Donald Byrd & 125th Street, N.Y.C. – “Love Has Come Around”

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Each week I rip a song from vinyl and post it up here. This week’s song is “Love Has Come Around” by Donald Byrd and 125th Street, N.Y.C. I’ve been consumed by twitter lately, and when I saw the hook posted by @paserock I decided this would be a good song to follow last week’s post.

125th Street in N.Y.C. is considered the “Main Street” of Harlem, but in this case, it’s Byrd’s band with Ronnie Garnett (bass), William Duckett (electric guitar), Albert “Chip” Crawford Jr. (piano, keys, & clavinet), Myra Walker (acoustic piano), Eric Hines (drum kit), and Issac Hayes (piano, keys, vibraphone, percussion, & synthesizer). “Love Has Come Around” appeared on Love Byrd, the first Elektra album from Byrd after moving on from Blue Note. Issac Hayes produced the William Duckett written track, as well as played synthesizer and acoustic piano on it. His Hot Buttered Soul Unlimited quartet provided background vocals for the song too. The recording posted here is the 12” version from the “Journey Into Paradise: The Larry Levan Story” LP.

The fanfare guitar and piano intro with Byrd’s trumpet stabs leading into that memorable “Love Has Come Around” hook is hard to deny. The middle of the song is filled with soulful tension-building vocal accents, synth & bass slaps preceding a return to the original melody with a new variation on the lyrics, “I wish I could find a way, to be with you right now.”

via Mike Cruz, 22 March 2009 6:56am | 3 |