About Gmurray
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A few decades ago “Sunny” was a hot single. The cool tune has been a staple of radio consistently over the years, living in both oldies stations and Adult Contemporary/ Light Music stations. There have actually been compilation releases of versions of “Sunny” showing how the song has been interpreted by different artists over the years. But little has been mentioned about the man who originally placed the song on the charts, Bobby Hebb. Well, after decades of obscurity he’s back with a new release called That’s All I Wanna Know.
The disc opens with “Different Strokes” a Sly Johnson tune which lays down a very old fashioned feel that is so much like “Strokin’” by Clarence Clemmons that it could have been a sequel song. “Cold, Cold Night” shuffles along with a very Booker T. feel but it was written by Bobby and Phil Medley. Sunny” is again recorded, but this time as a duet and with a more complicated opening riff. Bobby Herb still nails the song but the question has to be asked, “ Why does Astrid North need to be on the song?” She does have a great voice but there isn’t much of a reason for her to be on the recording. They put a giant back beat on the ending to give it more punch.
“When Love Goes Wrong” starts with a very 1970’s feel (ala disco) but takes a more blues path. “Cold, Cold Heart” is a very old Hank Williams Sr. tune, one of the greatest country songs ever recorded. The arrangement is a bit unsettling going for a beat that really doesn’t fit the feel of the song. The title track “That’s all I Wanna Know” is another blues classic but the feel runs along the line of a classic Otis Redding reading. It is the more pure funk track of the ensemble. “Love, Love, Love,” is more of a pleading Burt Bacarach style, that joyous 1960-70 beat that ended the age of Aquarius. It pops with a very jumping up-tempo beat.
The entire experience of That’s All I Wanna Know is music that the older generation will enjoy. The feeling isn’t timeless as much as it is dated. It is not a bad recording but in many ways it reminded me of the recording In Dreams where there was a studio update of Roy Orbinson’s catalogue. It sounded nice but the original recordings were perfect. The same goes here. But, it is not a bad listen and has some great liner notes.
