"Atlanta: Hotbed Of 70s Soul" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Featuring Sixteen Previously Unreleased Tracks from the vaults of GRC, Aware and Hotlanta Records and other Michael Thevis Related Labels - Featuring Songs by Sam Dees, Joe Hinton, Kenneth Wright, Louvain Demps, Dee Ervin, King Hannibal and more (March 2024 UK Ace/Kent Soul CD Compilation with Nick Robbins Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Atlanta-Hotbed-Soul-Various-Artists/dp/B0CVS838KQ?crid=3E3EBJV37RDET&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.tXsscEnXTbbzj-o0pRb6OQ.xOdwXmy25XCJ6428c60q_g9N4T-VwUzmEjQZgV29jeE&dib_tag=se&keywords=029667109826&qid=1713357440&sprefix=029667109826%2Caps%2C71&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=6d5cfee0f6023ff3a582616ff99c6caf&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

RATINGS:

*** Material

**** Audio Remasters

***** Presentation

"…Grant Me One More Day…"

Ace Records of the UK via their Kent-Soul label imprint have been on a crusade for a decade-plus now to repatriate the city of Atlanta in our hearts as a (as they would put it) criminally unacknowledged hotpot of US Soul. 

None no more so than the labels around entrepreneur Michael Thevis who owned and went to jail for GRC Records (General Recording Company). Giving a platform to quality singers and Southern-Soul songwriters like Sam Dees, Jimmy Lewis, Joe Hinton, Kenneth Wright, Joe Graham, Louvain Demps, Dee Ervin and James Shaw aka King Hannibal (to name but a few) – this 30 March 2024 CD compilation offers up a whopping Sixteen Previously Unreleased - sat comfortably alongside Eight other hard-to-find Soul Rarities. 

I would however counter Ace's claims that this is Primo Material – there's a feeling throughout the listen that these OK-renditions remained in the cans for reasons. Sure there are great discoveries and worthy inclusions (Miss Louistine, Shirlean Fant and Lorraine Johnson) and the Audio is far better than it had any divine right to be - but there are too many of the opposite to justify claims of Holy Grails. To the Love Making and the Love Stopping…here are the Hotlanta details...

UK released Friday, 29 March 2024 - "Atlanta: Hotbed Of 70s Soul" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 518 (Barcode 029667109826) is a 24-Track CD Compilation of Remasters that plays out as follows (79:15 minutes):

1. Con Me – MISS LOUISTINE (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – a David Camon and Sam Dees song)

2. Paper Man – ALPACA PHASE III (2023 UK 45-Single, Deep Soul 16, A-side – a 1974 Recording by Sam Dees, Wes Lewis, and Ken Walker)

3. Is There Someone Else – DEEP VELVET (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – a Mose Davis song)

4. The Soul Of Black Folks – KENNETH WRIGHT (Previously Unreleased, 2024, a Kenneth Wright song)

5. Grant Me One More Day – JOE HINTON (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – a Louvain Demps and Joe Hinton song)

6. Keep On Walking – THE STEPPERS (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – a JJ Barnes, James Davis and Herbert Ross song)

7. Time Is Winding Up – DOROTHY NORWOOD (from the 2011 UK 2LP set "Superfunk's Mission Impossible: Hard To Find And Unreleased Funk Masters (Volume 7)" on Ace/BGP Records BGP2 234 - CD Version is BGP Records CDBGPD 234 – a Kenneth Mims, Dorothy Norwood and Lois Snead song)

8. Love Making – JEAN BATTLE (April 1972 US 45-single, Red Lite RL 119, A-side – May 1972 UK 45-single, Mojo 2027 010, A-side – a Sam Dees song)

9. Extra-Extra – MISS LOUISTINE (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – a Sam Dees song)

10. I'm Tired Of Dreaming – DEEP VELVET (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – Joe Hinton and Marlin McNichols song)

11. Depend On Me – JOE HINTON (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – a Louvain Demps and Joe Hinton)

12. Me And Jen – KENNETH WRIGHT (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – a Kenneth Wright song)

13. What Am I To Do – JOE GRAHAM (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – a Joe Graham song)

14. Sure Could Do With Some You – SHIRLEAN FANT (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – a Brad Baker, Shirlean Fant and Ed Williams song)

15. Someone To Run To – ALPACA PHASE III (Originally an Alternate Version first issued January 2015 on the Sam Dees UK CD Compilation "It's Over: 70s Songwriter Demos & Masters", Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 426)

16. Can I Hold You To It – LORRAINE JOHNSON (May 1973 US 45-single, Atlantic 45-2967, A-side – Sam Dees, Albert Gardner, Jesse Lewis, and Clinton Moon song)

17. When Will I Stop Loving You – LORRAINE JOHNSON (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – an Albert Gardner and Jesse Lewis song)

18. I Need Me Some More Of You – DEE ERVIN (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – Di Fosco Ervin and Dee Dee McNeil song)

19. Shouldn't I Be Given The Right To Be Wrong – JOE HINTON (1974 US 45-single, Hotlanta HL 306, B-side of "Hanna's Love")

20. Fight Fire With Fire – KING HANNIBAL (Originally issued on the July 2022 UK LP "Atlanta Soul Artistry 1965-1975" on Ace/Kent Soul KENT 523 – a James Shaw and Delia Gartell song – Shaw is King Hannibal)

21. Talk's Cheap – THE SURPRISE SISTERS (from the 2011 UK 2LP set "Superfunk's Mission Impossible: Hard To Find And Unreleased Funk Masters (Volume 7)" on Ace/BGP Records BGP2 234 - CD is BGP Records CDBGPD 234 – a Sam Dees song)

22. Loneliness Hurts Just A Little Bit – JOE GRAHAM (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – a Joe Graham song)

23.There'll Always Be Forever – LOMITA JOHNSON (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – a Di Fosco Ervin and Dee Dee McNeill song)

24. My Peaceful Forest – DEE CLARK (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – a Herb Ryals song)

NOTES: 
All Tracks STEREO except Tracks 8, 10, 12, 17, 19 and 20 in MONO

ADY CROASDELL does the honours once more for Ace in this latest Kent Soul CD compilation breaking down the liner notes info into Artists sections rather than a strict track-by-track. His vast and enthusiastic knowledge is key – swathes of facts and names and Promo photos for Deep Velvet, Miss Louistine, Joe Hinton, Lorraine Johnson, King Hannibal, and Dee Clark bringing up the rear (the last page of 20). The front cover of the booklet is The Steppers in all their 70ts regalia. The Audio is uniformly great even on some of the Demo-ish sounding Mono cuts (NICK ROBBINS for Ace once again displaying his transfer skills) but I wish I could be more enthusiastic about the actual playlist. It feels like 3-star material with 4-star Audio in a 5-star presentation. To the Soul Music…

"Atlanta: Hotbed Of 70s Soul" opens very strongly with a gorgeous Stylistics type Sitar Soul Ballad in Stereo from Miss Louistine – her "Con Me" promising a feast of similar discoveries. "Paper Man" too from Alpaca Phase III – only just issued in 2023 as a 45-single with a Sam Dees cut on the B-side – you can hear why its 3:37-minute warmth and great vocal would appeal. But then the CD starts to taper off into what feels like tunes that are good without ever having that magic. 

