LEON HAYWOOD-COME AND GET YOURSELF SOME.

dereksmusicblog ♦ December 3, 2011 ♦ Leave a comment

LEON HAYWOOD-COME AND GET YOURSELF SOME.

Back in 2000 when I was listening to a BBE Records compilation Strange Games and Funky Things III, compiled by Kenny Dope, I first heard what’s probably Leon Haywood’s best known track, I Wanna Do Something Freaky To You. It’s one of these compelling and catchy tracks that once you’ve heard it, you can’t get it out of your head. Play it to anyone and they too, will be smitten by its hooks and infectiousness. After I’d heard that track, I tried to get a copy of Come and Get Yourself Some, the album I Want’a Do Something Freaky To You was taken from. However, back then, the album wasn’t available and Leon’s music was quite hard to come by. Fast forward to earlier this year, and I noticed that at last, Come and Get Yourself Some had been rereleased by the Get On Down label. This allowed me to at last, hear Come and Get Yourself Some, the album that spawned the wonderful I Wanna Do Something Freaky To You.

By the time Leon Haywood released Come and Get Yourself Some in 1975, he’d been a singer, songwriter, arranger and producer since the early sixties, releasing four previous albums. He was an talented keyboard player who first learned to play piano aged three, back in Houston, Texas where he’d born in 1942. When he was a teenager, he’d been a talented blues player, first playing with local bands, then with the blues legend Guitar Slim. Having moved to Los Angeles in the early sixties, he first played with saxophonist Big Jay McNeely, who helped him record his debut single WIthout A Love, an instrumental on the Swingin’ label. Leon’s next big break came when he landed the role as keyboard player in Sam Cooke’s band, a role he kept until Sam Cooke’s tragic death. Following the death of Sam Cooke, Leon signed to Fantasy Records, where he recorded two singles, and a subsequent two singles for Imperial Records, including She’s With Her Other Love, which reached number thirteen in the US R&B Charts in 1965 and number ninety-two in the US Billboard 100. The following year, 1966, Leon recorded his debut album, Soul Cargo on the Fat Fish label. It didn’t achieve any commercial success, but the following year 1968, would see Leon release another successful single.

It’s Got To Be Mellow was released as a single in 1967 on Decca Records. It reached  number twenty-one in the US R&B Charts and sixty-three in the US Billboard 100. 1968 was a good year for Leon. Not only did he release his second album It’s Got To Be Mellow, but his single Mellow Moonlight reached number thirty-five in the US R&B Charts and ninety-two in the US Billboard 100. The next few years were a fallow period for Leon as a solo artist, until he decided to change his musical style. 

Having spotted the success of funk and disco, he decided to incorporate these musical genres into his music. A trio of albums were released on the 20th Century label, Back To Stay in 1973, Keep It In the Family in 1974 and then the most successful of the trio, Come and Get Yourself Some. On Come and Get Yourself Some, Leon was joined by a talented group of musicians, including Ray Parker Jr, Wilton Felder and Larry Nash. With Gene Page helping with some of the arrangements, including the strings, some horns and rhythm section, all bode well for the release of what was his fifth album. However, it wasn’t the album Come and Get Yourself Some that provided Leon with the biggest hit of his career, but one of the three singles released from the album.

The first single released from Come and Get Yourself Some was the title track, Come and Get Yourself Some. It reached number nineteen in the US R&B Charts and number eighty-three in the US Billboard 100. That was just a mere warm-up, before the main event, the second single I Want’a Do Something Freaky To You. When it was released it surpassed everything Leon had previously released, reaching number seven in the US R&B Charts and number fifteen in the US Billboard 100. Buoyed by this success, another singles was released. However it didn’t match the success of its predecessor, with Just Your Fool only reaching number twenty-six in the US R&B Charts and number 102 in the US Billboard 100. Having achieved the biggest single of his career so far, and a highly regarded album in Come and Get Yourself Some, Leon changed label for his next album Intimate.

