David Porter – Pretty Inside
David Porter – Storm In The Summertime
David Porter – I’m Afraid The Masquerade Is Over
Tracked down a copy of this in August, at a local record show that was going on just before my birthday. I think I was literally the last person to show up with most of the vendors having already packed up, and the rest starting to pack up. Kevin from Action Records had a spot there and was extra willing to make deals at the end of the day. This was a record I’d been looking for a solid copy of for quite some time and I was more than happy with where the price ended up given the time of day. Sometimes it seems, the late bird gets the worm too.
Most people know this record because of an absolutely monster of song, “I’m Afraid The Masquerade Is Over,” which has been sampled in some classic ways by a host of producers in Hip-Hop. The LP is also notable as a rare “Soul Opera,” a concept album that plays out with dialogue between each track and each song telling story that fits where the “Opera” is at.
The basic story is as follows, at a surprise birthday party thrown for David, he meets a girl, Shirley, who’s dating a friend of his. Against the wishes of his other friends he begins a relationship with this girl, leading to her boyfriend and his friends beating him up. Later as Dave tries to mend his wounds and his broken heart, the woman tells him that she’s leaving, but even though things are over, he can’t get this woman out of his mind. His friend attempts to take him to the beach for a beach party (which includes some unfortunate homophobia), but David can’t forget Shirley, eventually he discovers that she’s moved to Philly and, with his friend’s help, he appears to be on his way, I say appears because unfortunately we don’t really discover what happens. “Airplane Ticket, Bus Ride, Can I Borrow Your Car?” closes out the record but leaves things open as to whether David and Shirley actually get back together. I suspect Porter believed he’d be able to continue the story on his next record, but I also imagine that this record couldn’t have been very popular when it was released and any plans for a true follow-up must have been dashed.
The project for me is marred by the very elements that make it unique, the story telling segments that accompany each track. First off, the woman who is playing Shirley is clearly reading her lines, she has no rhythm to her lines and she doesn’t get into her role the way David gets into his lines, especially on the rap in the restaurant that begins “Pretty Inside.” I’m actually not sure why the album is even called Victim of a Joke, no one is joking with Porter on this record, unless he thinks falling in love is a joke. Perplexing…
There’s nothing perplexing at all about the music, in addition to “Masquerade,” this record includes a couple of Porter’s better songs, especially “Strom In The Summertime.” It also features a really amazing sound, especially the way the horns are captured. I’m not sure if Porter is responsible for that, or if we should thank the incomparable Dale Warren of 24-Carat Black fame. I lean towards Warren.
If the album had been released as a standard LP, without the serio-drama elements, I think it could have been a winner for Porter, especially if they’d released “Masquerade” as a two-part single. Posting this record, I find it funny how things seem to make more sense changing up the order here with Pretty Inside then to Storm to Masquerade…If the album had just been these three songs it would be one of my favorites of all time, or at least one of my favorite Soul album sides of all-time.
Cheers,
Michael