Things pick up with the Jesus-righteous Dorothy Norwood getting funky about the world falling apart in her excellent "Time Is Winding Up" (even the congregation is being attacked) while a genuinely uplifting sexy moment arrives with Jean Battle and her only UK 45-single – the decidedly racy and bedroom-saucy needs of a motivated lady in her "Love Making". Just the right side of Jean Knight and "Mr. Big Stuff" attitude – Jean had a great voice and with its Brass vs. Piano Funky groove and its my-man-is-a-top-man-in-loving lyrics, you can hear why this Red Lite Records US 45-obscurity from 1972 is garnishing interest. Unfortunately it is ruined by the manic Disco vibe of Extra-Extra by Miss Louistine – might have been a hit back in the day had it been released – but here in 2024 it just sounds painful.

Deep Velvet score for a second time with the excellent "I'm Tired Of Dreaming" – written by Joe Hinton and Marlin McNichols – it was mistakenly credited to just Joe Hinton on the July 2022 UK LP "Atlanta Soul Artistry 1965-1975" - but Kent Soul now credit it properly to Deep Velvet. Unfortunately the Kenneth Wright track "Me And Jen" has good ideas going on, but a DIY recording and his over-echoed refrains feel like bad Sly Stone doing a demo he won't make public any time soon. The Country-Soul Drifters-light smooch of "What Am To Do" by Joe Graham might have had a chance in the charts of the day, but his flat delivery on some lines explains why it was canned. And on it goes…

I love Sam Dees songs (his influence is everywhere on this disc) – but I found I was trying too hard to like "Atlanta: Hotbed Of 70s Soul" without getting a return. 

Fans will have to own it, but for the uninitiated, I would suggest a listen first…

"Choctaw Ridge: New Fables Of The American South 1968-1973" by VARIOUS ARTISTS [Bob Stanley and Martin Green Present] – Featuring Lee Hazlewood, Chris Gantry, Jerry Reed, Jeannie C. Riley, Hoyt Axton, Tom T. Hall, Dolly Parton, Charlie Rich, Kenny Rogers, Tony Joe White and more (July 2021 UK Ace Records CD Compilation – Nick Robbins Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Choctaw-Ridge-Fables-American-1968-1973/dp/B096WBXB7D?crid=3GNGBYCF8ZFN&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.dp_WRSjIWuUHMFiDPFpwdw.GTBVdiqp5vV8rt8HxYfKGbZc3kOCg7kc2Wo4hDx3IgA&dib_tag=se&keywords=029667102322&qid=1711183099&sprefix=029667102322%2Caps%2C74&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=0e7107fa02b05e5a5c0b7193276bf66d&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

"...Shavings Of Your Mind..."

Blame it all on "Ode To Billie Joe" – Bobbie Gentry's 1967 Southern Country Rock anthem to infidelity, appetite loss, sawmills and death by Tallahatchie bridges. 

Coming on like a really, really good Lee Hazlewood album that you haven't yet heard – compilers Bob Stanley and Martin Green have pulled out a genuine winner with Ace Records' 2021 compilation "Choctaw Ridge..."

Available as a CD and 2LP Vinyl Album (24-tracks for both, see below for catalogue numbers and barcodes) - there is much to savour on here that even diehard collectors will not have heard. So let's return to the back side of Dallas, Logan courthouses, summer coming early to Strawberry Farm and marooned pregnant girls longing for wayward straw-hatted beaus chasing other unwedded pageant queens with pedal steel guitars down in Dover...

UK released Friday, 30 July 2021 - "Choctaw Ridge: New Fables Of The American South 1968-1973" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace Records CDCHD 1585 (Barcode 029667102322) is a 24-Track CD and 2LP VINYL compilation (Ace Records XXQLP2 078 – Barcode 029667012911) that plays out as follows (76:51 minutes): 

1. The House Song – LEE HAZLEWOOD (June 1968 US 45-single on Reprise 0699, B-side of "Morning Dew" – also on the 1968 US Stereo LP "Love And Other Crimes" on Reprise RS 6297)

2. If Only She Had Stayed – CHRIS GANTRY (from the 1968 US Stereo LP "Retrospection" on Monument SLP 18100)

3. Endless Miles Of Highway - JERRY REED (from the 1972 US LP "Smell The Flowers" on RCA Victor LSP 4660)

4. The Back Side Of Dallas - JEANNIE C. RILEY (from the 1969 US Stereo LP "Things Go Better With Love" on Plantation PLP 3)

5. Way Before The Time Of Towns - HOYT AXTON (from the 1969 US Stereo LP "My Griffin Is Gone" on Columbia CS 9766)

6. Strawberry Farms - TOM T. HALL (from the 1969 US Stereo LP "Homecoming" on Mercury SR 61247)

7. Down From Dover - DOLLY PARTON (from the 1970 US Stereo LP "The Fairest Of Them All" on CA Victor LSP 4288)

8. July 12, 1939 - CHARLIE RICH (from the 1970 US Stereo LP "The Fabulous Charlie Rich" on Epic BN 26516)

9. What Am I Doing In L.A.? - NAT STUCKEY (July 1970 US MONO 45-single on RCA Victor 47-9884, B-side of "Whiskey, Whiskey" – Stereo Version also on the 1970 US LP "Country Fever" on RCA Victor LSP 4389)

10. Mr. Stanton Don't Believe It - ROB GALBRAITH (from the 1970 US Stereo LP "Nashville Dirt" on Columbia CS 1057)

11. Saunders' Ferry Lane - SAMMI SMITH (August 1971 US 45-single on Mega 615-0039, A-side - also from the 1970 US Stereo LP "He's Everywhere" on Mega Records M31-1000 - renamed "Help Me Make It Through The Night" with the same catalogue)

12. Four Shades Of Love - HENSON CARGILL (March 1970 US 45-single on Monument MN45-1198, B-side to "The Most Uncomplicated Goodbye I've Ever Heard" - and from the 1970 US Stereo LP "The Uncomplicated Henson Cargill" on Monument SLP 18137)

13. Drivin' My Nails In The Wall - WAYLON JENNINGS & THE KIMBERLYS (from the 1969 US Stereo LP "Country-Folk" on RCA Victor LSP 4180)

14. Ruby, Don't Take My Love To Town - KENNY ROGERS & THE FIRST EDITION (May 1969 US 45-single on Reprise 0829, A-side - also from the 1969 US Stereo LP "'69" on Reprise Records RS 6328)