Intimate was released in 1976, and featured another successful US R&B single for Leon. This was Strokin’ (Pt. II), which reached number thirteen in the US R&B Charts and number 101 in the US Billboard 100. Having changed labels again for his next album, Leon released two albums for MCA, Double My Pleasure in 1978 and Energy in 1979. The next album Leon released was Naturally on 20th Century, and it featured his biggest US R&B single, Don’t Push It, Don’t Force in which reached number two in the US R&B Charts, and forty-nine in the US Billboard 100. After, Naturally, Leon only released two further albums. It’s Me Again, is a highly regarded boogie album on the Casablanca label and his final album Freaky Man on his own Evejim Records label, which Leon named after his parents. So in a career of nearly forty years, Leon Haywood released just eleven albums. However, quality is more important than quantity, and the best album he ever released was Come and Get Yourself Some, which I’ll now tell you about.

Come and Get Yourself Some opens with the title track, Come and Get Yourself Some. It’s a intriguing and funky combination of instruments that opens the track, with a funky drenched rhythm section and guitars accompanied by a flute. This gives way to Leon’s vocal, after which the lushest of strings enter. His voice grows stronger as the infectious arrangement sweeps along, with strings dominating the sound, while rasping horns punctuate the arrangement. Later, steel drums played Vince Charles join the mix, but they slightly clash with the rest of the arrangement, and don’t sit comfortably. Thankfully, they quickly drop out, replaced by bursts of horns, but briefly return, before the track ends. Apart from the jarring sound of the steel drums, this is a great sounding track, lifted by the addition of strings and horns, accompanying pleading, passionate vocal.

A lovely wailing, rasping saxophone opens This Feeling Rated Extra, which straight away, sounds a much better, smoother sounding track. Leon’s sensuous voice is enveloped by slow, lush strings, gently rasping horns, chiming guitars and a slow, rhythm section. They accompany Leon’s desperate, pleas as he longs for the love of a very special woman he’s fallen for. A combination of sultry saxophone solos, shimmering guitars and the sweetest, lushest string provide the perfect accompaniment for one of Leon’s best vocals on the album. Not only that, but it’s one of the best tracks on the album, a sultry, sensuous and beautiful track.

Probably the best know track on the album is I Want’a Do Something Freaky To You, a track that was sampled by Dr Dre on two of his singles, Nuthin’ But A G Thang and The Wash. Dr Dre wasn’t the only artist to sample the track. Redman sampled the track on Rockfella, from his Dare Iz A Darkside album, and Maria Carey on You Had Your Chance, a track from her Charmbracelet album. The track is an epic, lasting nearly six minutes, opening slowly with the rhythm section, wah-wah guitars and horns accompanied by a myriad of faux erotic moans and groans. After a prolonged introduction, a slow, somewhat dramatic vocal from Leon enters, accompanied by grand, drama laden, sweeping strings which dominate the arrangement. Blazing horns, soaring, screaming rocky guitars and the rhythm section are accompanied by further, constant moans and groans. As the song progresses, it develops a melodramatic, overblown sound that works wonderfully. Layer upon layer of music builds and builds, with the strings and horns key to the track’s success. Add to that Leon’s dramatic and punchy vocal, some comedic, faux erotica and the result is a marvelously, overblown nearly grandiose track that sounds great.

As Who You Been Giving It Up To opens it has a fantastically funky sound, with the rhythm section, guitars, piano and blazing horns responsible for this. The accompany Leon’s angry vocal as he ask who has his partner been cheating with? His vocal soars, howling and wailing, accompanied by braying horns and a punchy, funky, rhythm section and guitars. However, just as you’re really getting into the swing of this catchy slice of funk, it’s all over, ending far too soon. It’s just a pity the track wasn’t longer, allowing the track to develop and turn it into something even better.

Sometimes, it only takes a few bars of a song to realize that a great track is about to reveal itself. This is the case with You Need A Friend A Like Mine, which features one of the best arrangements on the album. A driving rhythm section, piano and blazing horns accompany gospel influenced backing vocalists, before Leon’s powerful vocal enters. As he sings, the gospel tinged hues of the backing vocalists cut in, their voices soaring brilliantly, accompanied by horns and a Hammond organ. Chiming guitars, and a dramatic stabs of piano help to make this an outstanding track, one that swings majestically along, its beautiful sound uplifting and hook laden.

