Billy Paul – 360 Degrees of Billy Paul

Well, I didn’t own this record until the exact moment I was getting ready to write up the next record, The Best of Philadelphia International Records.

While listening to that, and listening specifically to Billy Paul’s “Me and Mrs. Jones,” I suddenly tuned into how incredibly precise the arrangement for that song is – instruments are used sparingly, perfectly, sometimes only for a note or two and then backed out of the mix, coming back at some surprising moment later . . . or not. The absolute pinnacle of restraint.

And the song itself – well it came out just as I was really getting into music, and Top 40 radio in particular. 1972, so I was 12 years old, and a sophisticated song about cheating, from the point of view of the other man, was really not the ordinary topic of the day. And musically, too, it was unlike quite anything else that was happening on Top 40 at the time. It went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for several weeks around Christmas.

Just for reference, what were the other songs topping the chart in the year that I became a passionate music listener? The year had started with “”Brand New Key” and American Pie” at the top of the charts. Those were followed by: “Let’s Stay Together,” “Without You,” “Heart of Gold,” “A Horse with No Name,” “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” “Lean on Me,” “Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl)”, and “I Can See Clearly Now,” Yes, there were some less timeless songs in there, but, seriously, that’s a hell of a year to fall into when my little pop music brain was just forming.

Still, until I bought the PIA collection, I didn’t have any form of this song, or anything else by Billy Paul. I jumped onto a thread of local music friends and started gushing about the arrangement, and my local dealer (I mean that in only the best sense) said, “I got ‘360 Degrees of Billy Paul’ right here.” So, yeah, quick walk to the record store, quick walk back, now this is mine.

The album shows much more of Paul’s jazzy roots. It also has come incredibly strong Black power takes, including “Brown Baby” and “Am I Black Enough For You,” both Gamble/Huff compositions. It also has three surprising covers – Carole King’s “It’s Too Late,” which had been a big hit just the year before, and “Let’s Stay Together,” which had gone to #1 for Al Green earlier the same year. To my ears, the only song that doesn’t quite work is Paul’s cover of Elton John’s “Your Song.” If I’d never heard it before, I’d probably like it just fine, but knowing the original, this goes right up to the edge of a parody of a Vegas lounge act rendition. But on a ’70s album, a single clunker or misstep is pretty good.