15. Why Can't I Come Home - ED BRUCE (from the 1968 US Stereo LP "If I Could Just Go Home" on RCA Victor LSP 3948)

16. Mr. Walker, It's All Over - BILLE JO SPEARS (February 1969 US 45-single on Capitol 2436, A-side - also from the 1969 US Stereo LP "Mr. Walker, It's All Over" on Capitol ST 224)

17. Harlan County - JIM FORD (August 1969 US 45-single on Sundown SD-115, A-side - also on the 1969 US Stereo LP "Harlan County" on Sundown JHS 1002)

18. Widow Wimberly - TONY JOE WHITE (from his 1970 3rd US Stereo LP "Tony Joe" on Monument SLP 18142)

19. Belinda (Alternate Take) - BOBBIE GENTRY (recorded in 1970, first issued on the September 2018 UK/Europe 8CD Box Set "The Girl From Chickasaw County (The Complete Capitol Masters)" on Universal/UMC 5383971)

20. Joanne - MICHAEL NESMITH & THE FIRST NATIONAL BAND (from his 1970 US Stereo LP "Magnetic South" on RCA Victor LSP 4371)

21. Mr. Jackson's Got Nothing To Do - JOHN HARTFORD (from his 1969 US Fifth Stereo LP "John Hartford" on RCA Victor LSP 4156)

22. Alone - LEE HAZLEWOOD & SUZI JANE HOKOM (November 1969 Promo-Only MONO US 45-single on LHI Records LHI 19, B-side to "Same Old Songs")

23. Fabulous Body And Smile - SIR ROBERT CHARLES GRIGGS [aka Bobby Charles] (1973 US 45-single on Capitol 3714, A-side - also from his 1973 US Stereo LP "The Legend Of Sir Robert Charles Griggs" on Capitol St-11234)

24. I Feel Like Going Home - CHARLIE RICH (August 1973 US 45-single on Epic 5-11040, B-side of "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World")

NOTES: All Tracks in STEREO except No. 9 and 22 in MONO

The 24-page booklet is a thoroughly satisfying feast of knowledge and affection from compiler BOB STANLEY (with nods to friends who helped) that's also jam-packed with rare US 45/LP artwork with the occasional trade adverts (full pages to Michael Nesmith and Charlie Rich). Top quality Audio is by Ace's long-standing and mucho-experienced NICK ROBBINS - 22 Stereo cuts with only Nat Stuckey and the Lee Hazelwood/Suzi Jane Hokom duet in Mono. VINYL collectors should also note that all Ace Records issues of the double are black vinyl, but there's a rare GREEN VINYL variant of 500 copies (with the same catalogue number) on Rough Trade, which was available direct from their mail order. To the chunes... 

The underling menace/relationship-sleaze inherent in the song "Ode To Billie Joe" acts as an idea springboard for this collection of lesser-heard 60ts and 70ts Country and Folk Rock from Southern States USA (not surprisingly most of these songs were on RCA Victor or Columbia - two principal homes of Country). What comes as something of a surprise though is how this compilation proves the extraordinary reach of that song - its unusual structure, words, weirdly downbeat yet intriguing story - all of it – beguiling and inspiring. Five tracks in and it's pretty clear that huge swathes of great artists had heard Bobby Gentry and her stunning 'Son Of A Preacher Man' type-tune and had been duly blown away (Tony Joe White practically started writing his own material because of it). Seizing the sluice-gates day, they too began aping its searing lyrical honesty and between 1968 and 1970 (especially) tackled subjects usually off-limits to a three-minute radio song appealer. 

But amongst these knowing tales of serial cheaters, guitar-case railroad-track walkers and swamp-rocking widows are surprisingly touching odes to genuinely tremulous hurt and loss. It opens with a gorgeous remastered Stereo cut from Lee Hazlewood (the king of deadpan drama, lyrics from it title this review) where a tempestuous marriage puts the house up for sale every Wednesday morning only to see it taken off the market that afternoon once their even hastier make-up kicked in. Dolly Parton too – so often seen as a bubble-headed Barbie Doll in mock Cherokee tassels singing about good old Kentucky gals – stuns with her open-wound pain story of a pregnant girl hiding her smock bump - abandoned by a huckster in "Down From Dover". Bob Stanley quite rightly calls it brave at a time when so many in her genre wouldn’t have gone near such real-world nastiness with a barge pole. And just how early-morning God-of-life beautiful is Hoyt Axton's "Way Before The Time Of Towns" – a stunning soft-as-silk orchestrated acoustic epic from a writer normally associated with Rock stuff like Three Dog Night's keyboard-upbeat chart-topper "Joy To The World" and Steppenwolf's hard-hitting anti-drug song "The Pusher".

Gentry herself gets a showing with an Alternate Acoustic rendering of "Belinda", a song that turned up on her fifth and final album "Patchwork" for Capitol Records in 1970. Its first appearance came on CD7 of the exemplary and seriously sought after September 2018 8CD Box Set "The Girl From Chickasaw County". Sat on the front-door steps of some large house in her patchwork dress, tasselled hair and wicker basket of oh-so-darlin' flowers - it's a pared-back acoustic rendering and a clever choice over the issued version – this brute being starker and darker and better for it. Before the Nancy Sinatra duets, Lee Hazlewood over on his Lee Hazlewood Industries LHI label had been pairing with Suzi Jane Hokom and their Jack Nitzsche-arranged "Alone" makes for another slyly dark sleeper (a Promo-only 7" in the USA). Other genius inclusions are the hard-to-find-on-CD B-side "I Feel Like Going Home" by Charlie Rich (flip of the Silver Fox's huge hit "The Most Beautiful Girl") and anything from the Country-Soulful Jim Ford album "Harlan County" is a doozy in my books. And on it goes...

I would admit that this CD would be an acquired-taste listen for some – a lick-of-the-lips they don't ever want to experience. But "Choctaw Ridge..." is the kind of compilation that's rare in the 2020s - the listen is good (discoveries galore); it sounds great and has on-the-money annotation that will make you dig deeper and explore. And all of it collated by British men brandishing brave trouser choices - decent chappies proffering us American Country Music cultural-less Neanderthals with tunes and artists we really need to pay more attention to/reappraise. Top stuff and well done to all involved...

"Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities Volume 6" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Featuring 1963 to 1971 US 45-Singles and Previously Unreleased Material (November 2017 UK Ace/Kent Dance CD Compilation of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Northern-Souls-Classiest-Rarities-6/dp/B075Z6SD48?crid=2SXMF9YN8QUNW&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.5-2O2NDP8C2l1J15pNZzmQ.bjK2jhUdP8puaug5TX14x3BHDdkuGCjb5P_V42kseF0&dib_tag=se&keywords=029667085922&qid=1709577979&sprefix=029667085922%2Caps%2C76&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=3f3a31401dcf735a2599128cec6b137b&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

This Review Along With 330-Plus Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

HIGHER GROUND 
70ts Soul, R'n'B, Funk, Jazz Fusion
Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters  

Just Click Below To Purchase for £6.95 (2024 Update)

Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 

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RATING: *****

"...I Only Cry Once A Day Now..."

