Prince Phillip Mitchell - Top Of The Line

Of all the Prince Phillips who have been around during my lifetime, Prince Phillip Mitchell is my favourite. He really should be better known.

He wrote a couple of biggies: Starting All Over Again for Mel & Tim (one of my favourite Stax tunes), It Hurts So Good for Millie Jackson (see also Skinhead Reggae classic of my childhood years, Hurt So Good by Susan Cadogan, bearing the sticky ganja fingerprints of Lee Scratch Perry), mixed in all the right circles (Hi Records, Muscle Shoals), has produced people like Archie Bell & the Drells and has a decent set of vocal chords, with a stylistic nod towards Marvin Gaye at times.

I picked this US promo up a few years back when I was buying lots and lots of soul, more than I could ever do justice to by playing, really. It’s remained largely unplayed. However, this morning, old mate Phil's luck changed and he was the winner of a record shelf lucky dip.

The cover is a proper soul treat. The front cover is a photograph taken on a verandah against a dusk sky background and has Phil in the foreground, clad in fur coat with popped collar over cream two button box jacket with popped collar, over-accessorised - I would argue - with THREE necklaces, and a pair of Deirdre Barlow glasses with clear frames with white trim – oof!

Behind him are five be-suited men, one of whom is holding the lead of a Great Dane (dead now!). The men are all wearing sunglasses, despite the failing light, to show, I think, that they mean business and don’t need clear night vision to carry that business out.

The rear of the sleeve shows Phil with the dog alongside him. Phil looks happy, so maybe all the blokes on the front cover were engaged in the business of returning his missing dog, or were an elite dog-walking squad with no fear of trip-hazards.

Anyway, as Phil is now shown in full-length, we can see revealed that his cream box jacket is matched with a pair of light brown (matching the jacket’s buttons, which is a nice touch) slacks (perhaps even Farahs), and cream semi-pointed shoes. Class.

Anyway, it’s a classy album. The real killer cut, if you like, is I’m So Happy, a super slice of danceable modern soul and the reason I bought the album. But there’s quality throughout this album: recorded at Muscle Shoals, and featuring The Jones Girls, whose swooping backing vocals pervade and elevate the album.

The final track, Let's Get Wet, contains both sex noises and an open drum break of epic proportions.

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