One of Englishman
Ian Levine
's first American
soul
discoveries, Chicagoan
L.J. Johnson
was among the said producer's earliest acts promoted on the British
Northern soul
scene. His sensual, soulful falsetto tones and natural phrasing carried the chugging stomper
"Your Magic Put a Spell on Me"
to much success there, resulting in an appearance on the famed
Top of the Pops
.
Levine
and partner
Danny Ray Leake
's busy arrangement is replete with an insistent string section, a charging backbeat, and fanatical horns which all add up to a quite upbeat listening experience, but occasionally intrude on
Johnson
's territory. The more restrained follow-up,
"Dancing on the Edge of a Dream,"
allows the singer to shine more, while displaying his tenor range in full voice. In addition to these singles,
My Destination Is Love
includes all of the tracks from
's 1979
AVI
LP
L.J.'s Love Suite
, as well as three "lost" tracks that were previously only available on a scarce vinyl-issue series from England in the late '80s. Many of the selections are disco-fied
R&B
numbers, such as
"24 Hours a Day,"
earlier recorded by fellow
protegee
Barbara Pennington
, and the fulfilling title track. But there are also several charming throwbacks to
Motown
's heyday in
"Floating"
and
"Daydreams Can Come True,"
's seductive coo makes the
ballads
"Staring in Space"
"Things Will Work Out in the End"
nothing but sheer
quiet storm
heaven. The end result is considerably further ranging than what would be similar compilations on other
-driven acts of the time such as
Tyrone Ashley
Doris Jones
. The difference lies in both
's captivating delivery and also the production and arrangement input of
Leake
, whose style is less clothes-pinned than
's primary subsequent collaborator,
Fiachra Trench
. The only shortcoming of this collection is the editing of four tracks off of the
Love Suite
LP -- time-wise, there's ample room for the full recordings. But that weakness will remain until a superior
collection comes along. ~ Justin M. Kantor