There was a two-and-half-year lapse between Vol. 5 and Vol. 6 in this exemplary series from Ace Records of the UK (the premier label for oldies of this ilk) – but as always – they made it worth the nerve-shredder wait. And as of March 2024 (as I write this) - "Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities Volume 6" in Number Six in a Series of Seven (see list below).

You get Twenty-Four more US dancers, shufflers and talcum powder mufflers stretching from 1963 to 1971. Amongst the crying and the wailing and the dying of hearts to a danceable beat – you are plied with Four Unreleased cuts, several originally unissued slices from now deleted rarity compilations as well as the usual plethora of choice 45 A's, B's and LP tracks.

And while names like J.J. Barnes, Maxine Brown, The Detroit Emeralds, Betty Everett and Johnnie Taylor will be well known to Northern Soul afficionados - Kent Dance (Kent Soul and Kent Dance are label imprints Ace Records of the UK employs) present enough obscurity finds and re-discoveries to keep the faithful popping. Volume Five was a great listen – but I think Volume Six is even better. Here are the low-down production details that produced big bucks collectables...

UK released 24 November 2017 – "Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities Volume 6" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace/Kent Dance CDKEND 471 (Barcode 029667085922) pans out as follows (63:55 minutes):

1. Love Is Gonna Get You – PEGGY WOODS (Originally Unissued 1966 Murco Recording, first released 1988 as a 100-Club Anniversary UK 45-single on Kent 6T 4, then issued in 1992 on CD but with wrong mix, here presented in 2017 as a Full Finished Version)

2. You Won't Saying Nothing – TAMALA LEWIS (June 1965 USA 7" single on Marton 1002, A-side)

3. I Only Cry Once A Day Now – THE FIDELS (Previously Unissued 1966 Doré Records recording)

4. Friday Night – JOHNNIE TAYLOR (August 1970 USA 7" single on Stax Records STAX 0068, B-side of "Steal Away")

5. I Got To Tell Somebody – BETTY EVERETT (October 1970 USA 7" single on Fantasy 652, A-side, Arranged Donny Hathaway)

6. I Can Fly – THE MAGNIFICENTS (Originally Unissued 1973 Just Productions recording (written and produced by Jack Ashford), issued 2017 as a UK 7" single on Kent ST 33, B-side. The A-side is Lorraine Chandler "Ease My Mind" and is part of the Kent Anniversary Special Series of UK 45s)

7. Why You Wanna Treat Me The Way You Do – THE HYPERIONS (March 1965 USA 7" single on Chattahoochee CH 669, A-side)

8. Sunshine Love – DIFOSCO (1971 USA 7" single on Earthquake EQ-2, A-side – Difosco is Dee Ervin aka Big Dee Irwin)

9. I Wanted To Tell You – LITTLE NICKY SOUL (August 1964 USA 7" single on Shee Records SR-101, A-side – co-written and produced by Sidney Barnes of The Rotary Connection)

10. Young Boy Blues – DANIEL A. STONE (Originally Unissued 1965 recording from "Phil Spector's III", a 2007 UK CD Compilation on Ace CDCHD 1149)

11. No Mad Woman – JOCK MITCHELL with THE FABULOUS AGENT'S (1968 USA 7" single on Golden Hit Productions 103, A-side)

12. Sad Tomorrows – NOONEY RICKETT (Previously Unissued 1965 recording – Produced by Jack Nitzsche – the Jack Greenwich and Jerry Marcellino song was originally a 1964 hit for Trini Lopez on Reprise Records)

13. Wait A Minute (You're Getting Careless With My Heart) – THE KITTENS (1963 USA 7" single on Vick 300, B-side to "Somebody New")

14. One In A Million – MAXINE BROWN (Previously Unissued Take of US 45-Single Wand WND 1117 - original was an April 1967 A-side)

15. Naughty Boy – JACKIE DAY (1965 USA 7" single on Phelectron PH-382, B-side of "I Want Your Love")

16. The Winds Kept Laughing – BETTY TURNER and THE CHEVELLES (1964 USA 7" single on Crescent 637, A-side)

17. Lost In The City – THE VOWS (December 1964 USA 7" single on Big 3 Records 400, A-side)

18. Poor – Unfortunate – Me (I Ain't Got Nobody) – J.J. BARNES (November 1964 USA 7" single on Ring Records RING 101, A-side)

19. Cry In The Arms Of Another Love – ANDRE SCOTT with JESSIE, OTIS & SHOTGUN (1968 USA 7" single on Sunflower 101, B-side to "One Girl")

20. Love Live The King – THE DETROIT EMERALDS (from the 1971 US LP "Do Me Right"  on Westbound WB 2006, Janus 6310 204 in the UK)

21. Love Hangover – JEAN CARTER (1968 USA 7" single on Sunflower 102, B-side to "I Bet You")

22. (Marriage Is Only) A State Of Mind – O.C. TOLBERT (Originally Unissued 1972 recording, finally issued 30 June 2017 in the USA on Remined RMND-102)

23. Dream Girl – LON-GENES (1964 USA 7" single on Romark 108, A-side)

24. Little Boy – CARLA THOMAS (Originally Unissued 1961 recording first released 1991 on the UK Carla Thomas CD compilation "Hidden Gems" on Ace Records/Stax CDCHD 039)

NOTES:
Tracks 3, 12, 14 and 23 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED (2017)
All tracks in MONO except track 6 which is STEREO

Compiled and Annotated by long-time Soul Nutter ADY CROASDELL – his 20-pages of liner notes are the usual plethora of repro labels (Fantasy, Kent and Chattahoochee on Page 6) with rare publicity photos for Johnnie Taylor, Betty Everett, Carla Thomas and a black and white of The Vows on the back page few will ever have seen. The mighty Sidney Barnes is looking good in a Northern Soul teeshirt on Page 16 with another rarity – a colour snap of O.C. Tolbert on Page 17. NICK ROBBINS has done the remasters/transfers and given that all but one is in homemade Mono – most sound good to great – with the lobe Stereo cut singing. There is joy in these songs and even if they are not audiophile – Robbins has given them the just-enough oomph they need. To the pocket-draining joy unto the rave fantastic…

Volume 6 opens with an unissued by Peggy Woods and I can hear why they chose it, but I am not entirely convinced. Better for me is a very cool run of  Tamala Lewis, The Fidels and old Johnnie Taylor fretting about Friday Night – another Stax cut that I must admit passed me by. The unreleased Fidels song is a great discovery as is the Nooney Rickett cover of a Trini Lopez hit from 1964. 

