Third Guitar

The Third Guitar was really Snoopy Dean's idea and it is his guitar and vocals you can hear on the first and last of the three 45s that were issued under this name. By far the best track from Snoopy is the ballad Been So Long which is based on the chord changes to the Impressions "I've Been Trying" and features some great background harmonies to make the Chicago tie-in even more obvious.

The other - the most sought after Third Guitar release - features as guest singer the gruff and emotive tones of that excellent Miami vocalist Eddie Holloway. The side that the funk fans go mad for is "Baby Don't Cry" which is heavy staccato JB funk with some good horn lines. Holloway - who wrote the song - had recorded it before as the lead singer of the short lived Soul Pleasers group. And - typically - I prefer that version which sounds more like Brother James' "Maybe The Last Time". The flip of the Living Legend 45 is a first class cut of "I Found A Love" on which Eddie really cuts the mustard.

But anyway the Rojac side that really ought to have a higher profile is the brilliant deep flip Don't Take Your Love From Me. This is based on Otis' "I've Been Loving You Too Long" of course but Eddie makes it sound fresh and new not only by his super vocal touches but also by the terrific rap at the end mentioning all your favourite soul singers and their hits as the horns ratchet up the heat and he screams his way out.

All these tracks were cut in Miami and I guess they found their way from to Jack Taylor in New York via the same route that Clarence Reid's Tay-Ster tracks did around the same time. Watch out for more info on Eddie Holloway and Snoopy Dean soon.

 

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