Valerie Simpson – Valerie Simpson

An historical document. This woman is a genius. She plays the piano on par with Aretha , she's an amazing writer/arranger..etc. With all that said this album cover besides her music , had me in love with her at the age of 17 , right there at the time it came out , my senior year in H.S.

**** recommended. The second of two solo albums Simpson recorded under her own name in the last years of Motown's time in Mo'town, enjoyable set with a nice balance of cohesiveness and variety, Simpson's vocals recalling Riperton at times, hints of Staples at other points, the set featuring the guitar licks of Keith Loving Illidge, Nat Adderley, Jr. on electric piano, Valerie herself on acoustic piano, the album written and produced by Ashford-Simpson, bridging their years as a songwriting team and their years as a duet. If there are any hints of slack on the first side, they pull that out on the flip side, the single "Silly Wasn't I" worth the price of admission. Ashford and Simpson might not have been the greatest Motown songwriting team but considering folks such as H-D-H, Smokey and Whitfield were some of the best songwriters this planet ever saw...Simpson wasn't on par with Aretha but who was...this album might not be as good as some soul albums from the early 70s but considering early 70s soul created some of the great albums of all time... While this was understandably mostly lost in the shadow of Marvin Gaye's What's Going On and other Motown recordings from this era, fans of early 70s' soul and fans of female soul singers should give this one a spin.

The pictures of the cover here published don't fit with the US country version. In US there's no TamlaMotown - only Tamla.
I own the US-LP, and there's NO LOGO on the front, and TAMLA on the back in the lower right corner

Valerie Simpson's second Tamla release was a triumphant follow-up to her "Exposed" LP. All singles written by her and husband Nickolas Asford. Every track on the album is a classic and noteworthy. The lead single off the album, "Silly Wasn't I", was Val's first solo chart at #24 on the R&B charts. According to Motown logs, an album by Ashford and Simpson entitled "Nick and Val" was recorded but was unreleased. After this release, Valerie recorded with her husband as a duo.
Side A:
1.) Fix It Alright (****) A lovely intro to the album, a song about brotherhood and helping each other out with problem. Good song.
2.) Benji (*****) One of my personal favorites on the album, Val and Nick's harmony on this song is simply beautiful.
3.) Drink the Wine (***) An average track. Very sassy.
4.) One More Baby Child Born (***) A song about the joys and trials and tribulations of raising a child. Nice song.
5.) Keep It Coming (*****) Another favorite of mine, which should have been a follow up to Silly Wasn't I. A positive song with a catchy melody.
Side B:
6.) I Believe I'm Gonna Take This Ride (*****) A groovy song with a finger snapping groove that's jazzy and sophisticated. Another nice harmony between husband and wife.
7.) Could Have Been A Little Bit Sweeter (****) A pretty nice filler that is as sweet as candy.
8.) Silly Wasn't I (*****) The stand out song on the LP the song alone is worth the LP
9.)Genius I(****) An acoustic version that gets better on part 2.
10.) Genius II (*****) Grooving conclusion of part 1. Very hot that could have been a single as well.
Highly recommend this album for any record collector Valerie Simpson's solo work is higher underrated and should have higher recognition with a recent compilation of her (and if possible hers and Nick Motown unreleased album) work. (****)

This entire LP is worth your time and money just for the cut "Silly Wasn't I" alone! Easily one of my top favorite soul cuts that just embodies the best elements of the style. The greatest charm about this cut in my opinion is Valerie's delivery. Her style is not too over the top yet so sincere and natural with every lyric that it just can't help but send chills. Her voice complimented with just amazing chord progressions and harmonies throughout can't help but make this song perfect. For the beat diggers... 9th Wonder & Murs - Silly Girl and 50 Cent - Best Friend (Remix) as produced by Hi-Tek.