Rhythm & Blues, Soul & Doo-Wop - Bulletin January/ February 2010 - Tony Allen -> Various Artists
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BULLETIN - January/ February 2010
Rhythm & Blues, Soul & Doo-Wop
Tony Allen -> Various Artists

 

NEW COMPACT DISCS


TONY ALLEN Ace CDCHD 1247 Here Comes The Night Owl - West Coast R&B & Doo-Wop ● CD $18.98
26 tracks, 66 mins, highly recommended
The name Tony Allen will be familiar to aficionados of West Coast Doo Wop and R&B from the 50's and 60's. Allen's claim to fame was 1955's Nite Owl, a regional hit and a Southern California oldies staple recorded for Specialty, but during his career he was a constant label jumper. Contained on this definitive collection are many of the tracks he cut for Specialty, Ebb, Kent/Crown, Modern, and Dig/Ultra, some of which have never been released before either legally or at all. Notable tracks include Why in the World/ Come Back/ I Found an Angel/ Especially/ I/ Nite Owl, and the entire "Rock And Roll With Tony Allen and the Night Owls" album. This material is a must for fans of So Cal R&B. (GMC)

 
NORMAN FOX & THE ROB ROYS Crystal Ball 1106 One Last Ride ● CD $17.98
27 tracks, good
27 tracks recorded between the 1950s and 1970s by this fine group that were one of the first interacial doo-wop groups. Their white lead singer Norman Fox was excellent. Many of the tracks here are previously unissued demos and rehearsal recordings including their first demo as The Velvetones Rockin' And A Rollin' from 1955. Unfortunately many of the tapes and acetates have deteriorated significantly over the years and this coupled with the overuse of digital noise reductions makes for tough listening unless you're real devotee. Songs include their most popular title Tell Me Why plus Time To Rock And Roll/ Little Jimmy Boy/ Dance Girl Dance/ I Want To Be Free/ Here You Are My Lord/ Rockin' And A Rollin'/ Dream Girl/ Life Is But A Dream and more. (FS)

 
BRENDA HOLLOWAY Ace CDCHD 1241 The Early Years - Rare Recordings, 1962-1963 ● CD $18.98
22 tracks, 53 mins, recommended
When most music fans think of Motown Records, it's the big names that come to mind: the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, the Four Tops, and the Temptations. Then there's the second tier acts: Mary Wells, Martha & the Vandellas, the Marvelettes, and Gladys Knight and the Pips. But Motown also had some lesser known performers too; people like Barrett Strong, the Contours, Kim Weston, and Brenda Holloway. Holloway only had one notable hit with Motown - Every Little Bit Hurts - and also co-wrote and recorded the original version You've Made Me So Very Happy, which was hit covered by Blood, Sweat & Tears. But before all that, she cut sides for Donna, Era, 4J, Minasa, Sanp, Catch, and Brevit as a solo artist, as a member of a girl group known variously as the Watesians and the 4J's, and with three different male partners; these are the tracks that make up this interesting compilation. Holloway had a strong, clear voice, but she often called upon to imitate Mary Wells, or so it would seem from this evidence. Nonetheless, these tracks are a must for any fan of 60's R&B or female vocalists in general. (GMC)

 
JIMMY HUGHES Kent CDKEND 324 Steal Away - The Early Fame Recordings ● CD $23.98
22 tracks, 55 mins, highly recommended
A fine companion CD to "The Best of Jimmy Hughes" (Fame 10 - $16.98), this collection contains R&B singer Hughes' early recordings (1962-1965) for Rick Hall's Fame Records operation. Hughes' first album-1964's Steal Away, which was issued by Vee-Jay, Fame's early licensor-is included in its entirety (seven tracks overlap from the Best of CD) as well as non-album singles and previously unissued masters. These recordings give us more insight to Hughes' career and talents-the man does wonders with Joe South's I'm Gonna Rise Again, Dan Penn's I Tried to Tell You, T-Bone Walker's Stormy Monday Blues, James Brown's Try Me, and Tommy Roe's You Might as Well Forget Him. If "The Best of Jimmy Hughes" is a more than adequate re-introduction to a lost artist, then this CD is the further proof, if any were needed, that Jimmy Hughes deserves your attention pronto. (GMC)

 
LUTHER INGRAM Kent CDKEND 328 Let's Steal Away To The Hideaway/ Do You Love Somebody ● CD $18.98
21 tracks, 77 mins, highly recommended
This fourth and final installment in Kent's re-issue and reassessment of 70's R&B singer Luther Ingram's recordings for KoKo Records, contains his last two albums for the label, 1976's "Let's Steal Away to the Hideaway" and 1977's "Do You Love Somebody." Like his previous albums, these two platters were both recorded in Muscle Shoals, and, with their classic Southern Soul sounds, were probably something of a last gasp of a type of music that was, in the late 70's, rapidly being supplanted by the like of Disco and Funk in the so-called Black Music Billboard charts. Although both albums placed singles in the R&B Top 50 (including Do You Love Somebody his first Top 20 R&B hit since 1973), neither LP made much impact in either the Pop or R&B Album charts. That's a shame, since there's much to enjoy here; Luther excels on the ballads (the title tracks are prime examples) and holds his own on the up tempo tracks. If you already own the other Kent Luther Ingram CDs, then there's no reason not to pick this one up also; if not, it's too late jump on the bandwagon and check one of the great lost voices of Southern Soul. (GMC)

