Harvey Scales - Twistin'
If one wanted to mourn the death in 2019 of Milwaukee-reared soul singer/songwriter/bandleader Harvey Scales by listening to his records, it necessitated owning his often pricy, collectible albums and singles released on multiple labels over three decades as well a couple of compilations that were also long out of print. It was either that or rely on music sharing and discography websites.
Though a comprehensive, easily available anthology of work by Scales and his frequent accompanists, The Seven Sounds, has yet to be compiled, Twistin’ is a thorough overview of their earliest recordings. Those were made for Sauk City, Wis.’ Cuca Records in the mid-1960s, when Scales was for a while known as Twistin’ Harvey for his proficiency at the dance popularized by Chubby Checker’s biggest hit.
In those years before his run of nationally-released, 45s that bear the influence of James Brown's funkiness, Norman Whitfield's psychedelic productions at Motown and other trends, Scales’ style reflected the changes R&B was undergoing at the time. The six of Twistin’s 19 cuts first issued as singles compare favorably to The Impressions and the kind of Hispanic- Caribbean-influenced tracks Curtis Mayfield was creating for artists such as Manjor Lance. The greatest difference in the Sounds’ approach lies in their supplanting sweet orchestral strings for the brass that allow the band to morph into Midwestern counterparts to Jr. Walker Walker & The All-Stars.
The album’s remaining baker’s dozen tunes split the difference between the loping beats favored by the Carolina coasts’ beach music scene and the more strident beats that got England’s Northern soulies going. Twistin' provides a start at honoring the legacy of an underrated talent
