Carl Anderson: "One of the Most Enjoyable Male Vocalists of His Era"

For "music night" this evening at The Wild Reed I share the song "Can't Stop This Feeling" by Carl Anderson, whose recordings from the 1980s and '90s I've been collecting and enjoying for the past three months or so.

Born February 27, 1945, Carlton Earl "Carl" Anderson was an American singer, film and theatre actor best known for his portrayal of Judas Iscariot in the Broadway and film versions of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. Yet for almost two decades, Carl was an accomplished and well-respected song stylist, artfully blending jazz, soul, pop, and R&B influences into his own unique and unforgettable style.

For reasons that are frustratingly elusive, many of Carl's best recordings remain unknown to the general public. His most popular song is his duet with singer-actress Gloria Loring, "Friends and Lovers," which reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1986. Carl died on February 23, 2004, after an 8-month struggle with leukemia. He was less than a week away from his 59th birthday.

As I said at the beginning of this post, I share this evening the music video for what is perhaps Carl's second most well-known song, "Can't Stop This Feeling." This video is followed by a review by Chris Rizik of the 2010 reissue of Carl's 1985 album, Protocol. "Can't Stop This Feeling" was the opening track of this stellar album, generally regarded as one of Carl's best. Enjoy!

Carl Anderson – Protocol (Reissue)
A Review by Chris Rizik
SoulTracks.com (2010)

During the 1980s, Carl Anderson's immense talent was only matched by the wild inconsistency of the music he released. His debut album, Absence Without Love, was a major disappointment for fans who had waited nearly a decade after his seminal performance as Judas in the blockbuster movie Jesus Christ Superstar. And the follow up album, On and On, was only slightly better. Though he had teamed with first rate talent in making those albums, neither remotely did justice to his vocal stylings. But all the elements aligned in 1985 with Protocol, by far his best album of the decade and one of the most consistently enjoyable albums by a male soul vocalist that year. Teaming with producers Patrick Henderson, Al McKay (of Earth, Wind & Fire) and Gary Taylor, he fashioned an album that made good on the promise that was hinted at in his Superstar performance but was suppressed in his earlier solo work.

McKay brought the opening cut, "Can't Stop This Feeling," to the project and immediately created the greatest four minutes Anderson had ever recorded. The upbeat number was uber-infectious and Anderson tore it up with a a wonderful vocal performance. It was an auspicious opening to the album, but it was by no means the only high point. Unlike Anderson's earlier discs, Protocol included ballads that appeared tailor made for his expressive crooning. "Still Thinking of You" and "One More Time With Feeling" were top notch, and "Saving My Love For You" was a chillingly simple and beautiful coda to the disc. Some of the mid-80s Kashif-like production on "Let's Talk" and "Girl, I Won't Say No" sound a bit over the top now, but are more than offset by the subtler work on the dance number "What Will Happen Now" and the very nice "Love On Ice."

Clearly the material on Protocol was better than Anderson had had before, but there was also an obvious change in his approach to the disc – an increased comfort in driving the music where he wanted vocally – and it resulted in a great ride for listeners. Unfortunately, the album never received the promotion or attention it deserved, as for most popular music fans the introduction to Carl Anderson occurred a year later on the inferior "Friends and Lovers" duet with Gloria Loring and the accompanying slapped-together album. But Protocol did set the stage for the future direction Anderson would take with his career and several strong subsequent recordings over the next decade on MCA and GRP Records [the albums An Act of Love (1988), Pieces of a Heart (1990), Fantasy Hotel (1992), Heavy Weather / Sunlight Again (1994) and Why We Are Here (1997)].

Kudos to the gang at FunkyTownGrooves for reissuing this hidden gem of an album (with bonus cuts to boot [including the awesome "Light Me"). Protocol sounds as good [today] as it did a quarter century ago. It was a welcome addition to the soul world back then but, more than anything, Protocol answered the question that so many had been asking after Carl Anderson's first two album misfires: it showed that Carl Anderson really was a unique talent who could move beyond his Jesus Christ Superstar coming out party to become one of the most enjoyable male vocalists of his era.

