call-and-response arrangement that generated quite a bit of energy. rating: **** stars
- Kicked along by a nifty harpsichord figure, 'I'm Still Gonna Need You' was probably the album's prettiest performance and served as a good example of the trio's solo and group harmony work. rating: **** stars
- 'Me and You' was a conventional and instantly forgettable ballad. Hard to figure out why it was tapped as a single. rating: ** stars
- There wasn't a great deal to 'Look What Your Love Has Done For Me' - basically the title track repeated time after time, but to my ears the track was interesting for it's pseudo-disco-ish feel. A full three or four years before disco hit the charts, Bullock gave this upbeat number the feel that would come to epitomize tons of disco-oriented material. rating: *** stars
- The album ended with an instrumental refrain of the title track. Well, since it featured the group scatting, I guess technically it wasn't an instrumental. Forgettable. rating: ** stars
The album was tapped for a couple of singles:
- 1973's 'I'm Still Gonna Need You' b/w 'Don't Crush My World' (20th Century Fox catalog number TC-2008)
- 1973's 'All the Love In the World' b/w 'Do You Have the Time' (20th Century Fox catalog number TC-2054)
- 1973's 'Me and You' b/w Stop What You're Doing Girl' (20th Century Fox catalog number TC-2080)
Not as good as the debut, but a nice mid-career collection that you can still find on the cheap.
"Do You Have the Time" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Do You Have the Time (Parts 1 and 2) (Vernon Bullock) - 6:20
2.) Stop What You're Doing Girl (Vernon Bullock - Charles Ingersoll - Bobby Solomon - Ronald Preyer) - 4:25
3.) I Said ... To Myself (Vernon Bullock - B. Warren) - 4:12
4.) All the Love In the World (Vernon Bullock - R. Robinson) - 2:30
5.) Wildfire (Vernon Bullock - Charles Ingersoll - Bobby Solomon - Ronald Preyer) - 3:00
(side 2)
1.) Don't Crush My World (Vernon Bullock - H. Pratt) - 3:47
2.) I'm Still Gonna Need You (Vernon Bullock - Charles Ingersoll - Bobby Solomon - Ronald Preyer) - 5:17
3.) Me and You (Vernon Bullock - H. Pratt) - 4:12
4.) Look What Your Love Has Done For Me (Vernon Bullock) - 3:17
5.) Do You Have the Time (S.K.A.T.T.) (Vernon Bullock) - 2:18
