One of the values of the Information Age is the growing interest in obscure and unreleased music from the past. The hard work of music archivists and specialized labels has sparked a cottage industry of re-releases like If This World Were Mine (Daptone) by Bob & Gene.
Its creators were a duo of 15-year-olds from Buffalo, New York, assembled by William Nunn, MoDo Records owner, head producer, and Bob’s father. The group made soul tunes influenced by movers and shakers like The Impressions, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, and other national acts.
Despite MoDo Records’s relatively low profile, If This World Were Mine is rich with orchestration, surrounding the young men’s voices with bright horn charts, a charming string section, and a lively backing band. Bob & Gene were talented, but still growing into their pipes, which makes for the occasional shiver-inducing upper register harmony, and a handful of awkward verses.
There are noticeably unsteady moments in the songwriting where arrangements would have trouble fitting together or sound somewhat unfinished. So while songs like “I Can Be Cool” and “You Gave Me Love” make hearts swell, the amateurish “Your Name” and “Which Love” only bring tentative smiles.
Such is the problem of the Information Age’s hunger for the untold story. When digging though unreleased material, pulling the wheat from the chaff often explains why some records were never released in the first place.
– Steve Mizek
Bob & Gene (Daptone Records)