Margie Joseph - Sweet Surrender (1974)

After a three year hiatus Margie Joseph surfaced on Atlantic Records smoother and more homogenized than she was at Stax. Her vocal style is similar to ex-labelmate Carla Thomas' without the nasal sound. "Come Lay Some Lovin' on Me" is a sweet soul strutter song in Joseph's most enticing voice. What man could resist her request? Remakes of Wings' "My Love," and Breads' "Baby I'm-A-Want You" are stunners. Joseph never oversings, or become hysterical. "Sweet Surrender" rivals the starkness of her Stax sides vocally but the trappings are fancier. The songs are good, but as with Stax, the promotion for Margie's product wasn't the best. Quality songs like "(Strange) I Still Love You," written by Jerry Butler, Norman Harris, and Mikki Farrow had flava but Atlantic failed to deliver. © Andrew Hamilton