The Little Nicky Soul seven-inch has ludicrously high market values of over £3000 and Ace have uncovered the story behind the single by Producer and Co-Writer SIDNEY BARNES who would late join Minnie Riperton in The Rotary Connection on Chess’s Cadet Concept Records before she went onto to solo fame in the 70ts on Epic. Barnes tells us that his real name was Nicholas Faircorth, and the name-change was of course to spruce up the showbiz presentation. Not only did Sidney give this young singer a break on Shee Records (he even designed the label) – the session included such luminaries as Bernard Purdie on Drums, Eric Gale on Guitar, Richard Tee on Keyboards with Jean Carter, Himself (Sidney Barnes) and a lady called Gena doing the backing vocals. Although most all these names would have been virtual unknowns at the time (1964) – they later became huge in their own Soul, Funk and Jazz-Fusion way. 

The ultra-desirable US 45 (co-penned with Lucille White of Motown's Jobette Music) apparently got a lot of radio play in New York (maybe not so many sale) and made Nicky a star for a while but then he disappeared. A killer dancer with a great lead vocal and backing vocal wall that dominates as much as the bemoaning lead - it was of course the Northern Soul nuts of the UK that picked up on "I Wanted To Tell You" and Barnes has cited them as the reason for its resurgence and staggering value. What a joy it is to have on here. 

Another staggeringly cost-prohibitive tune (near three and half grand sterling) comes in the shape of the Jackie Day 1966 B-side "Naughty Boy" on the obscure Phelectron Records – an unknown to aficionados until it was spun at an 80ts all-nighter in Stafford. Ace have even managed to uncover a photo of the classy-looking lady stood beside a smiling Big Jay McNeely (Page 11) – winners both. And there is no one who loves Sweet Soul Music can ever get enough of Maxine Brown – Ace having found an alternate and unissued take on "One In A Million" – a Northern Soul scene standard floorfiller for over 40-years – wow – how very cool! The San Diego based Crescent Records is another absolute unknown where the brass on the dancer "The Winds Kept Laughing" (Crescent 637) was supplied by a local school band sometime in 1964. And again, The Vows from Chicago on Big 3 Records score a ballad belter with "Lost In The City" – the kind of scorched-earth soul that sends fans into a froth at the gills (a steal at just under six-hundred and fifty quid to us mere digital mortals).

With a Detroit ensemble J.J. Barnes cut his hugely enjoyable "Poor – Unfortunate – Me (I Ain't Got Nobody)" in Chicago with a Marvin Gaye Motown sound in mind (there is a picture of this Soul Hero on Page 13 showing him on stage in a 1975 London visit). Once again Chess Records genius Sidney Barnes helped a teenage street vocal group Jessie, Otis & Shotgun by bringing in a young singer called Andre Scott and whipping their "Cry In The Arms Of Another Love" into a slice of Temptations-like commerciality. Tall tales surrounded Roosevelt Anderson (the Shotgun in the original trio) because his nickname came from the fact that he carried such a weapon with him to school – sawn-off and hidden under his jacket (nice) – no wonder he had such a high voice and low tolerance. And on it goes…

I didn't love everything on Volume 5 of this "Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities …" Series – but here in Volume 6 - the goodies are more abundant and outweigh the unissued-for-a-reason disappointments (of which there are thankfully very few).

Another must-own-or-I-die comp from Ace's Kent Dance and Volume 7 (although I have not heard it yet) that followed in 2021 is apparently just as boss. 

Would we expect anything else from this giant of a reissue label…

Ace's "Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities" Series (up to March 2024)

27 August 2001 - "Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities" on Ace/Kent Dance CDKEND 192 (Barcode 029667219228)

30 May 2005 - "Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities Volume 2" on Ace/Kent Dance CDKEND 248 (Barcode 029667224826)

26 May 2008 - "Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities Volume 3" on Ace/Kent Dance CDKEND 338 (Barcode 029667229524)

28 June 2010 - "Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities Volume 4" on Ace/Kent Dance CDKEND 338 (Barcode 029667233828)

30 March 2015 - "Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities Volume 5" on Ace/Kent Dance CDKEND 432 (Barcode 029667243223)

24 November 2017 - "Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities Volume 6" on Ace/Kent Dance CDKEND 471 (Barcode 029667085922)

26 February 2021 - "Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities Volume 7" on Ace/Kent Dance CDKEND 498 (Barcode 029667101721)

VARIOUS ARTISTS – "Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities Volume 5" – Featuring 1965 to 1975 US 45-Singles and Previously Unreleased Material (March 2015 UK Ace/Kent Dance CD Compilation of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Northern-Souls-Classiest-Rarities-5/dp/B00TE3P5HW?crid=32QV1ZPH1R02B&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.eZvYSH9NTVvh2r8X3IdKUQ.ZHG7DqkAWs57e1IU0hiT6KyZ9Yg6aRTbJb016a-XkHQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=029667243223&qid=1709388921&sprefix=029667243223%2Caps%2C76&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=bd4324f91d7d4181b21da8f0a8ab2407&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

This Review Along With 330-Plus Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

HIGHER GROUND 
70ts Soul, R'n'B, Funk, Jazz Fusion
Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters  

Just Click Below To Purchase for £6.95 (2024 Update)

Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 

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"...Sending Vibrations..."

It never ceases to amaze me just how deep and rich the vein is that runs through American Soul Music. Last day of March 2015 - a good 50 years after the event - and still the Dancer/Shuffler goodies keep coming at us.

"Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities Volume 5" from Ace/Kent Dance (Kent Soul and Kent Dance are label imprints Ace Records of the UK employs) does pretty much what it says on the tin – you get eighteen uber-rare/desirable homemade American 45s (worth a fortune and impossible to attain on actual vinyl) complimented by one 2014 CD find and a further six previously unreleased cuts for this 2015 release. And frankly Frank – Northern Soul fans are gonna love it hook, line and sinker. Here are the low-down production details that produced big bucks collectables...

