Dick Jensen is arguable the greatest music entertainer to hail from the Pacific paradise islands of Hawaii. Immersing himself on native Hawaiian sounds and the Pop, Soul, Country and Rock music he heard on radio, it wasn’t long before this Blue-Eyed Soul vocalist began to catch attention across the music world.
After spending the ‘60’s and early ‘70’s wowing crowds from Las Vegas to Mexico City and his native Hawaii, where he supported The Rolling Stones on their 1966 US tour (his exuberant dance moves were likened to James Brown and Jackie Wilson), and releasing a number of well received records on various labels Jensen found himself signed to the legendary Philadelphia International Records in 1972.
The following year, backed by the insatiable PIR house band MFSB, Jensen released this debut with the label to an initially muted response.
The breezy "Penny For Your Thoughts” opens the album and immediately informs the listener that this isn’t going to be a completely typical PIR platter as this track is a delicious slice of melodic Easy Listening Pop at it’s finest.
The classic PIR sound makes its first appearance on "I Don’t Want To Cry,” originally a hit for Chuck Jackson in 1961. Jensen’s version swoops and soars thanks to his passionate delivery. The real gem on this self-titled album however is "New York City’s A Lonely Town,” a wonderfully soulful ballad that Jensen really sinks his teeth into. 32nd Street found an audience in the UK where it was released as a single.
With a musical setting that would have made The Stylistics cry with glee, Jensen wraps his booming voice around the heart-breaking melody, turning the sweat of his performance into tears of loneliness.
Why Dick Jensen is so forgotten today is incomprehensible to me, because he certainly belongs to the "greats" of the genre. Only ten tracks' don't do justice to Jensen, but that probably has to do with the rights to his songs, that Big Break Records here only the ten songs of the original album published without any extras. I can only recommend the album to fans of this genre. Enjoy.(Frank)
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Please repost this so we can continue to honor Dick Jensen. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mega link works fine.
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