– Chris Rizik

For more of Carl Anderson at The Wild Reed, see:
• Carl Anderson
• Revisiting a Groovy Jesus (and a Dysfunctional Theology)

Related Off-site Links:
Carl Anderson – Jazz Legend: The Official Website
Carl Anderson Memorial Page
Carl Anderson at AllMusic.com – Ron Wynn (AllMusic.com).
Carl Anderson Biography – Chris Rizik (Soul Tracks).
Carl Anderson, Superstar's Judas on Stage and Screen, Dead at 58 – Kenneth Jones (Playbill, February 24, 2004).
Obituary: Carl Anderson, 58; Actor Played Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar – Elaine Woo (Los Angeles Times, February 25, 2004).
Obituary: Carl Anderson, 58, Judas in Rock Opera – Reuters via The New York Times (February 27, 2004).
Carl Anderson Brought Judas to Life – Hank Stuever (Washington Post via Los Angeles Times, March 2, 2004).

Previously featured artists at The Wild Reed:
Dusty Springfield | David Bowie | Kate Bush | Maxwell | Buffy Sainte-Marie | Prince | Frank Ocean | Maria Callas | Loreena McKennitt | Rosanne Cash | Petula Clark | Wendy Matthews | Darren Hayes | Jenny Morris | Gil Scott-Heron | Shirley Bassey | Rufus Wainwright | Kiki Dee | Suede | Marianne Faithfull | Dionne Warwick | Sam Sparro | Wanda Jackson | Engelbert Humperdinck | Pink Floyd | Carl Anderson | The Church | Enrique Iglesias | Yvonne Elliman | Lenny Kravitz | Helen Reddy | Stephen Gately | Judith Durham | Nat King Cole | Emmylou Harris | Bobbie Gentry | Russell Elliot | BØRNS | Hozier | Enigma | Moby (featuring the Banks Brothers) | Cat Stevens | Chrissy Amphlett | Jon Stevens | Nada Surf | Tom Goss (featuring Matt Alber) | Autoheart | Scissor Sisters | Mavis Staples | Claude Chalhoub | Cass Elliot | Duffy | The Cruel Sea | Wall of Voodoo | Loretta Lynn and Jack White | Foo Fighters | 1927 | Kate Ceberano | Tee Set | Joan Baez | Wet, Wet, Wet | Stephen “Tin Tin” Duffy | Fleetwood Mac | Jane Clifton | Australian Crawl | Pet Shop Boys | Marty Rhone | Josef Salvat | Kiki Dee and Carmelo Luggeri | Aquilo | The Breeders | Tony Enos | Tupac Shakur | Nakhane Touré | Al Green | Donald Glover/Childish Gambino | Josh Garrels | Stromae

Photo of the Day

Image: "Red Rock in Minnehaha Creek" by Michael J. Bayly.

Quote of the Day

We know the United States has interfered in elections everywhere, including supposed allies and friends. . . . [It has] done it over and over again, and [there are] lots of examples. . . . Maybe the Russians did these things to the American elections. Maybe they wanted a Trump victory as an outcome. Maybe they wanted to weaken [a potential] Clinton presidency, as people are accusing them of. Maybe it’s all true. But the truth of it is this is normal stuff in the competition between these big countries. And the reason it’s made such an issue now is because various forces want to wound Trump. And he may or may not be complicit in this. So far there doesn’t seem to be any real evidence that he is. But it’s about the wounding of Trump and the struggle that’s taking place in the American elites, and within, very importantly, the state apparatus itself. [It's] a real struggle. And I have to say, I welcome this struggle. Because I think we have to talk about from what perspective do we look at these things.

[The oligarchy of this country] want us to look at these things as Americans, [as if] we’re all the same. You know, it’s an attack on American values. It’s an attack on American democracy. Well, is American values what goes on in the streets of Baltimore every day, where the Department of Justice said that people’s Constitutional rights are violated every single day? Are American values [the] unlimited spending of money, manipulating – the real manipulation – and determining outcome of elections? These aren’t the values of the American people. So let’s really be clear: the oligarchy of Russia is an adversary of the Russian people and the American oligarchy is an adversary of the American people. Let’s start with that. We’re not all in the same boat here. So, this issue of the people all up in arms about this [Trump-Putin] summit, it’s from the perspective of various sections of the American oligarchy. This is not what the American people need or want.

. . . [W]hat really affected the outcome of the 2016 U.S. election? So let’s say [the Russian government] did what they did. But what’s the bigger story? That the Russians did that? Or, for example, that this billionaire Robert Mercer, who brings money, Bannon and Kellyanne Conway and Breitbart News, which he mostly owned, to Trump, and manipulate through Cambridge Analytica, do various kinds of studying of voter patterns, especially in swing states, and are able to message specific messages to individual people. I still talk to people, intelligent, well-informed people, who never even heard the name Robert Mercer. It’s a far more important story to how the outcome of the election was manipulated by a far-right cabal very closely aligned with Netanyahu and Israel, allied with the Saudis. That’s a really big story.

