Track Listing

1. If Loving You Is Wrong I Don't Want To Be Right
2. Rap
3. All I Want Is A Fighting Chance
4. I'm Tired Of Hiding
5. It's All Over But The Shouting
6. So Easy Going So Hard Coming Back
7. I'm Through Trying To Prove My Love To You
8. Summer (First Time)
9. Loving Arms
10. Making The Best Of A Bad Situation
11. Memory Of A Wife
12. Tell Her It's Over
13. Do What Makes You Satisfied
14. You Can't Stand The Thought Of Another Me
15. Leftovers
16. I Still Love You (You Still Love Me)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #59427 in Music
• Released on: 2000-09-11
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

From Amazon.com
The 1974 Caught Up was Millie Jackson's breakthrough, a soul opera about infidelity with Jackson playing the "other woman" on one side-long suite, punctuated with an extended, down-and-dirty rap, and the wronged wife on the other. With the Muscle Shoals rhythm section's rippling pulse and slick, protodisco orchestrations backing up Jackson's histrionic but sensitive readings of a string of cheating-song covers (plus some originals that advance the plot), this was as high-concept as '70s soul got, and it's kept its savage emotional force even as its style dates it. This reissue couples it with the 1975 sequel Still Caught Up, which forces the narrative a little (it ends with the mistress going insane and being hauled away!) but spawned the hit "Leftovers." --Douglas Wolk

Customer Reviews

A Great value twofer
This twofer contains Millie's two best albums. Unusually for a female R&B act at the time, her albums made more impact than her singles did. Both these albums went gold in the US, but she failed to crossover fully to the pop charts, or pick up many international sales.

Here, she established her formula of music and comedy. 'The Rap' is just talking, not what the youngsters might expect these days.

The music is stunningly good. During a time when the world was going disco crazy (nothing wrong with that), out came 'Caught Up', an album of real soul music, with real musicians from Muscle Shoals Alabama, which is just accross the border from Memphis. It's kinda funky in a deliberately slow way, which was a trademark of soul music from the Memphis area. Millie's voice is a hoarse gritty contralto, similar in some ways to Gladys Knight. Wheras Gladys went more for pop and middle of the road (nothing wrong with that either), Millie stayed ethnic and raunchy, which probably accounts for her lack of crossover success!

She was never afraid to cover other peoples material, and always put her own stamp on the songs she covered. Here she covers Luther Ingrams 'If Loving You Is Wrong',(later a hit for Rod Stewart) Bobby Goldsboro's 'Summer The First Time Ever' (yes! that one), Dobie Gray's 'Loving Arms' and Bobby Womack's "I'm Thru Tryin' To Proove My Love To You".

Others have explained the love triangle concept, so I wont go into that too much. She told it like it was, when describing the relationship, but avoids the out and out vulgarity of her later work. So this set you would probably let your children listen to. There is nothing more offensive than the "funky drawers" that you don't have to wash when you are the other woman.

The sleeve notes are full and very informative. This set is great value for Millie Jackson's two best albums.

The love triangle from all sides
Millie Jackson had been close to stardom with songs like "Hurts So Good" and "My Man....". "Caught Up" elevated her to the very top, with its unique approach - on the vinyl edition each side was from the different perspectives of the women involved, which was also the case with the follow up.

The stand out track on "Caught.." was and remains "If Lovin' You.." with its evocative rap break, although IMO the stronger side was side 2 which closed with an incendiary version of Bobby Goldsboro's "Summer (the first time)".

"Still Caught Up" may even be the stronger album overall, and it certainly progresses the story very effectively. Tthe link between the first 2 tracks will always bring a shiver to my spine as Millie says "well I'll be damned".

As an example of beginnings of the Deep Soul movement (albeit on the more commercial end) these 2 albums are an essential purchase

Inspiring descovery of a masterpiece
As a soul fan and a particular fan of Gladys Knight i found myself spellbound by a track that just happened to be playing on the Jonothan Ross show on the radio unfortunatley as i was in work at the time i didnt catch the artist or title. Later that weekend my girlfriend told me about a track she heard on the same show that blew her away so much she entered the artists name into her phone so she would not forget it. Needless to say it was the same track by Millie Jackson, we then bought this album straight away from amazon and i have to say it feels like an act of fate. i have never heard such a powerful, incredible album in my life. Musically it is entrancing with its earthy soul/funk groove and outstanding arrangments and Millies voice enchants you in a way you will never have been moved before. To use a cleche it makes the hairs on your arms and neck stand on end every track is a truly moving experience and considering it is originally from 1974 makes it light years ahead of itself. If you only buy one album this year make it this and you will be extremley happy, it has been a defining moment in music for me and i hope to discover more of Ms jackson from here on in.