The Counts (1973) Love Sign +2 (Ultra-Vybe 2021)

 

The Counts released their third album, Love Sign, in 1973 on Aware Records.

The album highlights the band’s interplay with stretched-out funk vamps, jazz-inflected solos, and extended instrumental passages. It marks their first release on Aware and their last with drummer Andrew Gibson.

Guitarist Leroy Emmanuel wrote “Love Sign” and “Too Bad (You Don’t Love Me).” Keyboardist Mose Davis contributed “Just You, Just Me” and “Riding High.” Saxophonist Demo Cates provided “Sacrifice,” while all four members share credit on the closing “Counts Medley (Play It Again, Far Out, Counts Blues).”

The title track unfolds across nearly eight minutes of layered riffs and alternating instrumental breaks. “Too Bad (You Don’t Love Me)” compresses the band’s drive into a tighter format with Emmanuel on lead. Davis balances introspective tones on “Just You, Just Me” against the more strident pace of “Riding High.” “Sacrifice” adds compact vocal passages, while “Counts Medley” stitches together three motifs into a nine-minute performance that moves from brisk funk to freer blues stretches.