Genre: soul
Rating: *** (3 stars)
Title:  The Horse
Company: Phil-L.A. of Soul
Catalog: PH-LPS 4001
Year: 1968
Country/State: Grove Hill, Alabama
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: --
Available: 2
Catalog ID: 6132
Price: $40.00

Born in Grove Hill, Alabama (he was raised in Mobile), Cliff Nobles didn't start his musical career until he was a teenager, becoming active in his school choir. Over the next couple of years Nobles performed in a series of local vocals groups, including The Delroys. In 1967 he moved to Philadelphia, scraping by with a series of 9-to-5 jobs, before signing a recording contract with the small Philliy-based J-V label. 


A 1965 single 'My Love Is Getting Stronger b/w 'Too Fond of You' (J-V catalog number 1034); vanished without a trace, but was subsequently picked up and reissued by Atlantic as 'My Love Is Getting Stronger b/w 'Too Fond of You' (J-V catalog number 45-2352). Both are highly sought after collectables that will set you back a pretty penny. He recorded at least one more single for Atlantic and a second J-V single though I'm not sure where the J-V release fits in his discography:

- 'Is It the Way' b/w 'Is It the Way (instrumental)' (J-V catalog number 109 A/B)
- 1967's 'Your Love Is All I Need' b/w 'Everybody Is Weak For Somebody' (Atlantic catalog number 45-2380)


Hooking up with drummer Tommy Soul, guitarist Bobby Tucker, and bassist Benny Williams, in 1968 as Cliff Nobles & Co. the quartet began rehearsing and recording a series of demo tapes. Their efforts caught the attention of producer Jimmy Rogers who arranged for an audition and subsequent contract with the small Moon Shot label. The partnership resulted in the release of an other obscure 45 ('Little Claudie' b/w 'Pony the Horse' (Moon Shot catalog number MS 6710). 


Having heard Cliff perform at a local church, producer Jesse James took an interest in the group. In addition to penning some material for the band, he also arranged an audition and contract with the Jamie-affiliated Phil-L.A. of Soul label. Recording as Cliff Nobles & Co., the group's debut single 'The More I Do For You Baby' b/w 'This Love Will Last' (Phil-L.A. of Soul catalog number 310) vanished without a trace. Their follow-up "Love Is All Right" b/w "The Horse" (Phil-L.A. of Soul catalog number 313) seemed destined to follow in it's tracks, until a Florida DJ began playing the instrumental flip slide. With the single suddenly gathering national momentum, Cliff and band were rushed into the studio where they recorded a supporting album - 1968's cleverly titled "The Horse". With producer James responsible for the majority of material, musically the album sought to replicate his earlier success, tracks such as 'The Camel', 'The Mule' and 'Boogaloo Down Broadway' offering up a collection of similarly sounding instrumentals. While you could understand the marketing pressures behind the album, from a musical standpoint it was was an unfortunate decision since Nobles had a decent voice that was well suited to up tempo soul numbers such as 'Judge Baby I'm Back' and 'Let's Have A Good Time''. As it was, the album proved a minor chart hit, peaking at # 159.

- 'The Horse' was the hit (# 2 pop and R&B) and Nobles' claim to fame. As mentioned above, it was originally a 'B' side that started getting radio play and ended up becoming the 'A' side. Great track with Bobby Tucker providing a fantastic scratchy guitar pattern (would love to see the chords), while the punchy horns were provided by a precursor to Philadelphia International's MFSB. The track was basically just the instrumental version of the vocal track 'I Need Love'. Nobles didn't even play on the song and when the group went out in support of the hit, he was relegated to dancing during the performance. For anyone interested, YouTube has a hysterical television performance of the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmQ6FBbLdBI rating: ***** stars
- 'The Camel' was a transparent effort to capitalize on the earlier hit. The horn arrangement on this one was actually even better than the one found on 'The Horse'. This one was tapped as a follow-on 45. rating: *** stars
- 'Judge Baby, I'm Back' was clearly intended to capitalize on Shorty Long's 'Here Comes the Judge'. Unlike most 'response' songs, this one was actually quite good showcasing a ton of soul !!! Love the nods to popular dance crazes. If nothing else, it served to demonstrate Nobles fantastic voice. rating: **** stars
- Nobles cover of 'Boogaloo Down Broadway' was pretty forgettable. Stick with The Fantastic Johnny's C if you want to hear the classic version. rating: *** stars
- Record companies have never been shy about returning to the creative well so if you scored with instrumentals with animal names like 'The Horse' and 'The Camel'. why not try 'The Mule'? Showcasing Tucker's classic soul guitar sound, this one was actually better than 'The Camel', though it didn't come close to the title track. Nifty baritone sax ... rating: *** stars
- Side one's standout performance, 'Let's Have A Good Time' was a perfect summer song - great melody with another first rate vocal from Nobles. Phil-L.A. of Soul missed the boat not tapping this one as a single. rating: ***** stars
- At least in my book 'The More I Do For You Baby' was Nobles standout performance. A great tearjerker with a melody that plowed into your head and wouldn't leave, this one's always reminded me a bit of the late Jackie Wilson. Easy to see why this one was tapped as a single. rating: ***** stars
- The instrumental cover of the Barbara Mason his 'Yes I'm Ready' was the album's first outright slice of filler. Totally forgettable. rating: * star
- 'Burning Desire' was interesting for it's Stax feel (the multi-tracked performance sounded like something Sam and Dave might have recorded). Another standout performance and should have proved to all that Nobles had some excellent vocal chops. rating: **** stars
- 'Dry Your Eyes' was a bluesy instrumental with a nice sax performance. Professional, but not particularly memorable. rating: ** stars
- Kicked along by some Hammond B3 and a punchy horn arrangement, the instrumental 'Heartaches, I Can't Take Heartaches' wasn't bad. Certainly more memorable than the previous side two instrumentals, but again nothing to write home about. rating: *** stars
- 'I Need Love' should have been the hit ... A fantastic slice of old school soul, this was 'The Horse' with a great dance lyric. How in the world did this one miss out being a massive hit? A soul classic by any stretch of the imagination .... rating: ***** stars

Three further singles were pulled off the LP:

- 1968's 'Judge Baby, I'm Back' b/w 'The More I Do For You Baby' (Phil-L.A. of Soul catalog number 318)
- 1969's 'Burning Desire' b/w 'Switch It On' (Phil-L.A. of Soul catalog number 324)
- 1969's 'The Camel' b/w 'Gettin' Away' (Phil-L.A. of Soul catalog number 329)

Technically you can't really consider this a great soul LP, but then technically it really isn't even a Cliff Nobles LP since he didn't perform on most of the tracks. Still, it's quite funky in a mid-1960s kind of way and well worth checking out ...

"The Horse" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) The Horse (instrumental) (Jesse James) - 2:45
2.) The Camel (instrumental) (Jesse James) - 2:28
3.) Judge Baby, I'm Back (Jesse James) - 2:42
4.) Boogaloo Down Broadway (instrumental) (Jesse James) - 2:28
5.) The Mule (instrumental) (Jesse James) - 2:25
6.) Let's Have A Good Time (Jesse James) - 2:24

(side 2)
1.) The More I Do For You Baby (Jesse James) - 3:04 
2.) Yes I'm Ready (instrumental) (Barbara Mason) - 2:55
3.) Burning Desire (Jesse James) - 2:47
4.) Dry Your Eyes (instrumental) (Payton - Coates) - 2:44
5.) Heartaches, I Can't Take Heartaches (instrumental) (Jesse James) - 2:58
6.) Love Is All Right (instrumental) (Jesse James) - 2:44