(August 12, 2020) For many soul and jazz music lovers, Frank McComb’s 2000 albumLove Stories was a revelation, and an auspicious introduction to the talented singer and songwriter. My most vivid memory was stopping in my tracks when I heard his one-take improvisation of “His Eye Is On The Sparrow” – now one of my all-time top 10 favorite performances.
The album created an immediate fanbase for McComb, which has continued for the two decades and many albums since. And now, he has announced the release of a project that gives a bit of a forensic background to his most famous album. It is called Love Stories: The 1996/1997 Demos, and he tells fans, “These are extremely raw recordings of the songs from my album ‘Love Stories’ as I was actually writing them. I recorded most of the songs on my own as I was first learning how to record my own music, and a few were recorded at A Touch of Jazz Recording Studio in Philadelphia, Pa. with the help of DJ Jazzy Jeff and engineer/producer Vidal Davis (“Butterflies” for Michael Jackson). Again, it’s raw material so please do not expect ‘perfection’ as this project is for the ‘Frank McComb music’ collector.”
We’re in a time right now when a lot of us are not only looking for comfort food, but we’re also looking for comfort music. And there is something comforting about spending time with this musical blueprint of one of the “go to” albums of our adult lives.
Check out below, and click through to purchase it from Frank.
By Chris Rizik