Definitive Whatnauts, The

The Whatnauts were a '70s soul group from Baltimore who drew their inspiration from falsetto-led groups like the Dells, the Chi-Lites, and especially the Stylistics. They shared a similar smooth sound and romantic lyrics (with an occasional foray into social lyrics) and a lead falsetto that could crack safety glass. Whatnauts lead vocalist Billy Herndon isn't quite as controlled as the singers in those bands; occasionally his voice takes flight and comes dangerously close to shredding speaker cones. This double-disc set is basically a reissue of Deep Beats' 1997 release The Definitive Whatnauts. It contains all the cuts from their three albums (1970's Introducing the Whatnauts, 1971's Reaching for the Stars, and 1972's Whatnauts on the Rocks), a handful of songs they recorded with the Moments, and "Help Is on the Way," a dance track they cut in 1982. While it certainly is definitive, the Whatnauts are the kind of band who would be better-served by a collection that skims the cream off the top and leaves the rest buried in the vaults. A little of their sound goes a long way, and only die-hard fans who missed out on the Deep Beats collection need to worry about picking this up. ~ Tim Sendra|