8th Day - 1971 - 8th day

8th Day

1971 

8th day

01. She's Not Just Another Woman 3:13

02. You've Got To Crawl Before You Walk 2:55

03. Too Many Cooks (Spoil The Soup) 2:40

04. La-De-Dah 2:50

05. Enny-Meeny-Miny-Mo (Three's A Crowd) 2:20

06. Just As Long 7:29

07. I Can't Fool Myself 3:26

08. I'm Worried 8:26

09. I've Come To Save You 2:54

Melvin Davis - vocals

Antonio "Tony" Newton - bass

Lyman Woodard - Organ, Keyboards

Larry Hutchison - Guitar

Ron Bykowski -

Michael Anthony - guitar

Bruce Nazarian - guitar, vocals

Jerry Paul - percussion

Lynn Harter -

Carole Stallings - violin

Anita Sherman - vibraphone

I love nearly all of the recordings that came out on the Invictus label in the 1970s. The label was founded by the ex-Motown writing team of Holland-Dozier-Holland and the quality of the material they wrote and produced on Invictus was just as good, in my mind, as the classic stuff they did for Motown. And the group that eventually became The 8th Day, was one of the strongest acts on that new labeL.

If you've heard any of the fabulous Invictus compilation CDs you are no doubt familiar with popular songs by the 8th Day such as "She's Not Just Another Woman" and "You've Got to Crawl (Before You Walk)". But there are many more soul gems to be found on these two discs. This wasn't just pop-soul for the Top 40 masses, but an interesting blend of melodic tunes, some funkier numbers, and songs with a slight psychedelic sheen to them. One track, the 8-minute "I'm Worried" was, in the words of the liner notes, an "agonizingly soulful" piece, one that stands out from the rest of the pack. No, this music wasn't as quite as daring as the Funkadelic records from the same period, and perhaps not quite on par with what the Temptations were doing, but there are elements of both acts to be found in the 8th Day's music, making this collection one that is well worth hearing.