WILLIAM DEVAUGHN Vinyl & CDs

Review: William DeVaughn hears two cuts from his classic D.C. album Be Thankful For What You Got reissued for the first time on 12" since 1974. A rare ode to gratefulness in a world of material gratuitousness, but two lines from the title track of the original eight-track opus resound, and capture the sentiment perfectly: "you may not own a car at all... but remember, brothers and sisters, you can still stand tall!" As sampled by N.W.A, De La Soul, Outkast, Ludacris, Big Tymers, Rihanna, Hip Club Groove and L'Imperatrice, the A-sider is a historical record; its strength lies in its affecting singularity of theme and moral sway, and, on the instrumental side of things, we can say the same of its tight playing and serene sound. Backed by the cream of Philadelphia session groups MFSB (Norman Harris, Vince Montana, John Davis), DeVaughn wax continues to wax poetic over themes of inheritance, love, and compersion; a great foundation laid for the gangster rap that would follow from it.

Review: William Devaughn's most famous song has been covered umpteen times over the years, in all kinds of styles, but sometimes nothing can beat the original. 'Be Thankful For What You Got' is just one of those universal messages, delivered in such smooth, engaging insistency you feel it from the first time you hear it. Now Demon Singles Club are pressing it up as a single backed with the equally excellent but perhaps less well-known 'Blood Is Thicker Than Water'. The 1974 track tracks the same groove as its A-side counterpart and offers up a different lyrical message on top - something you'd normally associate with reggae, but when the backing track is this perfect it translates very nicely over to soul too.