GLORIA JONES - Share My Love

Originally revered for the northern soul classic "Tainted Love" (before Soft Cell canonized it in 1981), Gloria Jones is also known as the backup singer and keyboardist in the latter half of T.Rex's career. When Bolan died in a car accident in 1977, she was the driver of the car. Share My Love was recorded in 1973, one year before she joined T.Rex. Aided by the great Motown arranger Paul Riser, Jones shows remarkable stylistic range, from the deep soul of "Try Love" and reggae of "Why Can't You Be Mine" to the proto-Philly sound of the title track and Mediterreanean flavour of "Oh Baby". Here, the then-Motown songwriter offers no musical hint of the stylistic shift she would take after joining Bolan both musically and matrimonially. At times, her singing mines a grittiness similar to that which also characterized Betty Davis' vocals, a sound she would largely abandon for her T.Rex years. Guaranteed to make many end-of-year soul reissue lists.