 
GEORGE JACKSON Kent CDKEND 329 In Memphis, 1972-77 - The Sounds Of Memphis & XL Record ● CD $18.98
21 tracks, 74 mins, highly recommended
Once again our buddies at Kent have dipped into the archives of The Sounds of Memphis and XL Recordings to bring us more Southern Soul goodies, this time from singer/songwriter, cult hero George Jackson. As a writer, Jackson penned several memorable compositions recorded by other artists, including One Bad Apple for the Osmonds and Old Time Rock & Roll for Bob Seger. On his own, Jackson achieved a minor hit with Aretha, Sing One For Me, but there was much more than that to the man, and for the first time Kent has created a comprehensive collection his 70's output, recorded for Hi, Chess, MGM, and Sounds of Memphis. Like other southern soul men before him (notably Luther Ingram), Jackson made records in the classic style and continued to do so despite the onslaught of Disco, as the decade progressed. How Can I Get Next to You is as gorgeous a piece of sweet soul music as ever recorded, and should have been a hit in 1974. George Jackson is one of those lost journeymen of Soul that should never have been forgotten in the first place, and this collection does him sweet justice. (GMC)

 
JACK MCVEA & HIS ORCHESTRA Ace CDCHD 1246 Fortissimo! The Combo Recordings ● CD $18.98
23 tracks, highly recommended
A fine collection of sides recorded between 1954 and 1957 for the Combo label by the great jazz and R&B tenor sax. This album is mostly straight ahead honking R&B with a bit of jazz and some blues thrown in for good measure. There are 9 fine instrumentals - the rest are vocals featuring Louise Beatty (Jack's wife), Al Smith & The Savoys (up tempo doo wop), Rudy Pitts and Chicago singer Christine Chapman. Beatty is a particularly fine blues vocalist and reaches into the pre-war era for a splendid rendition of Nobody In Town Can Bake Sweet Jelly Roll Like Mine. There are nine previously unissued titles or alternate takes including a couple of raggedy but engaging rehearsals. After these recordings McVea had one more session for Chess and would have retired from the music business until he was offered a gig playing clarinet in a trio at Disneyland - a job he held from 1966 through 1992. (FS)

 
"HOT LIPS" PAGE El Toro R&B 110 Roll! Roll! Roll! - The R&B Years ● CD $18.98
27 tracks, highly recommended
"Hot Lips" Page was a jazz trumpeter and gravel voiced vocalist with career in jazz that dates back to the late 30s. In the 40s he hitched his talent to the R&B bandwagon and this collection features 27 R&B wailers from him recorded between 1945 and 1952 for a variety of labels big and small including duets with Little Sylvia Vanderpool, Pearl Bailey and Mildred Anderson. Accompanied by stellar musicians like Don Byas, Ben Webster, Earl Bostic, Danny Barker, Hal Singer, Walter Page, Harry Van Walls, Rene Hall, Leroy Kirkland and others he performs a diverse selection of material, much of it hard driving up-tempo number, including Last Call For Alcohol/ Texas And Pacific/ Roll, Roll, Roll/ Florida Blues/ Birmingham Boogie/ Strike While The Iron's Hot/ Blow, Champ, Blow/ Pacifying Blues/ Sharp Little Sister/ Moanin' Dan and more. A few tracks are from worn 78s but sound is generally superb and booklet has informative notes by Dave Penney. (FS)
HOT LIPS PAGE: Ashes On My Pillow/ Birmingham Boogie/ Blow, Champ, Blow/ Chocolate Candy Blues (duet with Little Sylvia)/ Florida Blues/ Gimme, Gimme, Gimme/ I Want To Ride Like The Cowboys Do/ I've Got The Upper Hand/ Jeety-Boat Joad/ Last Call For Alcohol/ Let Me In!/ Main Street/ Miss Larceny Blues/ Moanin' Dan/ Open The Door, Richard!/ Pacifying Blues (duet with Little Sylvia)/ Roll, Roll, Roll/ Sharp Little Sister (duet with Little Sylvia)/ Strike While The Iron's Hot/ Texas And Pacific/ That's The One For Me (duet with Mildred Anderson)/ The Cadillac Song/ The Hucklebuck (duet with Pearl Bailey)/ The Jungle King/ There Ain't No Flies On Me/ They Raided The Joint/ Walkin' In A Daze

