Roy C.

• Sex and Soul [Mercury, 1973] B+
• More Sex and More Soul [Mercury, 1977] B

Consumer Guide Reviews:

Sex and Soul [Mercury, 1973]
Roy Hammond is a driven artist--he cut this in his garage--and his compulsiveness comes out in the lyrics; despite convincing asides about racism and Vietnam, his title ought to be Infidelity and Suffering. The songs are raw and outspoken, and the suffering's in the voice even more than the words--he strains its paradoxically mellow limits sometimes, so seekers after the Perfect Note should seek elsewhere. But old Swamp Dogg fans will put aside their feminist reservations and learn how the other half lives. B+

More Sex and More Soul [Mercury, 1977]
Having turned soul artist just as the style was going out of fashion, he's now earned a following in Africa and the Caribbean, and more power to him. As you might have guessed from the title, this isn't up to the standard of Sex and Soul--strings, thinner material. But it's quirky and basic, with witty horn charts and a vocal attack that now seems pleasantly anachronistic. Killer cut: Roy shoots a friend who's in bed with Roy's wife and is inspired to the moral reflection that now he's "in a whole lot of trouble." B