Whatnauts - 1972 - On the Rocks

Whatnauts

1972

On the Rocks

01. You Forget Too Easy (3:29)

02. Heads Up (3:40)

03. Hurry Up And Wait (4:07)

04. I’m So Glad I Found You (3:15)

05. Only People Can Save The World (4:33)

06. Blue Fly Away (2:43)

07. Why Can’t People Be Colors Too? (4:55)

08. Ooh Baby Baby (3:17)

Billy Herndon

Garrett Jones

Gerard 'Chunky' Pinkney

Heavenly harmony soul! This is the 3rd album by this famous east coast vocal group and it’s completely impossible to find in the original. The record has a great mix of heavy soul tracks like “Only People Can Save The World” and “Why Can’t People Be Colors Too?” plus some great mellow ballads, like “You Forget Too Easy”, “Blues Fly Away”, and “I’m So Glad I Found You”. The full original cover has the band sitting on some rocks (real ones), superimposed in a champagne glass! And as with their other records, the production and a fair bit of the songwriting was handled by George Kerr, the master of the east coast harmony sound so the sound is amazingly soulful!

An American soul group from Baltimore Maryland founded in 1969, The Whatnauts had several hits that hit the US charts in the early 1970's and released a trio of fine soul albums. Their music has been sampled by numerous artists including Kanye West, a Tribe Called Quest and Busta Rhymes. Featured here is their classic 1972 album "On the Rocks,"

Those were glory days for the east coast soul scene, when indie labels such as Stang were firing on all cylinders and released some of the best music at the time. A sound not that distinguished as Philly or Detroit or Memphis perhaps, but by all means sweetened with loads of strings, sophisticated arrangements and some warm harmony vocals. A sound way too good to be ignored! So let us all give full credit to the great George Kerr who was also responsible among others for the fine sound of Skull Snaps and behind another Baltimorean harmony group, The Optimistics… Trying times as The Whatnauts sing.