 El Mills The self-recorded, self-released, self-distributed records by local lounge singers in the 60s & 70s had many purposes in mind at the time: to promote the artist for more wedding bookings, to one-up other local lounge acts whose music was not yet preserved in vinyl, and to one day provide many mixed feelings for those involved ("Honey, put Granpa's record away – he's not the cheeriest grandpa today, you know"). One can only wonder where El Mills operated out of (I purchased the record in rural Tennessee, but no geographical information is provided on the sleeve), if he's still alive today (probably … hopefully), and if so, if he has had such awkward exchanges with his own decendants. The music on El Mills is not awkward, but it would be infinitely more interesting if it were, as the biggest reaction you can expect to have is a slight shrug of the shoulders. El's version of "It's Not Unusual" might catch your attention at first, but only because it's "It's Not Unusual." "Forget Him" is pretty good, in a Del-Shannon-working-his-way-back-from-a-stroke sort of way. The constant piano/piano bass/drums arrangement blurs one song to the next, and you'll find yourself only slightly more entertained by the liner notes, only noteworthy because, bafflingly, they repeatedly refer to El's "stocky" figure more than once. You know that once the author of the liner notes (credit not given … perhaps El himself) has to pen lines like "he could double as the bouncer," he has little to work with. For El Mills enthusiasts only.
Review by Quinzio |