It’s not that the Russians aren’t a story; but you know, where’s the big weight of the issues? And more importantly, given how destructive this Trump presidency is to the social safety net, to any kind of rational legislation that still exists in this country – and there wasn’t a heck of a lot of it, but they’re undoing what there was – given the fact that he’s a climate denier, I mean, what’s the bigger story? The fact that Trump’s undoing even the modest climate change legislation that existed? You know, pulling back EPA regulations on cars, allowing coal starting to drill everywhere any of these guys wants to drill, isn’t that a much bigger story than maybe, or even if, the Russians did whatever they did?

The point is that this Russia thing isn’t being driven by a real defense of values. Because the values of saving the planet, that’s a value. They’re not even talking about it. . . . [Y]es, if the Russians did it, American government agencies have every right to tell the Russians to stay the hell out of American elections. And if somebody colluded with them, yeah, sure, arrest them. I mean, whatever. That’s fine. But it’s peanuts compared to the bigger issues.

– Paul Jay
Excerpted from "Trump-Putin and the Real Threats to Democracy"
The Real News
July 16, 2018

Related Off-site Links:
The United States Has a National-Security Problem – and It’s Not What You Think – Rajan Menon (The Nation, July 16, 2018).
Climb Down From the Summit of Hostile Propaganda – Norman Solomon (Common Dreams, July 16, 2018).
Soft Targets: The Muddled and Anti-Intellectual American Brains That Made Election Meddling Possible – Bill C. Davis (Common Dreams, July 18, 2018).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Quote of the Day – July 16, 2017
• Hope in the Midst of Collapse
• The People's Climate Solidarity March – Minneapolis, 4/29/17

Out and About – Spring 2018 (Part II)

Friends, here is the second part of the spring installment of my Out and About 2018 series! (For Part I, click here.)

Spring 2018 got off to a cold and snowy start here in Minnesota. We experienced, for instance, the coldest April 6 in the Twin Cities in 145 years! Then on April 14 we experienced the Spring Blizzard of 2018.

That's my friend Joey at right, cleaning off his car of ice and snow before going to work – April 14, 2018.

Above: The spring thaw begins! – April 22, 2018.

Above: My friend Deandre, just chillin' with a cat.

On the evening of Monday, April 30, my dear friends Ken and Carol hosted a lovely dinner for myself and a number of our mutual friends.

Above (from left): Kathleen, Brigid, Carol, Ken, and Sue Ann.


Right: With my friend Kathleen – April 30, 2018.

Above: Carol and Ken.




Left: Brigid and Sue Ann – April 30, 2018.

Above: The 44th annual In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre's MayDay parade in Minneapolis – Sunday, May 6, 2018. This year's theme was "What You Feed, Grows! (It's All About Love)."

Right: With my friend Mahad at the MayDay parade.

For more images and commentary on MayDay 2018, click here and here.

Above: Standing with the Prayer Tree – Friday, May 4, 2018. My friend Raul snapped this pic. (And like in the previous picture with my friend Mahad, I'm wearing my Black Panther t-shirt!).

For more images from this beautiful spring day by Minnehaha Creek, click here.

Above: On Mother's Day (Sunday, May 13), my boyfriend Brent (right) hosted a lovely lunch for his mum and other members of his family.

Above: Little Amelia welcomes the return of spring!

Above: Amelia, the dragon girl.

Above: Mother's Day dinner at the home of my friends Noelle and John.

Above: With Brent – May 13, 2018. Note to self: Check your hair before posing with Brent, as his hair is always so immaculate!



Right: With friends Alicia and Scott – May 13, 2018.

Above: Friends Ben, Phil, and Dee – Sunday, May 13, 2018.

On May 14 I was invited to provide the opening blessing at the annual TRUST Meals on Wheels Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon. I'm pictured above at this event with friends Gretchen and Bob.

From June 2011 until June 2017 I served as a site coordinator with TRUST Meals on Wheels. For images and commentary from the farewell reception that my colleagues at TRUST hosted for me last June, click here.

Above: Deandre and Brent doing a spot of spring gardening – Saturday, May 26, 2018.

Above: Deandre, hard at it!

Above: A great portrait shot of my good friend Brian – Saturday, June 2, 2018.



Left: With Brian at Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis. We were there for the Minnesota Orchestra's June 2 "Bernstein and Walton" concert.