 
SUN RA & HIS ARKESTRA Norton 352 Doo Wop From Saturn, Vol. 1 - Interplanetary Melodies ● CD $14.98
15 tracks, 39 mins, highly recommended
For those of you who saw the artist on this and were ready to skip past these reviews, hold up, I hope you'll notice this is in our Rhythm and Blues area and not our Avant-Garde Jazz section; those who might not enjoy what mister Ra is most famous for might find a lot of room in your hearts (and on your CD shelves) for these collections. You see, the Sun Ra that was famous for being an outrageous outsider Jazz artist was still a long way away when the recordings here were done. This represents Ra and fellow musicians early on, finding their footing in the Blues and Doo Wop styles. Far from being a name cash-in of sub-par recordings, there are a whole bunch of little gems to be found here, performances with a lot of charm. Mind you, Sun Ra definitely already had his head in the clouds and was exploring extra-terrestrial themes, lyrically and with the names of some of his early out-fits. So you get sweet sounding R&B and dynamic Doo Wop like The Cosmic Rays with Daddy's Gonna Tell You A Lie & Dreaming; The Nu Sounds with Spaceship Lullaby, and Dabba Dabba Dabba Du Bay. You also get tracks by the likes of Crystals, Qualities, and Juanita Rogers. Then the last little nugget, Sun Ra as Sun Ra with the un-issued home recording, Tony's Wife. The great majority of the tracks on this volume are un-issued home or studio recordings and the ones that were officially released aren't exactly well known or featured on many compilations so far. So ideally this will appeal most to fans of wild and obscure Rhythm & Blues, Sun Ra completists, and fans of such great series' as the Stompin' collections. So, keepers no matter how you slice them in my book. (JM)

 
SUN RA & HIS ARKESTRA Norton 353 Doo Wop From Saturn, Vol. 2 - Second Stop Is Jupiter ● CD $14.98
16 tracks, highly recommended
Continues the theme from volume one, except with an even wilder song selection. The Cosmic Rays The Second Stop is Jupiter,, The Nu Sounds Black Sky, Blue Moon, Qualities with She's My Moonglow etc. There are a handful of tracks that are on both CDs, but if it is an unreleased version on one CD, than it will be the released version on the other and vice-versa. Each of these CDs stand up well on their own and played back to back as I have done, the versions are definitely different enough to not sound repetitive when listened to all together. This volume's rare un-issued Sun Ra home recording is the fabulous Stuff Like That There. Each volume contains some pretty deep and entertaining notes. (JM)

 
SUN RA & HIS ARKESTRA Norton 354 Doo Wop From Saturn, Vol. 3 - Rocket Ship Rock ● CD $14.98
13 tracks, 42 mins, highly recommended
This installment in Norton's Sun Ra archives is easily the best of the bunch, with such winners as Muck Muck/ Rocket Ship Rock/ The Sun Man Speaks and Message to Earthman #1," all by Yochanan! Yochanan was one hellofa Blues shouter, somewhere between Wynonie Harris and Screamin' Jay Hawkins. Sun Ra played with him between 1957 -59, knocking out the handful of great recordings you get here. After that wonderful batch of tunes you get Ra and Arkestra backing the likes of Little Mack with Tell Her To Come on Home, Don (Dino) Dean with Space Stroll, and then two version of I Am Gonna Unmask The Batman, one by Lacy Gibson, the other by Ebah. If Yochanan sounds like a wild man to you, wait until you hear Ebah! Brilliant liner notes tell the tales and cap off a unique and highly entertaining collection. (JM)

 
JOE SIMON Kent CDKEND 330 Soul For The Dancefloor ● CD $18.98
24 tracks, 77 mins, highly recommended
Joe Simon was that rare singer who was equally at home recording either Country or R&B material, and proved it to great success in the late 60's. Later in the 70's, producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff remade Simon in their smooth soul image and struck gold with 1972's Drowning in the Sea of Love and Power of Love. Simon was a huge R&B star in the U.S. during the 70's; his career was less stellar in Europe. To that end, the folks at Kent have endeavored to create this compilation of Simon's best dance tracks to convince U.K. Northern Soul non-believers that Simon's versatility is an asset rather than a liability. The tracks range from the Philly Soul of Let Me Be the One, and Power of Love to the Disco-tinged Somebody For Everybody and I.O.U. to the funky Easy to Love to Country Soul of Ole Night Owl and Georgia Blue; for such a wide range of material, the compilation comes across as surprisingly consistent. The necessity of this CD might be less obvious to American ears-we know how great Joe Simon is-but for anyone who hasn't been exposed to this major talent, this collection isn't a bad place to start. (GMC)

 
TOMMY TATE Soulscape 7019 When Hearts Grow Cold ● CD $19.98
The second Soulscape CD by Southern soul favorite Tommy Tate contains 20 previously unissued recordings from the Malaco vaults made when Tommy was songwriter there in the 1980s. Includes songs that were recorded by Johnnie Taylor, Candi Staton, Bobby Bland, Little Milton and others. Besides the title song it also includes Feel The Love/ Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind/ Lonely Lady/ The Woman I Love/ Midnight and others. Includes liner notes by Southern soul expert John Ridley.

