Chicago-based
soul singer
Garland Green scored his first and biggest hit in 1969 with
"Jealous Kind of Fella," and it set the tone for his future recording career --
Green always seemed to be best served with a dramatic midtempo tune that gave him a chance to show off his strong, pleading voice and implore his woman to give him another chance. Unfortunately, not many of those songs connected on the charts, even though some of them were very good and featured production from the likes of
Donny Hathaway,
Syl Johnson, and
Arif Mardin.
The Very Best of Garland Green is the first career-inclusive anthology of
Green's recordings, featuring material he cut for six different labels between 1969 and 1983, and if this doesn't quite make a case for him as one of the great lost artists of
soul, it does make it clear that
Green was more than just another journeyman
R&B vocalist. The early tracks on this set are in the polished but emotionally powerful tradition of classic
Chicago soul, while the later cuts show off a slicker 1970s feel; the specter of
disco rears its head on
"Don't Let Love Walk Out on Us" and
"You Make Me Feel So Good," and
"Nothing Can Take You from Me" puts
Green into a more
bluesy setting.
Green was enough of a pro that he ably rose to the occasion no matter what material was presented to him, and there are a few lost near-classics here, especially
"Plain and Simple Girl" and
"He Didn't Know (He Just Kept on Talking)," the latter written by
Jerry "Swamp Dogg" Williams and
Gary "U.S." Bonds.
Garland Green is better known in the U.K. among hardcore
soul fans than in the United States, and it's a shame, as
The Very Best of Garland Green demonstrates that he was a powerful talent, even if he wasn't a frequent visitor to the
Billboard charts. ~ Mark Deming
![Greatest Hits [Legacy]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0074646577929_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Greatest Hits [Legacy]")