By now the album seems to just get better, with another great track following You Need A Friend A Like Mine. Consider the Source has a slow, jazzy sound, with a gentle, tinkling piano, shivering, shimmering strings and swooning, soulful backing vocalists accompanying Leon’s heartfelt vocal. He pleads with his partner not to listen to the people that want to split them up, asking her to consider the source of this whispering campaign. Rasping horns add an emotive, sad sound to the arrangement, combining perfectly with the piano and strings, to provide the perfect backdrop for Leon’s desperate pleas, on this gorgeous, jazzy track.

When Just Your Fool opens, it’s a emotional, passionate vocal from Leon that opens the track. He’s accompanied by a dramatic combination of wailing, Hammond organ, blazing horns, piano and searing guitars. Shimmering strings enter, as a track that has a Southern Soul sound unfolds. This influence becomes more prominent when backing vocalists and braying horns accompany Leon’s emotive, passionate vocal, helping give the track a Hi Records sound. There’s a real Willie Mitchell sound to the arrangement and production on the track. The reason for this could be that James Mitchell who helped Gene Page and Leon arrange the horns, was Willie Mitchell’s brother, and arranged many tracks on Hi Records, including the horns. His influence throughout the album, helped give the horns that “Hi sound,” which works beautifully here, and really helps turn this track into a sumptuous slice of Southern Soul.

I Know What Love Is opens with Leon’s half-spoken vocal, set against a slow, subtle arrangement which has a lovely smooth sound. Rasping horns, lush strings, chiming guitars and the rhythm section provide the backdrop for Leon to sing about the love really is. For Leon it’s something more spiritual and deeper than one night stands and bed-hopping, something more intimate and beautiful. As the track progresses the rhythm section, strings and horns combine with Leon’s passionate vocal to add drama and emotion to the arrangement, as the arrangement develops a louder, fuller sound that matches Leon’s passion. When the track ends, it reaches a dramatic, emotive and passionate ending, with the vocal and arrangement combining beautifully, resulting in another wonderful track from Leon Haywood.

Come and Get Yourself Some closes with Believe Half of What You See (and None of What You Hear), another slower track that sees rasping horns play an important part in the arrangement. Straight away, the track reminds me of The Staple Singers I’ll Take You There, especially when the backing vocalists enter. It’s a combination of keyboards, chiming guitars and rhythm section that accompany the horns and Leon’s vocal. Backing vocalists accompany Leon, playing an important part in the track, along with the keyboards and horns. Together, the help produce a catchy, hooky track, but one that is very similar to I’ll Take You There, which was one of The Staple Singers’ greatest ever tracks. Regardless of this similarity, it’s still a good track, with hooks aplenty and a catchy sound.

Although I Want’a Do Something Freaky To You is the best known track on Come and Get Yourself Some, it’s far from the best track. There are at least five better tracks on the album. Yes the album has an great arrangement, and sounds great, but Leon Haywood recorded far better tracks on Come and Get Yourself Some. Maybe the reason it was such a popular and well known track is the faux erotic and risque nature of the sound. Of the other eight tracks, You Need A Friend A Like Mine, Consider the Source, and Just Your Fool are some of the best tracks on the album. On Just Your Fool, James Mitchell helps give the track a lovely Southern Soul sound, producing something that his brother Willie Mitchell would’ve been proud of had it been recorded at Hi. Throughout the album, the horn arrangements are stunning, really lifting the tracks and helping give them not just an emotive sound, but a soulfulness. Similarly, the strings on the album are beautiful, and are used to perfectly portray a variety of emotions. Add to this some hugely talented musicians, and personnel like Gene Page who arranged strings and horns and Willie Mitchell who arranged the horns, and the result is a great album. Leon Haywood not only wrote or cowrote six songs on the album, but arranged and produced it too, demonstrating not just his talent, but his versatility too. This versatility extended to the music on the album, which features a combination of jazz, funk and soul music, sung with emotion and passion by the hugely talented Leon Haywood. Standout Tracks: This Feeling Rated Extra, You Need A Friend A Like Mine, Consider the Source, and Just Your Fool. 

LEON HAYWOOD-COME AND GET YOURSELF SOME.