by Bruce Eder
Clarence Carter's first major-hit album remains a must-own record, holding up extraordinarily well across four decades. Carter's singing possesses an immediacy and emotional impact that is as striking today as it was in 1970, and displays a vast range as well. The title track is the best-known song here, though &It's All in Your Mind& was also a hit later in the year, and &I Can't Leave Your Love Alone& and &Your Love Lifted Me& could easily have joined it and topped the pop charts as well. Carter even provides a bracing authentic gospel approach to the then-new Beatles song &Let It Be,& taking the song back to the roots whence Paul McCartney drew his inspiration. He also assumes a more pop-oriented persona on &Till I Can't Take It Anymore,& on which Carter starts to sound a bit like Elvis Presley, while on &It's All in Your Mind& he seems to invoke the ghost of Sam Cooke. On his own &C.C. Blues,& Carter's bluesiest persona emerges, his crunchy guitar playing off beautifully against a soaring horn section and Clayton Ivey's piano, and he returns to a soul sound for the finale, the soaring &Getting the Bills (But No Merchandise).&