Over his forty years of recording, Glenn Jones has rarely been included in the short list of important Soul vocalists. That’s a shame, because there are few peers from the 1980s that consistently made material shine in the way that Jones did. While that may be attributable to a perceived lack of distinctiveness and consistency in the material he’s covered during that decade, he and his catalog of material have generally been underrated
By the mid-90s came and Jones stopped recording, and became more of a touring artist. Then a funny thing happened. In 1998, as part of a minor resurgence of “old school” singers, Barry White, Peabo Bryson, Regina Belle, James Ingram and a number of other solo artists released new material. Though forgotten by many, at that time Jones quietly released the album It’s Time. It was a surprise gem and was perhaps the best of the bunch. With a nice mix of solid upbeat material (such as the great cut “24/7”) and ballads, Jones sounded more confident and distinctive than ever. But it was the bluesy, soulful ballad “Baby Come Home” from that album that was a seminal career moment for Jones – perhaps his finest Soul vocal performance ever – and that demonstrated, after fifteen years of solo recordings, that Glenn Jones had developed into one of the world’s great R&B vocalists.
“Baby Come Home” is now out of print, but it is a song worth (re)discovering. It is a SoulTracks Lost Gem. Check it out below.
