They Go A Long Way Back: Booker T., Bloodstone, One Way On Tap From Purpose Music Vaults

The Vaults are open again! And by The Vaults, I mean Purpose Music Vaults, the soul/R&B-focused label that launched late last year with a dynamic duo of reissues from Bobby Womack and Ronnie Dyson. Our initial report also covered the label’s reissue of Dan Hartman’s Relight My Fire, but delays kept the disco classic from arriving as scheduled. Well, the good news is that Relight My Fire has finally been released to finer retailers everywhere! The better news is that Purpose has announced a second slate of releases set for May 21. And the best news? Two of these titles can be YOURS TO WIN, two months before their street date!

Leading the Purpose pack is a release from Detroit’s One Way. Formed in 1979 from the ashes of The Soul Partners, the members of One Way featuring Al Hudson proved themselves adept at both funky danceable numbers and romantic ballads. All told, One Way scored five Top 10 R&B hits in the 1980s, and Purpose is celebrating the group’s legacy with a reissue of the self-titled One Way Featuring Al Hudson. The original 1979 album’s six tracks (all clocking in over six minutes in length) have been augmented by four bonus tracks. These include “Tonight” (previously unreleased in the U.S.) and single remixes of “You Can Do It,” “Music,” and “Now That I’ve Found You.” All tracks have been remastered from the original tapes with the exception of the single remixes of “Music” and “Now That I’ve Found You” which have been sourced from vinyl. (Big kudos to the team at Purpose for being up-front about this!)

Stax legend Booker T. Jones joins One Way with his long out-of-print 1981 album for A&M Records, I Want You. Following a side trip to Epic Records for 1974’s Evergreen, the songwriter/keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist/producer returned to his A&M home. I Want You followed Try and Love Again (1978) and The Best of You (1980), and featured Booker T. on vocals, guitar, clavinet and piano. He wrote or co-wrote seven of the album’s eight tracks with collaborators such as Leon Ware and Michael Stokes, with the eighth song coming from the great Sam Dees. Purpose’s reissue has been remastered from the original tapes, and includes two bonus tracks: a nearly eight-minute extended version of “Don’t Stop Your Love,” and the single edit of “I Want You.”

After the jump: you might be on a natural high with Purpose’s third upcoming reissue! Plus, we’ve got information on how you can be a winner!

Kansas City’s Bloodstone is probably best remembered for the lush Top 10 pop hit “Natural High” from 1973. “Natural High” just showed off one facet of the group’s talent, though. Funk, rock and soul frequently sat alongside doo-wop and gospel influences; in fact, Bloodstone got its start as doo-woppers The Sinceres. Following a somewhat fallow period, Bloodstone earned a comeback in 1982 with We Go a Long Way Back, soon to be reissued by Purpose. The title song went Top 5 R&B, and “Go On and Cry” hit the Top 20. The album’s third single, “My Love Grows Stronger,” made a respectable showing at No. 44. Purpose’s reissue, remastered from the original tapes, includes three bonus tracks: “My Love Grows Stronger (Part 2),” the extended 12-inch mix of “We Go a Long Way Back,” and the 7-inch single edit of “Go On and Cry.”

These three R&B gems will be in stores on May 21, but we’d like three lucky readers to hear Booker T.’s I Want You and One Way Featuring Al Hudson NOW! Just head over to Contest Central for all of the details on how to enter the contest which runs from Wednesday, April 3 to Wednesday, April 10. And don’t forget to peruse the track listings for all three titles, below! Only We Go a Long Way Back currently has an Amazon link, but we'll add more links as they become available!

Bloodstone, We Go a Long Way Back (T-Neck LP FZ 38115, 1982 – reissued Purpose Music Vaults, 2013)