4. Millie Jackson: Caught Up (1974): Touched By The Voice

"Ooh, baby… come to me and I'll show you what mama/papa can do... Oh yeah..." Or then "Move your body, sweat with me. Huh! Shake your booty to the beat"... You might argue that much of soul music is quite instrumental - and not as in non-vocal but as in being a means to achieve an end - and therefore, it might not suit every mood or situation. Why lean back on your couch when you feel the beat? What happens if you, say, are driving your car through nasty weather and suddenly Millie Jackson's voice begins its plea for love? And while these outbursts of emotion may be quite intense, they rarely carry the length of an album.

In my opinion, these questions are beside the point. What matters in music is, at the end of the day, the feeling it contains and conveys - and almost nowhere is that feeling as tangible as in Millie Jackson's voice, a dark alto approaching the force of nature, making my spine tingle with every listen. Especially when it's carried on the superb arrangements on her best records. Which are quite intense, but still manage to spellbind for the length of a good half an hour at a time.

"Caught Up" is perhaps the pinnacle of her recording career. Her previous records are great as well (and I might come back to them later), but this record is more than a collection of great sogs - it is actually a story as well. The story of the other woman, the third wheel - not uncommon in soul music, and seldom executed as well as here.

The opening "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right" is a stunning three-piece suite with her trademark rap in the middle, totalling up a bit beyond the ten-minute mark but still working all the way through. The album is filled with great performances - "All I Want Is A Fighting Chance" and "It's All Over Bar The Shouting" up the tempo a bit, and make the most out of the horn-string interplay that, layered over a good beat, is the essence of soul, whereas the last track, "Summer (The First Time)" is a tender tale of coming of age in the physical sense - and growing up to realities later in life. Somehow, perhaps because of the narrative, or because she has the habit of rapping in between, these songs and this album sound very personal and have an eerie sense of presence.

And if you like this album, the previous ones are treats as well. The dramatic "Child Of God" from her eponymous debut may be one of the vocal interpretations of all time, while "I Cry" and "Hypocrisy" from her second album are prime examples of the social conscience of soul music, dressed in that irresistible early 70's sound that for instance can be found on many Stax albums (Millie wasn't a Stax artist, though). I'm not that familiar with her later stuff, but I would buy any album of hers released up to, say, 1982 without a second thought - touched by the voice.

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