Thank you for buying this record. What follows is its documentation: the
pressing identified, the matrix / runout transcribed by hand from the dead
wax, and the condition as assessed before it was listed. It is yours to keep
with the record.
— Paul, Vinyl Curator
King Curtis
Trouble In Mind (King Curtis Sings The Blues)
c. 1987-89 · Tru-Sound (reissued by Original Blues Classics/Fantasy) OBC-512 (TRU-15001) · Mono · US · LP · 33 1/3 RPM
Pressing details
| Label | Tru-Sound (reissued by Original Blues Classics/Fantasy) |
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| Catalogue number | OBC-512 (TRU-15001) |
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| Year | c. 1987-89 |
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| Mono / Stereo | Mono |
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| Country | US |
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| Format | LP |
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| Speed | 33 1/3 RPM |
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| Genre | Blues / R&B-Soul |
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| Producer | Esmond Edwards |
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| Musicians | King Curtis (vocals, alto sax, guitar), Al Casey (guitar), Mac Pierce (guitar), Paul Griffin (piano), Jimmy Lewis (bass), Belton Evans (drums), Margaret Ross, Ethel McCrea, Dorothy Jones (vocal group) |
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Matrix / Runout
Side A: OBC 512 A1 G1 (P) A5
Side B: OBC 512 B1 G1 (P)
Condition
- Cover
- NM IN SHRINK/NM
- Vinyl
- NM
Variant chronology
1962 - Original Tru-Sound TRU-15001, black label with rainbow/circle "Tru-Sound" logo, NYC pressing
1985 - Fantasy "Original Blues Classics" OBC-512 first-issue replica Tru-Sound label, Berkeley CA credit, no remaster note
1987+ - Fantasy OBC-512 repress, replica Tru-Sound label, back cover adds "Remastered 1987 by Phil De Lancie, Fantasy Studios, Berkeley" and UPC barcode <- this copy
This Pressing
Later Fantasy/Original Blues Classics OBC-512 reissue (replica Tru-Sound label, c.1987+ pressing with added remaster credit) - not the original 1962 Tru-Sound TRU-15001 first pressing.
The Album
Recorded in New York on April 25, 1961 for Prestige's short-lived Tru-Sound subsidiary, this LP is the only album on which King Curtis, otherwise renowned as the era's premier R&B/soul tenor and soprano saxophonist, stepped forward as a lead vocalist. Curtis had grown up steeped in Texas church singing and the sound of blues shouters, and here he applies that grounding to a program of blues and lightly gospel-tinged standards, backed by a compact combo (guitar, piano, bass, drums) and a female vocal trio for gospel-styled call-and-response. He also plays alto sax and, unusually for him, guitar on several tracks rather than his customary tenor. The album arrived amid Curtis's peak years as New York's most in-demand session saxophonist, and stands as a curious, personal side-project rather than a genre-defining statement, valued by collectors chiefly for its rarity and for the glimpse it offers of Curtis outside his usual studio-cat role. Contemporary reviews, including a favorable notice in Down Beat, treated it as a surprisingly assured blues-singing debut. It remains a minor but historically interesting entry in Curtis's catalog, illuminating the breadth of a musician far better known for his instrumental hits and his later work with Aretha Franklin and the Coasters.
Tracklist
Side 1
1. Trouble In Mind
2. Jivin' Time
3. Nobody Wants You When You're Down And Out
4. Bad, Bad Whiskey
5. I Have To Worry
6. Woke Up This Morning
Side 2
1. But That's Alright
2. Ain't Nobody's Business
3. Don't Deceive Me (Please Don't Go)
4. Deep Fry
The Label
The label on this copy is a grey/charcoal replica of the original Tru-Sound design: concentric white ring-and-circle "TRU-SOUND" logo under the banner "THE TRUE SOUND OF HIGH FIDELITY", artist/title in the upper field, catalog numbers OBC-512 and (TRU-15001) at left, side number at right, and "FANTASY, INC., BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA" arced along the bottom rim. Fantasy Records created the Original Blues Classics (OBC) series in 1984 specifically to reissue its acquired Prestige/Bluesville/Tru-Sound blues catalog using label artwork replicating the original imprint rather than a Fantasy-branded label. The back cover's added remastering credit ("Remastered 1987 by Phil De Lancie") and UPC barcode place this specific copy in a later OBC-512 pressing run (c.1987 or after) rather than the initial 1985 issue, which lacked that remaster line and barcode; it is not the scarce 1962 Tru-Sound original.
Fidelity
Mastered/remastered in 1987 by Phil De Lancie at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, from the original Tru-Sound tapes; Rudy Van Gelder was the original 1961 session's recording engineer. Fantasy's OBC vinyl reissues were generally well-regarded, flat, quiet pressings, though not audiophile-tier by the standards of Analogue Productions/Speakers Corner treatments. Collectors on forums such as Steve Hoffman generally rate the original 1962 Tru-Sound pressing as sonically preferable for its more direct, less-processed cut, with this OBC reissue offering solid, faithful sound at a fraction of the price and rarity of the original. There is no known audiophile (Tone Poet/MoFi-style) remaster of this title; the 1994 Ace Records CD reissue is the other notable reissue mastering.
Notes
This is the Fantasy "Original Blues Classics" reissue OBC-512 of Tru-Sound TRU-15001, using a replica of the original grey Tru-Sound label design rather than a genuine 1962 pressing. The back cover carries a "Remastered 1987 by Phil De Lancie, Fantasy Studios, Berkeley" credit and a UPC barcode, both absent from the initial 1985 OBC pressing, placing this copy in a later print run of the same catalog number. Matrix (OBC 512 A1 G1 (P) A5 / B1 G1 (P)) confirms Fantasy's own Berkeley-area pressing rather than an original Bergenfield NJ/RCA-pressed Tru-Sound stamper. Sealed/NM condition maximizes value for this later reissue pressing but it does not carry original-pressing premiums.
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