Shortly before
Rawls signed with Philadelphia International, his career had stalled. After a mostly successful stint with Capitol Records, he later signed with MGM and had a big hit with "Natural Man" in 1971. But the hits didn't keep coming and his 1975 Bell album, She's Gone, barely made a dent. His 1976 signing with Philadelphia International recharged his career and he immediately became one of the label's most successful acts.
All Things in Time is his label debut.
Rawls was one of the few acts on the label who could do great work with a variety of the producers and arrangers. The biggest track here was the bravado-filled "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine." With its subtle Latin rhythms and
Rawls' tongue-in-cheek intonations, the songs' inherent nastiness was missed by legions of dancers. "Time" written by
Jack Faith and
Allan Felder has
Rawls doing a pitch-perfect vocal that makes the song sound like a standard. On this album,
Rawls also got a chance to do work with the quixotic
Bunny Sigler. Both "Need You Forever" and "Frow Now On" have Sigler accentuating
Rawls' rougher edges. Unfortunately, all of the tracks aren't great here. Despite Dexter Wansel's imaginative arrangement, "Pure Imagination" could not be saved.
All Things in Time does end on a great note. On "Let's Fall in Love All Over Again," a song previously done by
Billy Paul and Nancy Wilson,
Rawls' take is arguably the best version.
All Things in Time is not only one of
Rawls' best albums, it's also one of the finest from Philadelphia International.