 
VARIOUS ARTISTS Crystal Ball 1102 The Best Of Crystal Ball Records, Vol. 1 ● CD $17.98
Fine collection of 27 sides recorded between the 1950s and 1980s - 20 of them drawn from previously issued Crystal Ball releases and seven previously unissued. As usual for this label there is no information on these recordings but most of it is pretty good white doo-wop featuring artists like The Bandaleers, Envoys, Joey & The Satellites, The Chuckles, Danny & The Juniors (the previously unissued Little Doll),Tico & The Triumphs, etc.
THE BANDALEERS: On The Corner (Singing Doowop Harmonies)/ BILLY & THE ESSENTIALS: Let’s Pretend/ BOBBY CALENDER & THE DEL SATINS: Beaty Dean/ THE CAPT’ANS: Tra La La*/ THE CHUCKLES: On the Street Where You Live/ THE CRESCENTS: Why Am I Crying/ DANNY & THE JUNIORS: Little Doll*/ THE DEVOTIONS: Looking For My Baby/ DONNIE & THE DREAMERS: Dreamland/ THE ELITES: Love Vows*/ THE ENVOYS: Declaration of Love/ Portrait of Love/ THE ESSENTIALS: Teenage Sweetheart/ THE FANTASTICS: Bye Bye Baby/ THE FOUR EPICS: My Future Just Past/ FRANKIE & THE DARVELS: Mister Fortune Teller/ JIMMY & THE TEENCHORDIALS: School House Love/ JOEY & THE OVATIONS: I Still Love You/ JOEY & THE SATELLITES: Not Too Young/ THE LAURONETTES: One Fine Day*/ THE LONELY ONES: When Lovers Part*/ BILLY LOVE & THE LOVERS: Legend of Love/ THE LOVE NOTES: Dream Girl/ THE RADIANTS: Ra Cha Cha/ THE TEENCHORDS: Never Let You Go/ TICO & THE TRIUMPHS: The Biggest Lie I Ever Told*/ YESTERDAY’S NEWS: Rip Van Winkle (Acap)*

 
VARIOUS ARTISTS El Toro R&B 108 Rock With It - Rockin' With The Rhythm & Blues #2 ● CD $19.98
28 tracks, 79 mins, highly recommended
Complementing El Toro 100 this is a second collection of hard driving R&B from the 40s and early 50s - all the tracks featuring the word "rock" or "roll" in the title. The festivities opens in fine form with Manhattan Paul's Rock And Roll and includes sides by Eunice Davis (Rock Little Daddy), Shorty Muggins (aka Sammy Davis Jr. with We're Gonna Roll), Connie Jordan Combo (I'm Gonna Rock ['Til My Rocker Breaks Down]), Earl Forest (Rock The Bottle), Tiny Grimes Quintet (the tough guitar instrumental Rockin' The Blues Away) plus cuts by Herman Manzy & His Orch., Goree Carter, Joe Lutcher & His Society Cats, Piney Brown and lots more. Quite a few tracks are making their first appearance on CD. Sound quality is excellent and the booklet has notes by the always informative Dave Penny. (FS)
NELSON ALEXANDER: Rock That Voot/ PEE WEE BARNUM: Rockin' Rhythm/ PINEY BROWN: How About Rockin' With Me?/ ROY "BALDHEAD" BYRD: Rockin' With Fes'/ GOREE CARTER: Let's Rock!/ EUNICE DAVIS: Rock Little Daddy/ DOLES DICKENS QUINTET: Gonna Rock This Mornin'/ EARL FOREST: Rock The Bottle/ LOWELL FULSON: Rock This House/ TINY GRIMES QUINTET: Rockin' The Blues Away/ RENE HALL TRIO: My Kind Of Rockin'/ BIG BERTHA HENDERSON: Rock, Bertha, Rock/ WILLIS "GATORTAIL" JACKSON: Rock! Rock! Rock!/ THE JACKSON BROTHERS: We're Gonna Rock This Joint/ CONNIE JORDAN COMBO: I'm Gonna Rock (Til My Rocker Breaks Down)/ LITTLE MISS SHARECROPPER: I Want To rock/ JOE LUTCHER & HIS SOCIETY CATS: Rockin' Boogie/ MANHATTAN PAUL: Rock And Roll/ HERMAN MANZY: I'm Your Rockin' Man/ JOHNNY MOORE'S THREE BLAZERS: Rock With It/ SHORTY MUGGINS: We're Gonna Roll/ JOHNNY OTIS: Rock Me Baby/ JIMMY PRESTON: Roll, Roll, Roll/ JESSIE MAE ROBERSON AND LITTLE FRY: Rock 'Em And Roll 'Em (Parts 1 & 2)/ BUDDY TATE: Rock With Me, Mamma/ JOE THOMAS: Rollin' The Blues/ ANDREW TIBBS: Rock, Savoy, Rock/ PAT VALDELAR: Baby, Rock Me

