This Time Make It Sweet

The Moments: With You
from Moments With You (Stang 1976) and The Best of the Moments (Rhino Records 1996)

Ray, Goodman & Brown: Inside Of You
from Ray, Goodman & Brown (Polydor 1979) and 20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection - The Best of Ray,Goodman, and Brown


Two different names but essentially the same group. The change of names didn't mean that there would be a change in style as the sound of The Moments were essentially the same sound as their latter namesake although in Ray, Goodman & Brown a more playful 50's doo-wop style tended to pervade their songs.

The first joint, "With You" is classic 70's soul. From the heavy waltz time bass-line accented by the airy, resonant keyboards, the strings quietly creeping in on the second verse and the engaging bridge with that mock laugh and its crescendo into the chorus, the song will sound vaguely familiar and yet wholly unique. When compared to modern day slow jams this song lacks sophistication and brazen sexuality but more than makes up for it in innocence and a gushing sincerity that borders on naivete. When Harry Ray sings "loving you is easier than breathing" he lifts the lyric (in other less capable hands it would just be a lyrical platitude) and makes it sublime soul. The songs simplicity is actually its greatest strength, because its effectiveness lies in its ability to quickly capture the listener and tug at their heartstrings. A quick note about this recording that I offer, for some reason it sounds awful on QT player, so if you use that to play your mp3's I suggest that you switch to another player for this song.

The next cut "Inside of you" is from their Ray, Goodman & Brown days. Leaving the Stang label, they used their own names for their group, their former label owned the rights to The Moments name, and infused their music with a little more polished harmony and yet still retained that Moments sound. Probably better known for their song "Special Lady" which reached #1 and #5 on the R&B and Pop charts respectively, Inside Of You (a double entendre of a title if ever I've heard one) is for me a more memorable song. While the playful harmonies aren't as pronounced as Special Lady, but belive me there's no mistaking that they're still there, this I think is it's strength as it allows for the lead vocals to shine more. Harry Ray again takes the lead and carries the song capably. and when the falsetto kicks into high gear, you know it's over. This song and the aforementioned Special Lady are probably best known for their intros, where they fine tune their harmonies, and for their codas where the music fades and all your left with is their acapellas. You would think that over 20 years later Ray, Goodman & Brown would be a footnote in the canon of soul music but surprisingly (or maybe not so with how divergent R&B has become) they're still around and still relevant. Despite the death of vocalist Harry Ray, they still put out albums and have even done backing vocals for Alicia Keys.