The Young Disciples
emerged from the chaos and misery of 1960s East St. Louis. They were not a band, but rather a youth group formed by producer and community organizer
Allen Merry
, who gathered troubled kids from the South End Community Center and brought them into his studio, forming them into a variety of solo and duo acts, horn sections, dance ensembles, and other groups. This volume in the
Eccentric Soul
series celebrates the recorded output of
Merry
's communitarian project. The quality is inconsistent, heaven knows, and that's not surprising -- what is surprising is how many of these performances are very good. The program opens on a mixed note, with
LaVel Moore
singing
"The World Is Changing"
in a consistently flat voice over a rich and elaborate soul arrangement, complete with strings. Things start to improve with the
Young Disciples Co.
on
"Crumbs from the Table,"
a sharp and spare funk workout that nevertheless goes on just a bit too long. Elsewhere the pleasures are less mixed: the
DeDe Turner Happening
's
"Anyone or Anything"
is delightfully, unabashedly cheesy, the
Debonettes
'
"Choose Me"
is a pitch-perfect confection made up of equal parts sassy assertion and sweet longing, and the
Georgettes
"Hard Hard"
features a finger-snapping beat and lovely girl group harmonies. But even the weaker moments on this album combine with the strong ones to add up to an inspiring and enjoyable whole. ~ Rick Anderson