 
VARIOUS ARTISTS Official 50-001 RCA-Victor Jump 'n' Jive, Vol. 1 ● CD $16.98
22 tracks, 57 mins, highly recommended
Available again. Great collection of jumpin' blues and R&B from the late 40s and early 50s - most of it making its first appearance on CD. Among the highlights are three sides by the superb Jackson Brothers recorded in L.A. - two of them featuring the raucous Wynonie Harris influenced vocalist Billy Henderson and the other a hard driving instrumental with some tough guitar work from George Collier. Guitarist and bandleader Rene Hall is featured on two cuts, one of them an instrumental, featuring solid guitar from Hall. Atlanta saxman Clyde "Blow Top" Lynn is featured with his band on two tracks with fine vocals from Melvin Smith and there are also excellent contributions from Gay Crosse & His Good Humor Six, Mr. Sad Head, The Ford Nelson Quintet (a romping version of the pop/ jazz favorite Organ Grinder's SWing) and more. There are mno notes but sound quality is excellent. (FS)
GAY CROSSE & HIS GOOD HUMOR SIX: IT AIN'T GONNA BE THAT WAY/ PELICAN'S HOP/ SATURDAY NIGHT FISH FRY/ SWALLOW DOLLOW/ RENE HALL: DO IT UP RIGHT/ TWO GUITAR BOOGIE/ THE JACKSON BROTHERS ORCH.: FLAT FOOT BOOGIE/ THERE'S NO OTHER WAY/ WE'RE GONNA ROCK THIS JOINT/ BLOW TOP LYNN & HIS HOUSE ROCKERS (MELVIN SMITH V: RAMPAGING MAMA/ Reliefin' Blues/ BLOW TOP LYNN & HIS HOUSE ROCKERS: THEY AIN'T GONNA TELL IT RIGHT/ UP ON THE HILL/ FORD NELSON QUINTET: ORGAN GRINDER'S SWING/ HAROLD NICHOLAS: CORN JUG BOOGIE/ GENE PARRISH: DREAM BLUES/ You Cut The Biggest Hog, Baby/ MR. SAD HEAD: MAKE HASTE/ MELVIN SMITH: CALIFORNIA BABY/ JESSE STONE & HIS ORCH.: COLE SLAW/ DO IT NOW!/ RUDY TRAYLOR AND HIS ORCHESTRA: Slick-Chick

 
VARIOUS ARTISTS Official 50-002 RCA-Victor Jump 'n' Jive, Vol. 2 ● CD $16.98
22 tracks, highly recommended
Another excellent collection of jump blues and R&B from the late 40s/ early 50s - many tracks making their first appearance on CD. It includes four fine sides by the frequently maligned Arbee Stidham accompanied by top Chicago sidemen like Oett "Sax" Mallard, Bob Call, Willie Lacey, Ransom Knowling and others. Most of the other artists were New York based and includes sides by Big Johnson Greer (four sides including his fine cover of Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee), the always wonderful "Hot Lips" Page, Wynonie Harris inspired vocalist Mr. Sad Head, TNT Tribble, Joe Robinson with Benny Carter's Orchestra and Lloyd Thompson with Brother Moncur's Strollers (two tracks including a great duet with Kitty Madden on baby You Ain't Nowhere). Excellent sound, no notes. (FS)
BIG JOHN GREER & HIS RHYTHM ROCKERS: Drinking Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee, Drinking Wine/ If I Told You Once/ Long Tall Gal/ Rocking Jenny Jones/ HOT LIPS PAGE & HIS ORCH.: Let Me In/ That's The One For Me/ JOE ROBINSON WITH BENNY CARTER'S ORCH.: Don't Scream, Don't Shout/ Roll With The Boogie/ MR. SAD HEAD WITH BILLY FORD & ORCH.: Butcher Boy/ Hot Weather Blues/ Mumbles Blues/ Sad Head Blues/ ARBEE STIDHAM: Any Time You Ring My Bell/ Barbeque Lounge/ Squeeze Me Baby/ What The Blues Will Do/ LLOYD THOMPSON WITH BROTHER MONCUR'S STROLLERS: Baby You Ain't Nowhere/ I Want A Lavendar Cadillac/ MILT TRENIER & HIS SOLID SIX: Rock Bottom/ Squeeze Me/ TNT TRIBBLE & CREW: Cocoa Moe Joe/ That's What Makes Me Love You So