UK released 30 March 2015 – "Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities Volume 5" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace/Kent Dance CDKEND 432 (Barcode 029667243223) pans out as follows (65:06 minutes):

1. When The Boy That You Love (Is Loving You) – THE AVONS (A Bob Holmes Recording – Previously Unreleased)

2. Hang Around – MARVA HOLIDAY (1968 USA 7" single on GNP Crescendo GNP-411, A)

3. That Same Old Feeling – THE VOLUMES (1966 USA 7" single on Impact 1017, A)

4. Just Beginning To Love You – THE STEELERS (1967 USA 7" single on Crash 430, A)

5. I Can't Get Hold Of Myself – CLIFFORD CURRY (1968 USA 7" single on Elf 90013, A)

6. Losing Control – MARY SAXTON (1965 CANADA 7" single on Pace 8-18-1166, A)

7. They Didn't Know – TERRI GOODNIGHT (1966 USA 7" single on Phelectron PH-701, B-side of "The Fighting Is Over")

8. It's All In The Way (You Look At It Baby) – MOUSIE & THE TRAPS (1966 USA 7" single on Toddlin Town 8204, A)

9. It's Alright To Cry Sometime – J.J. BARNES (1964 Ring Recording – Previously Unreleased)

10. Lover Man – THE SOUL BROTHERS (1967 USA 7" single on Sho-Biz 402, A)

11. How I Got Over – DARONDO PULLIAM (1972 USA 7" single on Ocampo 001, A)

12. Hook, Line And Sinker – ROY WRIGHT (1966 USA 7" singles (first) on Vick 210, (then on) Mica 2016, A)

13. Just Another Smile – MEL DAVIS (1969 USA 7" single on Golden State GSR 4-69, A)

14. I'm Sending Vibrations – THE WEBB PEOPLE (Extended Version of USA 7" single TCB Records 1446 – A Rob Keyloch Mix – Previously Unreleased)

15. Butterfly aka I Wish I Knew – THE BALLADS (1975 USA 7" single on Music City 897, A)

16. It Ain't No Achievement – THE MILLIONAIRES (1971 USA 7" single on Specialty 719, A)

17. Two Loves Have I – BIG JOE TURNER (1970 USA 7" single on Blues Time 45001, A)

18. Wrong, Wrong, Wrong – RAY & DAVE (1966 USA 7" single on Mica 501, A)

19. Pins And Needles – EDDY GILES (an originally unissued Murco recording first aired in 2014 on the EDDY GILES CD compilation "Southern Soul Brother: The Murco Recordings 1967-1969")

20. I'm The Reason – CLEO JACKSON, HUCK & THE SOUL PATROL (1969 USA 7" single on Mar-Kee 711, A – mistakenly credited in the booklet and on the inlay as Mar-Kee 717)

21. If You Don't Know, You Just Don't Know - THE DIALTONES (1967 USA 7" single on Dial 4054, A)

22. Do The Popcorn – LITTLE JOHNNY HAMILTON (1969 USA 7" single Soul Shack 531, A)

23. Break Someone Else's Heart – JEANETTE JONES (a Golden State Recorders recording – Previously Unreleased)

24. This Man Wants You – JESSE COWAN (Golden State Recorders recording – Previously Unreleased)
NOTES:
Tracks 1, 9, 14, 23 and 24 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED (2015)
Track 19 is a 60ts Murco Recording first released 2014 on an Ace CD
All tracks in MONO except 1, 12, 14, 15, 17, 23 and 24 which are STEREO

Compiled and Annotated by long-time Soul Nutter ADY CROASDELL – his 16-pages of liner notes are the usual plethora of repro labels (and a Jeanette Jones Acetate) with rare publicity photos for Mel Davis, Darondo Pulliam and J.J. Barnes snapped in full flow at the 100 Club in London. Marva Holliday gets three photos in the booklet, front cover top left, Page 4 and a full colour plate on the rear – not surprising given her great homemade voice and Tammi Terrell-gorgeous looks. NICK ROBBINS has done the remasters/transfers and given that much of the material sounds decidedly lo-fi and is in Mono – most sound good to great – with the Stereo cuts being particularly great.

It opens with a 1-2-3 count in and we're off into Girl Group territory with Motown affectations. Marva Holliday lays into a Sherlie Matthews song called "Hang Around" on GNP Crescendo GNP-411 and gives fabulous insights into its creation (her inexperienced and young vocal only lend it more charm). Record labels like Phelectron, Toddlin Town and Ocampo aren't exactly rolling off the tongue or household names even in knowledgeable Soul circles. 

Mary Saxton comes on like Tina Turner's younger sister "Losing Control" over her man (great dancer and apparently only available in Canada). The 2nd release on the Phelectron Records label by Terri Goodnight ("They Didn't Know") went for nearly $3000 on Auction in 2010.

Croasdell rightly praises the vocals and arrangements on the Millionaires cut "It Ain't No Achievement" – a rare Soul outing for Specialty Records. How weird is it to hear Atlantic's Big Joe Turner take the Ted Murrell oldie "Two Loves Have I" (covered by crooners like Nat King Cole) and turn it into a successful upbeat brassy Soul dancer! Another that I like is "Pins And Needles" by Eddy Giles – a nice groove and a great voice. I've reviewed Ace's CD on Eddy Giles elsewhere - another belter. And on it goes to an Unreleased Jeanette Jones recording (ninth issued on Kent).

I can't honestly say everything on "Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities Volume 5" is my absolute travel-bag – but the goodies outweigh the negs by a mile. Another winner from Ace's Kent-Dance and Volume 6 that followed in 2017 is just as good…

Ace Records and Kent Dance's 

"Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities" Series 

(All Releases up to March 2024)

27 August 2001 - "Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities" on Ace/Kent Dance CDKEND 192 (Barcode 029667219228)

30 May 2005 - "Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities Volume 2" on Ace/Kent Dance CDKEND 248 (Barcode 029667224826)

26 May 2008 - "Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities Volume 3" on Ace/Kent Dance CDKEND 338 (Barcode 029667229524)

28 June 2010 - "Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities Volume 4" on Ace/Kent Dance CDKEND 338 (Barcode 029667233828)

30 March 2015 - "Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities Volume 5" on Ace/Kent Dance CDKEND 432 (Barcode 029667243223)

24 November 2017 - "Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities Volume 6" on Ace/Kent Dance CDKEND 471 (Barcode 029667085922)

26 February 2021 - "Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities Volume 7" on Ace/Kent Dance CDKEND 498 (Barcode 029667101721)

"Groove Machine: The Earl Young Drum Sessions" by VARIOUS ARTISTS [featuring Drummer Earl Young] – Featuring 45-Single and Album Tracks from 1965 to 1977 by Archie Bell & The Drells, The Trammps, The Ambassadors, Dusty Springfield, The Delfonics, Clyde McPhatter, The O'Jays, The Spinners, B.B. King, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Charles Mann, Billy Paul, The Whispers, William DeVaughn, The Modulations, Double Exposure, Loleatta Holloway, Eddie Holman and more (February 2024 UK Ace/Kent Soul CD Compilation of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Groove-Machine-Earl-Young-Sessions/dp/B0CP7WG42J?crid=FPNYAXHQXV4R&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.FgVpwkJOzUZlSNA9SMM2uA.6sEpw6KQaPn0iXoNXamAGW6H6Cpp3nX-ZAFeRaUEhnE&dib_tag=se&keywords=029667109925&qid=1708970956&sprefix=029667109925%2Caps%2C94&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=a1b5ba677cb1140868024ac0b9f87262&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

RATING: Content *** to *****

Audio *** to ****

"…Hit And Miss…"

Born in a prison and raised in three different foster homes – the legendary Philly Groove Drummer Earl Jones lined phonebooks up on chairs as a child to practice his beats (didn't want to play no bugle in a local Marching Band). And man oh break-free man – did it pay off.

