A Call To Arms

I used to love this one when I was a kid. I'd sing along every time it came on the radio. I don't really know anything about Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes. I know that they came out of that mid-70s Philly soul era, but that's about it. This track is the shortened radio edit, I suppose. The album version is roughly twice as long, around 7-8 minutes. I actually prefer the edit because the original version kinda drags for me. There's no reason a song like this should go on that long unless they're gonna introduce each band member and let them do a solo. Even though the music might sound a little dated, the social awareness lyrics still apply today. I'm actually a little surprised nobody has tried to remake this song. Perhaps somebody has, I probably just don't know about it. I'd imagine George Michael or maybe Rick Astley trying to do this up, early 90s style. I know Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes did the original version of If You Don't Know Me By Now, because it's on the greatest hits compilation I have. You're probably more familiar with the Simply Red version and perhaps, more recently, the hilarious David Brent (from The Office UK) version. Anyways, check this one out.

Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes > Wake Up Everybody