Category: Main Ingredient

The Main Ingredient – Shame On The World (1975)

posted by albums-update

The Main Ingredient is an American soul and R&B group best known for their 1972 hit song “Everybody Plays the Fool“.

The group was formed in Harlem, New York City in 1964 as a trio called the Poets, composed of lead singer Donald McPherson, Luther Simmons, Jr., and Panama-born Tony Silvester. They made their first recordings for Leiber & Stoller‘s Red Bird label, but soon changed their name to the Insiders and signed with RCA Records. In 1968, after a couple of singles, they changed their name once again, this time permanently, to The Main Ingredient. The name came from a Coke bottle.

Shame on the World heralded the end of the Main Ingredient‘s commercial heyday — the title cut proved their final chart hit of note as the group struggled to reconcile the confectionary harmony-soul approach of its previous records with the slicker, tighter sound dominating black radio in the mid-’70s. Wisely, the album sidesteps funk and disco formulas in favor of a sophisticated, mature sound that underscores the authority of their harmonies. Cuba Gooding and Luther Simmons assume producing and arranging duties (with some assistance from Rene Hall), and the end result is polished but never sterile. But the material is woefully inadequate, and even the most exquisite harmonies can’t bring to life clunkers like “Old Greyhound” and “Lillian.”

Tracklist

A1. Shame On The World – 4:17
A2. Put Your Love In My Hands – 2:50
A3. Let Me Prove My Love To You – 3:40
A4. Old Greyhound – 4:03

B1. Jamaica (Let Me Go Home) – 3:11
B2. Over You – 4:19
B3. Lillian – 3:54
B4. If I’m Gonna Be Sad – 4:00

Companies, etc.

Phonographic Copyright (p) – RCA Records
Copyright (c) – RCA Records

Credits

Arranged By – Cuba Gooding, Luther Simmons, Rene Hall
Art Direction – Acy Lehman
Artwork – Nick Aristovulos
Coordinator [A & R] – Marge Meoli
Photography By – Nick Sangiamo
Producer – Cuba Gooding, Luther Simmons
Recorded By, Mixed By – Don Holden, Mickey Crofford
Technician – Artie Torgersen

Notes
Released: 1975
Recorded: RCA’s Music Center Of The World, Hollywood, California
Genre: Funk / Soul
Length: 26:35

Label – RCA Victor Records

The Main Ingredient – The Main Ingredient L.T.D. (1970)

by Record Facts

In 1968, after a couple of singles, they changed their name once again, this time permanently, to The Main Ingredient. The name came from a Coke bottle.

L.T.D. featured lovely, soul-centric takes on both Glen Campbell (“By The Time I Get to Phoenix/Wichita Lineman” done Philly soul-style) and The Beatles (a funky, and oddly compelling, “Get Back”).

Meanwhile, although peppy group original “I Was Born to Lose” did not enjoy chart success like the aforementioned hit – which was the fourth single RCA released – as a signature tune for the group, it’s incandescent.

Tracklist

A1. Can’t Stand Your Love – 2:39
A2. You’ve Been My Inspiration – 2:53
A3. I Was Born To Lose – 2:15
A4. Magic Shoes – 2:49
A5. By The Time I Get To Phoenix / Wichita Lineman – 4:03

B1. Brotherly Love – 2:53
B2. The Girl I Left Behind – 3:06
B3. Life Won’t Be The Same (Without You) – 2:24
B4. Una Bella Melodia Braziliania – 3:56
B5. Get Back – 2:54

Companies, etc.

Phonographic Copyright (p) – RCA Records
Copyright (c) – RCA Records

Credits

A&r [Supervision] – Buzz Willis
Arranged By, Conductor – Bert De Coteaux (tracks: A1, A2, A4 to B5), Horace Ott (tracks: A3)
Producer – McPherson, Simmons, Silvester
Recorded By – Jim Crotty, Ray Hall