MINT

Superb, heartwarming and spirit lifting gospel disco modern soul 45 first released in 1978 on Philadelphia United Records.Calvin Carr & Company are enriched with sensitivity and alive with the spirit. The kind of gospel that sweeps all over you and runs through your veins. There is always a sense of inadequacy when attempting to describe just how good something is. Words like exciting, inspiring and original come to mind but as always you will have to decide for yourself.Born and raised in Philadelphia, gospel singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, band leader and producer Calvin Carr (now a Minister of the Gospel) possessed excellent ears for music at a very young age. The sounds of music that shaped his life were the sounds of his early church singing experience. He began playing the piano at the age of 9, continued his work in music throughout high school, composing, singing in different churches, learned how to executive produce and ended up working for the TCS Music Company under the direction of its founder Mr. Tony Carter, displaying the talents of Philadelphia’s local artists such as Gabriel Hardeman Delegation, The Young Delegation, Little Sammy & The Flying Cloud Jrs., Gwen Carter, The Collins Sisters, Brockington Singers…In 1978 Calvin released the now scarce and relatively unknown “Without Christ” 45 on the TCS “Philadelphia United Records“ subsidiary.By the end of 1980, Calvin Carr met Andrew Ford and his younger brother and musical genius, Steven Ford and with their partners, horn arranger Leon Frison, drummer Garfield Williams and bassist “Ting” Paul Burke, they formed the “Sweet Rain Records” Company that has produced some of America’s most notable gospel artists such as: Pastor Hezekiah Walker and the Love Fellowship Crusade Choir, Barbara Ward Farmer and the Wagner Alumni Choir, Rev Hubert Powell And The Gospel Truth, The Brockington Ensemble, Southeast Inspirational Choir, The Institutional Radio Choir of Brooklyn, N.Y, Southeast Inspirational Choir of Houston, TX introducing Yolanda Adams and countless others.

Between the sessions at Wishborne Sound Studios, the session musicians Terry Woodford, Clayton Ivey, Muscle Shoals horns among others, got down to record some of the finest funky soul and AOR. They took the name Mirage, aiming for stardom. Unfortunately no album was ever released and many tracks went on the shelves in the studio. Over 40 years later, Preservation Records are releasing two of their finest tracks on an exculsive 7".

This is a personal favourite here at Preservation HQ. First release on 7" vinyl single with the monster modern soul track 'No More'. B side is the AOR winner, 'Coming from The Heart'.Freeway was a US modern soul group from the Oregon area, active from 1979 to 1984.