 
VARIOUS ARTISTS Regency 8011 A Fortune Of Detroit Rhythm & Blues ● CD $17.98
23 tracks, almost highly recommended
Over the years the Regency label has issued a number of releases drawn from the catalog of Detroit's legendary Fortune label - all of them featuring great music and all of them suffering from mediocre sound. This one is no exception with much of the high end filtered to reduce noise - it could have been worse - at least they didn't use excessive digital noise reduction. That being said this is a great collection of doowop, R&B and blues featuring such classics as the gorgeous Baby I Love You So by Joe Weaver And The Don Juans, Andre Williams' great novelty Bacon Fat and the Five Dollars answer How To Do The Bacon Fat, Williams again with the amazing Jailbait, Dr. Ross's storming Cat Squirrel plus cuts by Nolan Strong & The Diablos, The Five Dollars, John Lee Hooker, Fino Parks & The Hi-Fidelitys, The El Capris, BoBo Jenkins, Chet Oliver and Group and more. (FS)
THE CREATORS: Wear My Ring/ MELVIN DAVIS & THE NITE SOUNDS: I Won't Be Your Fool/ THE EARTHQUAKES: Darling Be Mine/ THE EL CAPRIS: Long Lonely Nights/ THE FIVE DOLLARS: Harmony of Love/ How to Do the Backon Fat/ JOHN LEE HOOKER: Have Mercy on Poor Me/ BOBO JENKINS: Ten Below Zero/ NATHANIEL MAYER & THE TWILIGHTS: I Want a Woman/ Village of Love/ CHET OLIVER & GROUP: Cool as a Cucumber/ GINO PARKS & THE HI-FIDELITY'S: Last Nite I Cried/ DOCTOR ROSS: Cat Squirrel/ THE ROYAL JOKERS: Sweet Little Angel/ NOLAN STRONG & THE DIABLOS: Mind Over Matter/ You're the Only Girl/ SPYDER TURNER & THE FORTUNE BRAVES: Ride in My 225/ JAMES WALTON & THE BLUE KINGS: Miss Jesse James/ JOE WEAVER & THE DON JUANS: Baby I Love You So/ Looka Here Pretty Baby/ ANDRE WILLIAMS: Bacon Fat/ Jail Bait/ Going Down to Tiajuana

 
VARIOUS ARTISTS Rhino (UK) 20123 This Is Soul!! ● CD $11.98
29 tracks, 79 mins, highly recommended
In 1968, Atlantic Records issued a compilation called "This Is Soul" to pay tribute to the then-dominant soul music scene and the part that their artists played in it. One year later, a different version of the album (with eight different tracks) was issued in the U.K.; it's this version that has been re-mastered and re-issued by Rhino U.K-the original 12 track LP plus an additional 17 bonus tracks. While there's no indication of what the track listing was on the original U.S. LP, it is noted in the liner notes that the British version contains substituted tracks in order to make the album more relevant to local buyers. Regardless, this CD is good sampling of Atlantic (and Stax) Records' product from the mid and late 60's. There's the usual hits (When A Man Loves a Woman/ Sweet Soul Music/ I Never Loved a Man/ Dock of the Bay), but there's also great lesser known tracks (Ben E. King's What is Soul?, Solomon Burke's Keep Looking, The Mad Lads' Get Out of My Life, Eddie Floyd's Big Bird, Jeanne & the Darlings' Soul Girl) to whet the appetite. All n' all, there's enough variety here both novice soul collectors and die hards alike. (GMC)
THE BAR-KAYS: Soul Finger/ ARCHIE BELL & THE DRELLS: Tighten Up, Pt. 1/ SOLOMON BURKE: Keep Looking/ ARTHUR CONLEY: Funky Street/ Sweet Soul Music/ EDDIE FLOYD: Big Bird/ Knock on Wood/ ARETHA FRANKLIN: I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)/ Save Me/ JEANNE & THE DARLINGS: Soul Girl/ BEN E. KING: What Is Soul?/ KING CURTIS: Memphis Soul Stew/ BARBARA LYNN: You're Losing Me/ THE MAD LADS: Get out of My Life/ WILSON PICKETT: Funky Broadway/ Land of 1000 Dances/ Mustang Sally/ OTIS REDDING: (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay/ Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)/ Hard to Handle/ Tramp/ SAM & DAVE: Hold on, I'm Coming/ I Got Everything I Need/ PERCY SLEDGE: Warm and Tender Love/ When a Man Loves a Woman/ THE SOUL BROTHERS SIX: Some Kind of Wonderful/ THE SOUL CLAN: That's How It Feels/ JOHNNY TAYLOR: Ain't That Lovin' You (For More Reasons Than One)/ CARLA THOMAS: B-A-B-Y

 
VARIOUS ARTISTS Soul-Tay-Shus 6357 The Northern Souljers Meet Hi-Rhythm ● CD $15.98
18 tracks, 43 mins, recommended
The title of this CD pretty much says it all: during the mid-60's there was a phenomenon in which Detroit R&B artists would travel down to Memphis, cut tracks in a studio, and the results would be released by Motor City independent labels. The studio was Willie Mitchell's Royal studio, the same place all the Hi Records tracks were cut; apparently Mitchell operated Royal as a freelance recording studio for hire until 1970. If label names like Sir Rah, Wee, Wheelsville, or Premium Stuff, and groups like The Appreciations, The Persians, The Master Keys, and the Fabulous Preps or solo singers Lee Rogers, Al Gardner, Buddy Lamp, and Don Bryant mean anything at all to you, then this CD will be like finding the mother lode. For the rest of us, the collection is not without its charms (Rogers' Cracked Up Over You; Gardner's Watch Yourself, for example) and is a good representation of the cross-fertilization of regional R&B in the 60s. (GMC)