To have your musician-name on sessions that produced the iconic sounds of tunes like "Backstabbers" by O'Jays, "The Love I Lost" by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes and "Be Thankful For What You Got" by William DeVaughn is a Soul Music accolade many would throttle a close relative for. But a look down through this list of twenty-three R 'n' B singles and album tracks covering 1965 to 1977 on a variety of labels (with a major lean on Seventies Philly Grooves - Gamble & Huff material etc) and you see there is so much more (it has a near eighty-minute total-playing-time).

I'll readily admit that I don't like all of it and as summit of a die-hard Philadelphia International fan/collector – I already have way too many of these entries. But as a one-stop – as a helluva tester to one man's relentlessly sexy backbeat - "Groove Machine: The Earl Young Drum Sessions" gets my Thom Bell going any day of the week. More hit than miss – to the details…

UK released Friday, 23 February 2024 - "Groove Machine: The Earl Young Drum Sessions" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace/Kent Soul CDTOP 1629 (Barcode 029667109925) is a 23-Track CD Compilation of Remasters covering 1965 to 1977 that plays out as follows (79:15 minutes):

1. Penguin At The Big Apple/Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart (Medley) – THE TRAMMPS (from the August 1975 US LP "The Legendary Zing Album" on Buddah Records BDS 5641, credited as The Fabulous Trammps)

2. Storm Warning – THE VOLCANOS (May 1965 US 45-Single, Arctic 106, A-side)

3. Do The Hand Jive – ARCHIE BELL & THE DELLS (May 1969 US 45-Single, Atlantic 2644, B-side of "Girl You're Too Young")

4. Ain't Got The Love Of One Girl (On My Mind) – THE AMBASSADORS (March 1969 US 45-Single, Arctic 150, A-side)

5. Silly, Silly Fool – DUSTY SPRINGFIELD (January 1970 US 45-Single, Atlantic 45-2705, A-side)

6. Trying To Make A Fool Of Me – THE DELFONICS (May 1970 US 45-Single, Philly Groove PG 162, A-side)

7. Please Give Me One More Chance – CLYDE McPHATTER (from the August 1970 US LP "Welcome Home" on Decca DL 75231)

8. Backstabbers – O'JAYS (May 1972 US 45-Single, Philadelphia International ZS7 3517, A-side)

9. Just Can't Get You Out Of My Mind - THE SPINNERS (from the April 1973 US LP "Spinners" on Atlantic SD 7256)

10. I Like To Live The Love – B.B. KING (November 1973 US 45-Single, ABC Records ABC-11406, A-side)

11. The Love I Lost (Part 1) - HAROLD MELVIN & THE BLUE NOTES (August 1973 US 45-Single, Philadelphia International Z7S 3533, A-side)

12. Do It Again – CHARLES MANN (from the 1973 US LP "Say You Love Me Too" on ABC Records ABCX-786)

13. TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia) – THE THREE DEGREES (from the June 1975 US LP "International" on Philadelphia International KZ 33162, credited as "Take Good Care Of Yourself" in the UK, released April 1975 on Philadelphia International PIR 69137)

14. Be Truthful To Me – BILLY PAUL (September 1974 US 45-Single, Philadelphia International ZS8 3551, A-side)

15. I'm Doin' Fine Now – NEW YORK CITY (from the March 1973 US LP "I'm Doin' Fine Now" on Chelsea Records BCL1-0198)

16. I Just Can't Say Goodbye – PHILLY DEVOTIONS (December 1974 US 45-Single, Columbia 3-10076, A-side – February 1975 UK 45-Single on CBS Records CBS 3042, A-side)

17. A Mother For My Children – THE WHISPERS (December 1973 US 45-Single, Janus J-231, A-side)

18. Be Thankful For What You Got – WILLIAM DeVAUGHN (March 1974 US 45-Single, Roxbury BRBO-0236, A-side)

19. I Can't Fight Your Love – THE MODULATIONS (1974 US 45-Single, Buddah BDA 418, A-side, September 1974 UK 45 on Buddah BDS 406 – also on the 1975 US LP "It's Rough Out Here" on Buddah BDS 5638)

20. Touch And Go (12" Single) – ECSTASY, PASSION & PAIN featuring BARBARA ROY (April 1976 US-Only Promo-Only 12" Single, Roulette R-7182DJ, A-side)

21. My Love Is Free – DOUBLE EXPOSURE (January 1977 US 45-Single, Salsoul SZ 2012, B-side of "Just Can't Say Hello")

22. Hit And Run – LOLEATTA HOLLOWAY (March 1977 US 45-Single, Gold Mind GM-4001, April 1978 UK 45-Single on Salsoul SSOL 108, A-side)

23. Time Will Tell – EDDIE HOLMAN (April 1977 US and UK 45-Single on Salsoul SZ 2026 (same catalogue number for both countries), the B-side of "This Will Be A Night To Remember" in both countries)

NOTES:
Tracks 2, 15 and 19 are MONO; all others STEREO

Every booklet Ace has produced for compilations like this always shows real effort – loads of definitive details and period-appropriate photos. But here in February 2024, we not only get treated to all that song-by-song analysis by the hugely knowledgeable TONY ROUNCE - but also a fantastic recently conducted interview by Record Collector's IAN SHIRLEY with an 83-year-old Earl Young complete with photos of the great man behind his kit wearing a Philadelphia International Records tee-shirt! Starting at Page 20 and working its way across a Q&A until it finishes on Page 30 – Young gets down and dirty about first breaks – sessions with Stevie Wonder and other legendary performers – how he got his signature sound at Sigma Studios and so on. 

At 32-pages - this is a substantial effort put in by Kent-Soul on the booklet honouring the man's legacy – something Sony Music/EMI are never going to do on any Now Yearbook comp. The labels are all pictured – Salsoul, Arctic (from the early years), Buddah and Atlantic and Probe Records out of the UK that carried much of the ABC stuff. There are rare picture sleeves, demo labels, sheet music, record label black and white promo photos, trade adverts – the usual thorough plethora of lesser-seen period goodies. And long-time Ace Records accomplice in all things Audio-Excellence NICK ROBBINS has done the Remasters that I swear give a more prominent edge to the Drums on tunes you have heard hundreds of times. It sounds fab. To the listen…

With its flange guitar working across your speakers and his tight-in-the-pocket drums keeping a groove with the strings – the classic mid Seventies TSOP soundscape is set up by The Trammps. I will admit I am not a fan of the two-part medley per say – feels a tad cheesy to me. Better is the dancer Northern Soul boys love, The Volcanos suffering black clouds over their heads with "Storm Warning" from 1965 on a seriously sought-after Arctic Records 45 – so cool. The ping-pinging vibes pick up pace with Archie Bell telling us that one of The Drells can't dance because of his two left feet, but luckily, he can "Do The Hand Jive". The audio takes a bit of a dive with the homemade Vocal-Soul of The Ambassadors – another find-em-fool-em sought-after rough and ready Soul-shuffler on Arctic. 

