With Cherry Red Records' release of Gonna Make You an Offer: The Complete Cube Recordings 1972-1975, the label is turning the spotlight on the soul man behind the 1973 hit "Gonna Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse."

The Florida-born musician-vocalist released his earliest records on labels including Sue subsidiary Symbol and Oracle Records.  At Oracle in 1969-1970, he recorded songs by R.B. Greaves, Dorsey Burnette and Jimmy Webb, and worked with producers including Joe Renzetti.   Through the small Boston-based Oracle label, Helms had a brief association with Capitol before decamping to the United Kingdom with the help of acquaintance Les Reed.  The co-writer of "Delilah," "The Last Waltz" and "(There's) A Kind of Hush" took an interest in Helms' career, and paired the singer with John Worth.  Under the pseudonym of Les Vandyke, Worth had penned a string of hits for Adam Faith including a pair of U.K. Number Ones.  Worth nabbed Helms a contract with Essex Music and its chief David Platz's Cube label.

Inspired by the likes of producer-songwriter Thom Bell and The Stylistics, Worth and arranger Mike Moran surrounded Helms' multi-octave voice in a lush, dramatic, orchestral soul setting rich with strings and horns.  Helms hit paydirt when his second Cube single, the Worth-penned, Godfather-inspired "Gonna Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse," went Top 10 in the United Kingdom.  Though "Offer" would prove to be Helms' only charting release, Cube continued to release singles on Helms.  Typically a Worth A-side would be backed with a Helms-written B-side; a couple of tracks came from the songbooks of other writers including Jerry Ragovoy and the late Bert Berns ("I'll Take Good Care of You," introduced by Garnet Mimms) and Jimmy Webb (the affecting "When Can Brown Begin," sublimely recorded by The Supremes and Scott Walker, among others).  Helms also began working with producer Wilf Pine.

In 1975, Helms' sole Cube LP, Gonna Make You an Offer, was released, blending prior single releases with new songs including originals and renditions of Stevie Wonder's "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer," Bread's "It Don't Matter to Me" and Geoff Stephens, Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway's Drifters hit "Like Sister and Brother."

Cherry Red's anthology features every one of Helms' singles as well as the full album release.  Two previously unreleased bonus tracks have been culled from the Cube archives: "Come On Down" and a cover of Johnny Rivers and Lou Adler's hit "Poor Side of Town" (oddly credited in the booklet to Biddu Appiah).   Jimmy Helms remained active in music, going on to record another solo album for Pye with Wilf Pine, appearing on projects with artists as diverse as Roger Glover and Dave Clark, and forming the dance-pop group Londonbeat in the late 1980s.

Simon Murphy has remastered Gonna Make You An Offer, and Andy Davis has provided the copious new liner notes featuring quotes from Jimmy Helms and John Worth.  On the evidence of such tracks as the title song and the tender, sensitive reading of "Where Can Brown Begin," Jimmy Helms should earn quite a few new fans with this collection.  You can peruse the track listing of this sweet seventies soul feast and order below!

Jimmy Helms, Gonna Make You An Offer...: The Complete Cube Recordings 1972-1975 (Cherry Red CDMRED 667, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

1. So Long Love
2. Dream Merchant
3. Gonna Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse
4. Words and Music
5. Jack Horner's Holiday
6. What'll I Do with My Mind
7. I'll Take Good Care of You
8. Fly Away
9. When Can Brown Begin
10. There'll Be Another Night
11. Brother Sunshine
12. It Don't Matter to Me
13. Could It Be Love
14. And I Don't Wanna Lose You
15. Live My Life
16. Like Sister and Brother
17. Pretty Faces
18. Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer
19. Lady Blue
20. Poor Side of Town
21. Come On Down

Tracks 1-2 from Cube single BUG 21, 1972
Tracks 3-4 from Cube single BUG 27, 1973
Tracks 5-6 from Cube single BUG 30, 1973
Tracks 7-8 from Cube single BUG 33, 1973
Tracks 9-10 from Cube single BUG 36, 1974
Tracks 11-18 from Gonna Make You An Offer, Cube LP HiFLY 23, 1975
Track 19 from international pressings of "Make You an Offer...," reissued on Cube single 98, 1983
Tracks 20-21 previously unreleased