The best of
Jesse Belvin's early soul sides, dating between 1952 and 1958 (though principally done between 1952 and 1955) and originally released by Art Rupe's Specialty label and related imprints such as Recorded In Hollywood, including the Jesse & Marvin sides ("Dream Girl," and etc.). Even at this early date,
Belvin was a master balladeer, able to gently coax the sultriest and most sensual meaning from any song, but he was also a master blues singer, as is evident from the 1952 B-side "My Love Comes Tumbling Down." The 24 tracks on this CD includes ten previously unreleased tracks, among them an outtake of Jesse & Marvin's "Dream Girl," and a group of
Belvin demos, among them the beautiful, moody "Jesse's Blues" from early 1952. A large portion of the songs here were written by
Belvin, although the latest tracks on the disc, dating from 1956 and 1958, are collaborations (none previously released) between
Belvin and his wife Jo Ann, who was also responsible for forcing her husband to take a professional approach to the business side of songwriting. They're all well crafted, very romantic and sensual soul -- "Let's Try Romance" and "Love of My Life" (the latter from late 1958) both bridge the gap to some degree between
Belvin's early- and mid-1950s R&B sound and his move into a more romantic pop vein with his signing to RCA in 1958; "Come Back," by contrast, is a solid rock & roll number, complete with a very prominent guitar and drums, and with one more take to tighten up the playing might have become a classic of the genre. ~ Bruce Eder