 
VARIOUS ARTISTS Sub Rosa 292 Heavy Jelly! Dr. Boogie Presents Essential Instrumental ● CD $16.98
21 tracks, 49 mins, recommended
The latest from Belgian collector Dr. Boogie (aka Walter De Paduwa) is devoted to R&B and rock 'n' roll instrumentals with an emphasis on titles featuring organ and sax. The recordings range from the late 50s through the late 60s and most have never been on CD before. There are couple of familiar names (Ernie Fields, Big Jay McNeely) but most of it is obscure names including Steve Rowland, The Mark III Trio, The Roller Coasters (their Rimshot, Part 2 also has some terrific guitar work), Baby Earl & The Trinidads (their hard driving Backslop is one of the standouts here), Rudy & The Reno Bops, The Gone All Stars, Les Drivers (a French group who fit in perfectly), Wild Bill Davis, Gene The Hat, Ron Rose (Bowling Ball Boogie complete with bowling alley sound effects!), The Ken Kash Kwintet and others. Sound quality is excellent and there are brief notes on some of the artists. (FS)
BABY EARL & THE TRINIDADS: Backslop/ WILD BILL DAVIS: Blues For Barbara/ LES DRIVERS: Good Gully/ ERNIE FIELDS: Things Ain't What They Used To Be/ ROOSEVELT FOUNTAIN: Red Pepper Part 2/ GENE THE HAT: Hush Puppy/ THE GONE ALL STARS: 7-11/ HOOCHIE & THE COOCHIE COOS: Skee-Mo/ THE IMPELLAS: Hook-Em/ KEN KASH KWINTET: Vicious Vodka/ THE MARK III TRIO: Good Grease/ BIG JAY MCNEELY: Big Jay Shuffle/ THE NOC-A-BOUTS: Jungle Safari/ THE PARKAYS: Get It/ THE RED TOPS: Mustard/ DAVID ROCKINGHAM TRIO: Bee Dee/ THE ROLLER COASTERS: Rimshot Part 2/ RON ROSE: Bowling Ball Boogie/ STEVE ROWLAND: Out Ridin/ RUDY & THE RENO BOP'S: Rudy's Monkey/ PANCHO VILLA: Baby Cakes

 
VARIOUS ARTISTS Superbird 03 Rare Blues & Soul From Nashville - The 1960s ● CD $18.98
25 tracks, highly recommended
Terrific collection of sides recorded by Nashville artists in the 1960s and mostly released on small local labels. There's more soul than blues but it's nearly all excellent and mostly appearing on CD for the first time and includes few previously unissued songs and alternate. Artists include Sam Baker (the great B.B. King style blues Slow Down Baby with tough guitar from Johnny Jones and two soul songs), The Mighty Men (a fine blues/ R&B group with James Stuart on harmonica & trumpet and Arthur Adams on guitar - they do two excellent vocals and three instrumentals), Earl Gaines, Dee Brown, Gene Allison (the excellent and extremly catchy Walking In The Park), Rodge Martin (superb gospel flavored deep soul), Dottie Clark (a fine soul drenched rendition of the old favorite Since I Fell For You) and others. Compiled and annotated by the prolific Fred James who compiled a similar series of releases from the French Blue Label in the past couple of years. There's no duplication with those releases here. (FS)
GENE ALLISON: Walking In The Park/ LEVERT ALLISON: Can You Handle It/ The Shape I'm In/ You Made A World/ SAM BAKER: He'll Be Sorry (previously Unreleased)/ Slow Down Baby/ You'd Better Check What You Got/ DEE BROWN: Bad Habit (previously Unreleased Version)/ Heap Of People (previously Unreleased Version)/ DOTTIE CLARK: Since I Fell For You/ EARL GAINES: Let Me Down Easy/ Show Me Something/ RUDY GREENE: Oh Baby/ EDDIE JAMES: Reap What You Sow/ LUVENIA LEWIS: Let Me Be The On/ Not Strong Enough/ BOBBY LINDSEY: Sugar Booger Baby/ RODGE MARTIN: Close My Eyes/ When She Touches Me/ THE MIGHTY MEN: Don't Stop Now/ I Had A Dream/ No Way Out/ Somethin' Else/ You Too Much/ ROSCOE SHELTON: Yesterday's Mistake (previously Unreleased Version)

