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Frederick and Janice Dowlen Gentle (Calling Your Name)

Frederick and Janice Dowlen Gentle (Calling Your Name) From Allmusic:

Cleveland native and one-hit wonder Frederick's recording of "Gentle (Calling Your Name") exploded like no other record ever did for Akron's tiny Heat Records. Aided by Janice Dowlin's exciting soprano, the simplistic romantic duet became very popular, and a daytime soap opera used it as background music on several segments. Released under the name Frederick, Janice was barely mentioned, scandalous because she gave the record its juice. He duets with Lyn Jo Jones on "Girl I Know You're Lonely," a good "for lovers only" ballad that is more elaborate (production-wise) than "Gentle"; however, it lacks the charm of its predecessor, primarily because Lyn Jo Jones doesn't appear until the song is practically fading out. He solos on the other tracks and comes off as rather nondescript, which is probably an unfair assessment since he's a second tenor -- a popular '50s voice range that fell from favor in subsequent decades to the more exciting falsetto and baritone voices. But to Frederick's credit, he works what he's got. "Games," the follow-up to "Gentle," adeserved more spins then it received; it's complemented by kittenish female vocals and guys playing Three Card Molly in the background. Producer Le'Ray Ruffin Jr did a good job mixing the album's fast songs, midtempo numbers, and ballads, eight in all. I would like to see what Ruffin can do with a better songs and a bigger recording budget.

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