A.C. Caldwell “Wail (Lonely Love)” (Rim Records) 1973
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A strange and compelling hybrid of styles, A.C. Caldwell’s “Wail” pits a gritty guitar-and-organ groove against a startlingly pretty string arrangement to create a unique slice of Brooklyn soul that sounds like it just crawled out of a studio in the deep south. When most New York R&B acts were trading in dance-floor-ready proto-disco or sweet group harmonies, the now all but forgotten Caldwell was following his own path.