Above and right: My friends Hugh and David hosted the third Queer Movie Night on Sunday, June 3, 2018. They chose the 2017 drama God's Own Country to view and discuss.

Directed by Francis Lee, God's Own Country stars Josh O'Connor and Alec Secareanu. The plot follows a young sheep farmer in Yorkshire whose life is transformed by the arrival of a Romanian migrant worker. Since its release, God's Own Country has received critical acclaim. It holds a 99% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. The site's critical consensus reads: "A quiet, moving rumination on loneliness and newfound intimacy, God's Own Country marks an outstanding directorial debut for Francis Lee." Ed Potton, writing in The Times (of London), gave the film four stars out of five and described it as "splendid" and "a potent film, a Yorkshire Brokeback Mountain."

For more about our Queer Movie Night series, click here and here.

Above: David and Hugh – June 3, 2018.

Above: The view of downtown Minneapolis from David and Hugh's apartment.

Above: Omar, Brent, and Kathleen – June 3, 2018.

Above: Brent and I with friends Omar, Pete, and Jeffrey – June 3, 2018.

My friend Mahad, pictured above at the shop of Dave the Pie Guy, Tuesday, June 5, 2018, and, right, at Merlins Rest Pub, Sunday, June 10, 2018.

Mahad would have to have one of the best smiles around, wouldn't you say?

Above and left: On the afternoon of Sunday, June 10, Mahad and I spent time in an area of urban wilderness close to the Winchell Trail, a largely unpaved trail that winds about 2.5 miles along the west bank of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, from Franklin Avenue to Minnehaha Park. It follows what was once an Indian trail, and is mostly hidden.

For more images and commentary about our time at this beautiful spot in south Minneapolis, click here.

Above: Mahad – June 10, 2018.

On the evening of Friday, June 15, 2018 my friends Joan and Matt hosted a lovely dinner party in the famous kitchen of their Mendota Heights home!

Above (from left): Brent, Kurt, Matt, Joan, George, John, and Cesar.

Right: With Cesar and Brent.

Above: A lovely shot of Kurt and Cesar -- June 15, 2018.

Above: On Sunday, June 17, 2018, I joined with several hundred other people in a protest organized by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee. This protest was against the Trump administration’s border crossing policy, which had forcibly separated more than 2,000 immigrant children from their parents.

Left: With my friend Sue Ann. (I'm wearing my Buffy Sainte-Marie t-shirt.)


For more images and commentary on this event, click here.

NEXT: Out and About – Summer 2018

Spring 2018 Wild Reed posts of note:
• Thoughts on Queer Cinema
• The God from the House of Bread: A Bridge Between Christianity and Paganism
• Congratulations, Buffy
• The Student-Activists of 2018 – Leading Us to the Future
• Easter Bodiliness
• Spring's Snowy Start
• Celebrating Al Green, Soul Legend
• The Spring Blizzard of 2018
• Happy Birthday, Dad!
• What a Difference Four Days Can Make
• Let's Dance
• Welcoming the Return of Spring
• Beltane: Casting Off the Darkness and Celebrating the Light
• Umberto and Roberto: Love in Motion
• In the Garden of Spirituality – David Richo
• Quote of the Day – May 8, 2018
• Deconstructing Childish Gambino's "This Is America"
• "What You Feed, Grows! (It's All About Love)" – MayDay 2018 (Part 1)
• "What You Feed, Grows! (It's All About Love)" – MayDay 2018 (Part 2)
• A Longing and a Prayer
• Quote of the Day – May 15, 2018
• Reclaiming the Power of Male Touch
• Spring Blooms
• The NFL: "A Modern Example of Nakedly Racist Authoritarianism in America"
• Something to Think About – May 27, 2018
• Yeah, You Know You've Got It
• Interiors
• Meeting (and Embodying) the Lover God
• The Gorgeous One
• Jeremy Scahill on the Historical Context of the Trump Administration's "Pathologically Sick" Anti-Immigrant Agenda
• Time By the River
• Michelangelo Signorile on the Rebellious Purpose of Queer Pride
• Opposing the Trump Administration's Inhumane Treatment of Immigrant Families

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Out and About – Spring 2018 (Part I)
• Out and About – Winter 2017-2018
• Out and About – Autumn 2017
• Out and About – Summer 2017
• Out and About – Spring 2017

Images: Michael J. Bayly. (With thanks to my friend Mahad Abdullahi for the opening image.)