" MYSTIC MERLIN'S " post Capitol recordings

[Afroboy]

Mystic Merlin released three fantastic Lp;s during the early 80's , mostly remembered for Mr Magician , there other songs are all very slick and funky .
NO throw away tunes on the two Lp's , I am lucky enough to own , and I imagine their self titled debut would be just as awesome !
Like Sun and many others from that golden era they weren't considered a success , So only three Lp's were released by Capitol .
Very little info exists on the net about this group , but I have heard that they continued recording right up until the early 90's ?. If what I heard is true (they formed in the mid 70's , backing other bands )then their catalogue would be twice the size .
Does any out there have any more info ?

[Forrrce]

The only guy to do well out of them was Freddie Jackson, though only when he left! I have seen a track or two on 'modern' soul-type comps. and haven't bothered to listen, due to a lot of those tunes sounding 4-track, basic and very cheap. That tinny '1 keyboard and a drum machine' sound has always been pretty big with 'real soul aficiondos' in the UK, but I for one find that sound deeply uninteresting - a pity because it detracts from some very talented vocalists.

A lot of the 'indie' soul/funk outfits of the era, who maybe had an album or two on a major label* seemed to re-emerge on tiny local labels with an even samller sound. Groups like Magnum Force and *Wynd Chymes come to mind.

[K-Bee]

This is what Ralph Tee writes about Mystic Merlin in his book "Who's Who In Soul". It's from 1991 so obviously it offers no information on may have been going on in the 90s.

"From New York Mystic merlin were Clyde Bullard (gui), Jerry Anderson (gui), Kieth Gonzales (voc) Sly Randolph (dr) and Barry Strutt (sax/keyb). They were originally a novelty act incorporating magic into their live shows before taken seriously on the soul/dance scene. in 1980 they signed with Capitol and delivered "Mystic Merlin". It featured the dance classic "Just Can't Give You Up", a UK top 20 single. After a 2nd album "Sixty Thrills A Minute" (1981) they added Freddie Jackson to the group, and he sang on their third album "Full Moon". It included "Mr. Magician", popular among UK soul/dance fans."

[SandraDee]

I love '60 Thrills a Minute'. I played it only yesterday while putting together my own 'compilation'; other tracks included 'Overnight Sensation' - Jerry Knight, 'Hooked On You' - Cerrone, 'Its Still a thrill' - Dynasty, 'Cant Shake Your Love' - Syreeta, 'Say You Do' - Janet Jackson, 'Burnin Love - Plush, & 'Starlette' - BB & Q Band. Just felt like sharing that with u guyz!

[K-Bee]

I like the tracklist for our compilation steely.....but i was just wondering - what made you put Janet Jackson in there?? :lol: Im not even familiar with the track in question but i guess it fits in there somehow :lol:

[SandraDee]

I put that in there because it fits in with the early 80's 'funky' disco mood. Its from her eponymously-titled '82 LP that was half-produced by Rene & Angela & half-produced by the Solar/Leon Sylvers team. It kicks IMO along with some other tracks off that LP & is better, I feel, than her later stuff with Jam & Lewis; but who am I to argue when her J & L stuff was so huge around the world. Anything that the Jackson family do is OK with me though, maybe with the exception of MJ's 'Bad'.

[K-Bee]

wow - I had no idea Syvers was involved in janets debut album. it's actually the one janet album I've never heard, but hey...if Sylvers there it must be worth something.

Thanks for sharing that info Steely :)

[SandraDee]

You must check this LP out K-bee; it's easily Janet's best LP IMO as I'm a huge fan of both the Solar/Sylvers sound & the Winbush/Moore sound.

[K-Bee]

The funny thing about this LP is that's it has always widely available form all sorts of 2nd hand record stores over here for almost no money at all.
However I've been stearing clear of it for all these years since I figured it would be hilariously bad (just like the "Dream Street" follow up was).

Guess it's time to check this one out :)