Margie Joseph - Margie (2007)

In 1975, Margie Joseph enjoyed one of her greatest triumphs when she teamed up with Blue Magic for a spectacular remake of the Philadelphia soul ballad "What's Come Over Me." That hit, which Blue Magic originally recorded in 1974, was included on the group's third LP, 13 Blue Magic Lane, but it wasn't included on Joseph's own 1975 LP, Margie. Unfortunately for Joseph, the success of the "What's Come Over Me" remake did little to help this modest-selling album -- some R&B experts felt that Atlantic really blew it by not including that gem on Margie. But while Margie didn't do nearly as well as it should have, it's solid and pleasing. With Arif Mardin serving as producer/arranger, Joseph generally has strong material to work with -- and that includes a few Carole King tunes ("Believe in Humanity" and "After All This Time"), as well as Bill Withers' bluesy "The Same Love That Made Me Laugh." Equally respectable are two songs that Joseph co-wrote with Mardin: the funky "Sign of the Times" and the lush "Stay Still" (which has so much quiet storm appeal that it was an obvious choice when saxman Ronnie Laws recorded his Fever album in 1976). Although Margie falls short of perfect, it is one of the singer's more consistent Atlantic dates and deserved a lot more attention than it received.