Album Of The Day | Leroy Huston – Hutson

With Valentines Day round the corner we wanted to draw your attention to an album that could not be more perfect for this time of year. Of all his albums ‘Hutson’ subsequently known as ‘Hutson 1’ is widely considered as his greatest, and is in fact regarded by many people as one of the best soul albums of all time (myself included). The full production with string and horn sections make a perfect complement to the songs and his seductive voice. Every track on the album is worthy of note, but especially ‘Lucky Fellow’ and ‘All Because of You’ which rank amongst the best songs that he has written or recorded. Hutson 1 was his third solo album, he went on to record a further four albums for Curtom in the 70’s, before recording one for Elektra and fading into obscurity. Interest in Leroy’s work was rekindled in the ‘Rare Groove’ era in the late 80’s/early 90’s, when his albums began to get the full appreciation that they deserved. “I was truly honoured when I found out, ” he comments. “I greatly appreciated and liked the idea that there was longevity to my music. People in Britain were getting excited about records that were ten to twelve years old, so of course, it was very flattering.” Leroy was also known for his production work most notably the two superb Natural Four albums, Voices of East Harlem and Arnold Blair’s two step classic ‘Trying to get next to you’. And it is perhaps the production, arrangement and orchestrations of the songs on this album that make it still stand out as such a special record nearly thirty years after it was recorded. Includes bonus tracks.