Esther Phillips - Black Eyed Blues/Capricorn Princess

Digitally remastered two-fer containing a pair of albums from the R&B vocalist. In 1971 Esther signed for Creed Taylor's CTIsubsidiary Kudu recording seven albums for the label over a five year period. BLACK EYED BLUES from 1973 was her third for the label and is an overlooked bluesy oriented gem. It featured some top drawer musicians and was arranged and conducted by Pee Wee Ellis, with string arrangements from Bob James. Esther's vocals are superb throughout the album, you can really feel the emotion in every note she sings. In 1976 Esther recorded her last album for the label CAPRICORN PRINCESS mainly arranged by David Matthews. Her version of Etta James 'All the Way Down' is a funky track with a dark side which was appropriate to both women as they struggled with Drug addiction throughout their careers. The ballads 'I Having Got Anything Better to Do' and 'Beautiful Friendship' reveal the bitter sweetness Soul of Esther's voice.