Margie Joseph Makes a New Impression

This is Margie Joseph's most successful and aesthetically pleasing album. It was written and produced by Fred Briggs (a.k.a. Coldwater Stone) and Daryl Carter and is a mixture of Stax and city slick R&B sounds; "Punish Me," "Sweeter Tomorrow," and "Temptation's About to Take Your Love" are prime examples. A remake lifts this LP above the average mark; Briggs and Carter transform the Supremes' "Stop! In the Name of Love" into an awesome deep soul classic. Beginning with a monologue titled "Women Talk," Joseph talks to her soon-to-be-gone man about his carousing before preceding into a lengthy Isaac Hayes-type arrangement that composers Holland, Dozier & Holland probably never envisioned. Margie's version is compelling and gripping. This album's #67 chart position suggests it must have caught on with quite a few record buyers.