(October 20, 2024) A song like “I Never Had it So Good” takes me back to when I first got introduced to soul music and why I love it so. The instrumentation is classic. The arrangement is lush while also being soulful. The lyrics are unabashedly romantic, and the three voices heard performing on this track are distinct while also seamlessly merging one into the other.
The song is a remake and reimaging of a gospel song by the Rev. Elijah Baker, Sr. His son, bassist and former member of the band Tony Toni Tone, transformed the song into a ballad styled after the great slow jams made in the early and mid 1970s by groups like The Stylistics and Blue Magic. The younger Baker, who co-produced his dad’s gospel version, developed and created the concept while serving time for a white color crime.
The contributions of the song’s three vocalists are what elevate “I Never Had it So Good.” The ballad begins with the angelic falsetto of Otis Cooper, who is one half of the duo Shug & Otis. Adrian Marcel fuses his sweet tenor with contemporary R&B swagger and lyricism on the second verse and former Temptation member Mario Corbino’s gritty and assertive vocals brings it home on the third verse.
This is the kind of song that will take you back to those basement house parties where they dimmed the lights when they played a slow cut like this one. Check it out here.
By Howard Dukes