Denise Keeble Unchains Her Thing

Not exactly a household name, Denise Keeble was one of numerous artists that Wardell Quezergue's team at Pelican Productions worked with at the beginning of the 1970s. I have written about this period before, when Quezergue was doing virtually all of his studio work at Malaco Studios in Jackson, MS, while the basic nuts and bolts of pre-production -songwriting, arranging, rehearsal, and the like - were still being done at Joe Broussard's home in New Orleans, which served as the office for Pelican Productions. Some of the resulting recordings, mainly by New Orleans artists, came out on Malaco's own Chimneyville label (King Floyd and the Barons, Ltd, for example), while others appeared on Stax (Jean Knight), Atlantic/Cotillion (Irma Thomas and Johnny Adams), and a number of small, less prestigious imprints, such as Crestown, BFW, and Pelican.

Singles on Quezergue's Pelican label are hard to come by, as it did not last long, generated no hits; and barely a handful of artists had singles released on it. Likely the records were nearly as difficult to find or hear back then. Deine Keeble seems to have had the lead off single, to be followed by C. L. Blast (the best known artist of the bunch and not a local), Larry Hamilton (a great songwriter, as well), and Curtis Johnson, all of whom had just one release apiece. I have tried in vain to find even a shred of information on Ms. Keeble, a decent but not particularly gifted vocalist. But, rather than the singer or performance itself, what really interests me about her record is what more it reveals about Big Q's production process and the grooves he set up. So, if you will excuse the surface noise of this rare and somewhat abused vinyl, especially at the beginning of each side, let's delve into what probably amounted to some typical days at the office and studio for the Pelican and Malaco crews.



"Chain On My Thing" (Bryan Babour)
Denise Keeble, Pelican 1230, ca 1970
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While the early 21st century reader might infer from the title that "Chain On My Thing" is about a provocative piercing, the song, by Bryan Babour, is really one of those 'don't want to be tied down by a wedding band' numbers from the free-lovin' days of about 40 years ago. Considering the gender of our singer, I guess you could call this sort of a Women's Liberation declaration. But, hey, this ain't no stinking socio-political blog; so, let's just cut to the groove and related trappings.

As with most of Quezergue's Malaco era arrangements, both sides of Keeble's single display well-thought out, idiosyncratic rhythm patterns built upon the bass and drums, which were not spontaneously syncopating a feel, but playing assigned parts, learned on the spot at the session. It took even the talented house band at Malaco some time to lock into the staggered elements of the producer's arrangements; but their ability to nail the songs is what makes the output of those years of working with Big Q so noteworthy. Those off-beat grooves became a signature sound. As drummer James Stroud recalled to Rob Bowman in the notes for The Last Soul Company, Malaco's CD box set label retrospective, "It was difficult, because Wardell had it in his head as to what he wanted. . . . So he had to keep us sort of lined up to a point and make sure we learned what we were doing and then he allowed us to stretch out from there. But the initial grooves and the initial ideas were in Wardell's head." Obviously, though, on this number, there's not a lot of room to stretch.

"Chain" has a somewhat subdued instrumental impact, since it seems the only electric instruments on this track are the bass and piano. Quezergue uses a prominent acoustic guitar and a string section to soften and texture the sound, even as Stroud hits the drums aggressively. Keeble is obviously giving it her all; and her voice reminds me of Barbara George in spots, but ultimately it just seems not quite strong enough for the job.



"Before It Falls Apart" (Broussard - Savoy - Quezergue)
Denise Keeble, Pelican 1230, ca 1970
(tune in to HOTG Internet Radio)

"Before It Falls Apart" is the side I prefer of this obscure twosome, even though I think its reach exceeds its grasp. Writers Jospeh Broussard, Albert Savoy, and Quezergue, the core of Pelican Productions, just try to mix in a few too many hooky parts to make this song any more than a tour de force production curiosity; but it's a very well-executed arrangement, and Keeble's voice works somewhat better here, to my ears. I'll bet the off-kilter riff that starts out the song and underlies the verses took some getting used to in the studio by bassist Vernie Robbins and guitarist Jerry Puckett, who are joined by Quezergue on organ. It could have driven lesser men to madness. Overall, the production is much bigger here, with horns and stings woven into the alternating elements of tension and release that the song sets up. But, it's all just too quirky to have been mainstream: overtly pop elements intermingled with the offbeat, plus a minor to major key section that's simply too sophisticated for its own good. It reminds me of another stretch Quezergue tried in the Barons, Ltd song, "Gypsy Read Your Cards From Me", which I discussed when I posted it, and just goes to show that Wardell had no chain on his creative thing. Unfortunately, the record buying public probably wouldn't have been ready for this song even on a major label and with a more prominent and gifted singer. Generally speaking, the records that worked best were the ones that Quezergue kept simple.

As far as I have found, Denise Keeble only made one other record, "Love School" b/w "Giving Up" for Quzergue's BFW label around the same time. I've got that one on order and will feature it soon, or what passes for it around here. But all of her four sides can be found on the Funky Delicacies CD, Wardell Quezergue's Funky Funky New Orleans, which features a number of other seldom seen or heard tracks from the producer's Malaco days and beyond with fairly adequate sound, but scanty notes, if you're interested. No doubt, one of the mp3 services may have those tracks for sale, as well; and that's maybe easier on your dust and mold allegies, and your wallet, than seeking out the vinyl. So, go for it.