Freda Payne – Out Of Payne Comes Love

The early seventies before the anti-singer movement over the airwaves set in, radio programmers foolishly rendered it not “cool” to have a great singing voice, (if one tried calling in requests coldly told “not on our playlist”) Freda Payne scored blockbuster hits such as “Band Of Gold” plus moving & passionate anthem “Bring The Boys Home”, should be released again but in these musically sterile times this anthem probably wouldn’t have a chance, radio programmers strangely no longer program a singer with a great voice, sounds outrageous but sadly for artists tragically for the audience true, listen to the ever more bland airwaves today and realize total ignorance created the dismal soulless music scene we have today, everything controlled for commercial monetary reasons artistry having left the musical landscape decades ago and nobody ever stepped in to do anything about it. By the mid-seventies Freda Payne had developed into a very accomplished singer who could sing anything she set her sights on, this phenomenal collection is a tour-de-force masterful collection of magnificent vocal performances making “Out Of Payne Comes Love” one of the all-time greatest. Freda Payne goes deep inside each and every varied diverse song, each tailor-made for her rangy voice and passionate way of emoting, superb arrangements by greats like legendary Jimmie Haskell are sublime, perfectly frame brilliant vocals full of color and variety by a singer who has amazing skill. In the mid-seventies ABC Records didn’t seem to have a clue how to promote this legendary singer, Freda made an exit to Capitol Records immediately after this awesome release, scoring chart hits with dance-style classy songs given grandiose orchestrations, but the fine singing in this collection cannot be topped and remain the finest in her still going strong career. Freda starts off with Paul Williams’s “Look What I Found”, amazing this soulful gem didn’t top the charts, so infectious is this stunner making the lucky listener want to hear it over and over, legendary Ashford & Simpson provide “I Hear Rumors” with Freda taking this hypnotic gem to the max making one long for a complete set by Freda of songs written, produced and arranged by Ashford & Simpson, this would be a SOLID classic! Another songbook for Freda to consider would be a Stevie Wonder Songbook, especially after listening to the definitive “Seems So Long” Any music lover would agree, a totally brilliant cool jazzy performance as Freda turns this classic song inside out, going to the heights then depths giving a stunning vocal performance filled with pathos and intense emotion that is breathtaking to experience.
Amazing this lost masterpiece still has not been released in its original form on compact disc, edited release “Lost In Love” minus “Seems So Long” plus the brilliant five minute plus epic “Million Dollar Horse”, a great finale to a tremendous vocal collection, sadly they don’t make them like this anymore so hopefully this classic will be released in it glorious original form, truly a must-have for all fans of great singers to savor and enjoy.