Would ’60s-’70s Milwaukee powerhouse R&B combo Vic Pitts & The Cheaters have hit national pay dirt with their nearly forgotten album that at last sees issue as The Lost Tapes? It’s tempting to think they might. Based on the stylistic breadth displayed here, one can hear a versatile act comfortable with the flux African American popular music experienced at the time. The Cheaters’ brass drew obvious inspiration from James Brown’s J.B.’s, though they sound as good running parallel tracks to Chicago Transit Authority’s variation of jazz rock. Vocal harmonies caress remakes of a Sam Cooke song of liberation and a Neil Young murder ballad. Hints of Hispanic rhythm and arrangements draw connections between Herb Alpert, Santana and War.
Listeners with the band’s collectible 45s in their collection will appreciate a freshly unearthed instrumental version of their original demi-hit “Loose Boodie.” Alas, The Cheaters’ iteration of Ike & Tina Turner’s “River Deep, Mountain High” remains unreleased. Even with that exclusion, The Lost Tapes delights with artifacts from an era where black pop valued the sort of diversity indulged in here. They probably could have been huge!
