Garnet Mimms is another example of the Brits helping us tap into our own musical legacy. Often classified as “Northern Soul,” Mimms was actually a black man from West Virginia who had a few hits with his group, The Enchanters, including the song “Cry Baby,” written by Bert Berns and Jerry Ragavoy. (It’s the same song that Janis Joplin made far more famous a few years later). As a solo artist, Mimms recorded a number of good songs, but few are better than “As Long As I Have You.” That song took hold in the UK and was covered by Led Zeppelin in early tours. Mimms was even booked as a supporting act for Jimi Hendrix in the UK in 1967. By most accounts, Mimms is tragically overlooked, a hidden jewel from an era filled with immense writing and performing talent.
An original pressing of the album, As Long as I Have You, is quite pricey these days and finding the single isn’t easy either. (There was a live version as well as a studio version of the track). The song also appears on another Mimms’ album from the ‘60s, entitled Warm and Soulful, but that record isn’t an easy or cheap find either. I found a good compilation pressed in 1984 in the UK, also entitled Warm and Soulful (but is distinguished by a “best of” moniker on the cover) that includes the studio track, along with a number of other Mimms’ performances:
In my estimation, this compilation is worth the price of admission just for the track “As Long As I Have You” and a few others mentioned below. There is also far more worth hearing on this record than Mimms’ rendition of “Cry Baby,” which is the tune most often associated with him. Not that it’s bad- but others are better in my estimation.
Some of the tracks have a slightly dated “doo-wop” quality, but Mimms’ voice overcomes any shortcomings in arrangements or style. He’s got the bell-clear voice of a Sam Cooke with the dramatic impact of a Jackie Wilson, and at times sounds a little like the wonderful Clyde McPhatter. But Mimms is a true original. The deeper you go into side one of this compilation the more evident that becomes; why he wasn’t a huge star is one of those perennial, sad questions I’ve just quit asking myself about so many artists, but listening to Mimms, as I write this, the question still lingers.
Side two starts with a good sounding and nicely arranged track, “It Was Easier To Hurt Her.” Mimms shows more of his gospel roots on the second track, “That Goes to Show You” and he just nails this one. This song is another winner even though it barely charted when released. “As Long As I Have You” is what got me into Mimms; the performance is top notch. Unfortunately, the sound quality of that track is not among the best on this album, but I can listen past that. “It’s Just a Matter of Time” is a great blues, big-band style, with background singers and a nice electric guitar part. “It’s Been Such A Long Way Home” is a ready- made soft rock hit, delivered here in R & B style. (I could hear the band Bread, with David Gates, pulling this one off in their heyday).
Overall, the sound quality of this album is better than average, especially for one that packs this many tracks onto a single twelve inch record. I don’t know how many generations removed these tracks are from the original recordings; some remain in mono (rather than “fake” stereo) and there is clearly track to track variability in sound quality. It’s still better than many compilation albums I’ve bought only to be disappointed by song selection and sound quality. If Mimms grabs you, you might put his original albums on your list. If you are up for discovering a great soul, R &B and gospel style singer in an era of many other greats, this album is worth the modest investment.
I’ve owned this record for a number of years and having been meaning to write about it for a while. In the meantime, there seems to be renewed interest in Mimms. There was a short NPR feature on Fresh Air recently about Mimms, narrated by Ed Ward, which briefly covered Mimms’ hits and career. A new compilation, entitled Looking For You, was recently released by Ace/Kent Records on CD. As far as I know, this new compilation is not available as a vinyl LP.