Arthur Adams:

It's Private Tonight: (1972)

I suppose the biggest reason to dig thrift store record shopping is the 25-50 cent record bin, ok, sometimes a dollar. But, that's the price point where I usually take a chance on an album I'm not sure about. Which is precisely how I got turned on to Arthur Adams. This record is a nice slice of 70's R&B/Smooth Blues. Ok, I'll admit, it was the cover that hooked and reeled me and made me take it home. Just from that picture you can tell this is an honest guy who, most likely, isn't going to disappoint. And he doesn't. What does he sound like? Well, like a less smooth Z.Z. Hill, and the music is like a less aggressive Bill Withers. I also have to note that the rhythm section, credited as "The Funky Thumbs", consisting of Phil Upchurch on guitar, Wilton Felder on bass, Joe Sample (I'm sure you know him)on keys, and Paul Humphrey on drums couldn't be tighter or funkier on tracks like Go-On And Do That. However, for my money the key track here is I Gotta Help My People. But then I'm a sucker for social/political lyrics with a slow funky groove and amazing guitar work. In his career Adams made a living in the late 60's and 70's as a session musician contributing to recordings by Quincy Jones, The Jackson 5, Henry Mancini, Lou Rawls, Sonny Bono, and Willie Hutch. So somewhere along the way you've already heard him. Long story short, if you come across this record, you should probably pick it up.