 
VARIOUS ARTISTS Universal (UK) 531 261-8 A Complete Introduction To Northern Soul ● CD $58.98
4 CD Box Set, 100 tracks
About two years ago, we listed a Northern Soul box set that was a definitive compilation of American R&B music that had been revived and made popular by British DJs in nightclubs in Northern England. That set is long out of print, but Universal has issued a similar set that echoes the earlier one in breath and quality of material. Although most of the tracks mine the Motown library, there are also nuggets from the Cameo/Parkway, Chess/ Cadet, Philips, and ABC/ Dunhill family of labels. With tracks by everyone from Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder to Martha Reeves, and the Funk Brothers this set has something to suit the taste of all R&B fans. The four discs are broken up thematically: -- "Motown Memories," "Motown's Hidden Nuggets," "Northern Floorshakers," and "Northern Anthems: Essential Sounds That Formed Our Beloved Scene" - with each telling a different story and featuring tracks from the 60's and 70's. Packaged in an attractive book-style box, with an informative booklet attached, and containing many rarities this set is not to be missed.
THE 3 1/2: Angel Baby/ VICKIE BAINES: Country Girl/ YVONNE BAKER: You Didn't Say A Word/ J.J. BARNES: Every Time I See You, I Go Wild!/ Real Humdinger/ WILLIAM BELL: Happy/ TERRY CALLIER: Ordinary Joe/ THE CASUALEERS: Dance, Dance, Dance/ THE CHARADES: Key To My Happiness/ CHUBBY CHECKER: At The Discotheque/ You Just Don't Know (What You Did To Me)/ CHRIS CLARK: I Want To Go Back There Again/ THE CONTOURS: Baby Hit And Run/ Just A Little Misunderstanding/ DON COVAY: It's Better To Have (And Don't Need)/ CAROLYN CRAWFORD: Keep Stepping (Never Look Back)/ THE DALTON BOYS: Take My Hand/ SAMMY DAVIS, JR.: You Can Count On Me/ DEBBIE DEAN: Why Am I Lovin' You/ KIKI DEE: The Day Will Come Between Sunday And Monday/ THE DELLS: Wear It On Our Face (a/k/a Wear It On Your Face)/ DRIZABONE: Real Love/ JACKIE EDWARDS: I Feel So Bad/ THE ELGINS: Heaven Must Have Sent You/ THE FOUR TOPS: Have A Little Faith/ I'll Turn To Stone/ Sweet Was The Love/ WYNDER K. FROG: Green Door/ THE FUNK BROTHERS: Ain't No Mountain High Enough/ MARVIN GAYE: Little Darling (I Need You)/ This Love Starved Heart Of Mine (It's Killing Me)/ California Soul/ TOMMY GOOD: I've Gotta Get Away/ JEANETTE HARPER: (Pick Me Up) Put Me In Your Pocket/ BOBBY HEBB: Love, Love, Love/ BRENDA HOLLOWAY: All I Do Is Think About You/ Think It Over (Before You Break My Heart)/ When I'm Gone/ THE ISLEY BROTHERS: My Love Is Your Love (Forever)/ Tell Me It's Just A Rumour Baby/ Why When Love Is Gone/ EARL JACKSON: Soul Self Satisfaction/ GLORIA JONES: Tainted Love/ GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS: Just Walk In My Shoes/ You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'/ TOBI LEGEND: Time Will Pass You By/ THE LEWIS SISTERS: Breakaway/ JOY LOVEJOY: In Orbit/ THE MARVELETTES: I'll Keep Holding On/ THE ORIGINALS: Suspicion/ BOBBY PARIS: Night Owl/ DEAN PARRISH: I'm On My Way/ PATTI & THE EMBLEMS: I'm Gonna Love You A Long Time/ JOHN E. PAUL: I Wanna Know/ FRANK POPP ENSEMBLE: Breakaway/ THE PROPHETS: I Got The Fever/ JIMMY RADCLIFFE: Long After Tonight Is All Over/ BARBARA RANDOLPH: I Got A Feeling/ MARTHA REEVES: No One There/ Baby (Don't You Leave Me)/ Nowhere To Run/ One Way Out/ THE REFLECTIONS: (Just Like) Romeo and Juliet/ SMOKEY ROBINSON & THE MIRACLES: Whole Lot Of Shakin' In My Heart (Since I Met You)/ DAVID RUFFIN: Walk Away From Love/ You Can Come Right Back To Me/ JIMMY RUFFIN: He Who Picks A Rose/ SAN REMO GOLDEN STRINGS: Festival Time/ EVIE SANDS: Picture Me Gone/ THE SAPPHIRES: Gotta Have Your Love/ BUNNY SIGLER: Girl Don't Make Me Wait/ THE SISTERS LOVE: I'm Learning To Trust My Man/ THE SPINNERS: I'll Always Love You/ What More Could A Boy Ask For/ HOLLY ST JAMES: That's Not Love/ EDWIN STARR: I Have Faith In You/ I See A Rainbow/ If My Heart Could Tell The Story/ Stop Her On The Sight (S.O.S)/ THE SUPREMES: Life Beats/ There's No Stopping Us Now/ THE TAMS: Hey Girl Don't Bother Me/ JOHNNY TAYLOR: Friday Night/ R. DEAN TAYLOR: There's A Ghost In My House/ THE TEMPTATIONS: You're My Everything/ TAMMI TERRELL: I Gotta Find A Way To Get You Back/ Tears At The End Of A Love Affair/ SPYDER TURNER: I Can't Make It Anymore/ FRANKIE VALLI: Thank You/ The Night/ EARL VAN DYKE AND THE MOTOWN BRASS: 6 X 6/ THE VELVELETTES: Ain't No Place Like Motown/ He Was Really Sayin' Something/ These Things Will Keep Me Loving You/ JR. WALKER & THE ALL STARS: I Ain't Going Nowhere/ PETE WARNER: Just Want To Spend My Life With You/ KIM WESTON: Helpless/ FRANK WILSON: Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)/ STEVIE WONDER: Uptight (Everything's Alright)/ CHUCK WOOD: Seven Days Too Long

 
 

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