Two familiars show in the shape of Dusty Springfield and The Delfonics - The Sound of Philadelphia (TSOP) and Philly Groove starting to dominate the listen. In fact, some collectors might baulk because they will have much of these famous tunes already. The Gamble & Huff song "Silly, Silly Fool" was issued as a US 45 for Dusty Springfield 30 January 1970 – a short but poppy Soul Dancer cut off the album "A Brand New Me" (Atlantic SD 8249) released a couple of weeks prior to the single. Her light-as-air vocals work for it too. Lovely surprise comes in a late-in-his-career Clyde McPhatter dancer in "Please Give Me On More Chance" – great Bass and Earl keeping it tight as the former Drifters Lead Vocalist gets down on his knees and makes what you would imagine is one more in a long line of pleas. 

The rumbling piano and then Earl Jones just nailing it with that rhythm intro – then the strings and brass as we launch into the fantastic "Backstabbers" – the O'Jays changing the Soul template forever. I may be 66 this year, but I can remember 1972 when this socially smart piece of musical joy hammered charts everywhere. Suddenly it seemed that everyone was noticing this emerging Seventies Soul Sound. Smiling faces sometimes – low down and dirty indeed. As if to endorse the changes, The Spinners (known as The Detroit Spinners in the UK) come in with their smooth "Just Can't Get You Out Of My Mind" – a lovely inclusion and a smart choice. Onto a lesser trodden path with B.B. King proving himself still in touch with his ABC Records 45 "I Like To Live The Love" – his positivity and the tune's groove reminding me of The Staple Singers over on Stax. 

Another huge moment and recognizable Philly smash opens with electric piano and then Earl laying into the high-hats and pedal-drums thump (a US R&B No.1). Teddy Pendergrass gives his vocal a lived-it urgency as "The Love I Lost…" put Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes on the map. The CD then throws up its first clunker although I know there are some who like this cover version of Steely Dan's "Do It Again" by Charles Mann. In 1973 (only a year after their debut album "Can't Buy A Thrill" was released) Mann was at least first out of the gate at covering a Donald Fagen and Walter Becker-penned classic – I just find it too busy and his vocal not that convincing. But as I say, there are others who love this little wild one (all the time she's smiling - you know you'll be on your knees tomorrow). 

TSOP by The Three Degrees is overplayed for me – and the Pop Soul of Billy Paul doesn't cut it either. Better is the very-Philly-vibe in "I'm Doin' Fine Now" by New York City. Production values leap for The Philly Devotions – a so Seventies high-vocal strings-dancer with Earl laying it down over on the left. And on it goes to genius like William DeVaughn (digging the scene with a gangster lean) and the rare Promo-only twelve-inch of "Touch And Go" where Disco is beginning to muddy the Philly waters. 

"Groove Machine…" makes it point very nicely indeed. Could have been five stars, but it isn't all genius - so not quite the full enchilada. 

But "…The Earl Young Drum Sessions" is a timely reminder of background heroes who deserve the spotlight after all these keepin' it uptight decades…

"Incident At A Free Festival - Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs Present" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – 20 Tracks from 1969 to 1975 by Deep Purple, Manfred Man Chapter Three, Andwella, Hawkwind, Pink Fairies, Atomic Rooster, May Blitz, Paladin, Curved Air, Stack Waddy, BJH, Edgar Broughton Band, Stray, Library Music from Steve Gray, Dave Richmond, Alan Parker and Alan Hawkshaw, Slowload, Leafhound, James Hogg [a band], Jonesy and more (November 2023 UK Ace Records CD Themed Compilation with Nick Robbins Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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"...Chasing Shadows..."

 

RATING: ****

SOUND: **** to *****

PRESENTATION: *****

 

On Page 17 of the booklet for this very hip Ace Records compilation (from those hairymen arbitrators of good taste Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs) is a Promo Picture (no less) of the seriously obscure Slowload who managed a few singles on the largely Gilbert O'Sullivan based MAM Records label. Where do Ace get these things from – never mind locate the decidedly un-PC B-side "Big Boobs Boogie" – a flip to a Loving Spoonful cover on the A? The naffly named but very 1971 period B-side by Slowload was presumably put there to spare punters record shop emporium embarrassment (I will do anything for a slide guitar mate – well almost anything).

 

Such is the way with these Stanley/Wiggs themed-compilations – not all of which I have liked I must say. But this November 2023 one is a great listen and the boys have even put it out on a 2LP limited edition such is their hirsute confidence (God bless 'em). Thematically, picture muddy fields and Rock festivals in the country (and on islands) in the afternoon where the second and third tier bands of the day (most only just past debut albums on deeply Avant Garde labels) get to regale the weary mob before the headliners hit the stage that night. Prog Rock, Guitar whig-outs, some Funky rhythms and even Osibisa-type grooves meets with four Library Music slots to provide that eclectic underground scene vibe. And for the main part, it so works. Good song choices, discoveries too, some very cool 45-single sides that have stood the 50-year test of time. To the Meat Pies and the Afghan Guys...

 

UK released Friday, 24 November 2023 - "Incident At A Free Festival - Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs Present" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace Records CDCHD 1619 (Barcode 029667109123) is a 20-Track themed-compilation (on CD and 2LP formats) that plays out as follows (CD, 78:25 minutes):

 

1. Chasing Shadows – DEEP PURPLE (November 1969 UK Third Studio LP "Deep Purple" on Harvest SHVL 759, Lead Vocals by Rod Evans)

 

2. One Way Glass – MANFRED MANN CHAPTER THREE (November 1969 UK LP "Manfred Mann Chapter Three" on Vertigo VO 3, Lead Vocals by Mike Hugg)

 

3. Hold On To Your Mind – ANDWELLA (October 1970 UK 45-single on Reflection R.S. 3, A-side, featuring David Lewis)

 

4. Hot Pants – ALAN PARKER and ALAN HAWKSHAW [Guitarist and Keyboardist with Blue Mink] (1972 UK Music Library LP "Flute For Moderns" on KPM Music KPM 1080)

 

5. Do It – PINK FAIRIES (January 1971 UK 45-single on Polydor 2058 089, B-side of "The Snake")

 

6. Tomorrow Night – ATOMIC ROOSTER (September 1970 UK 45-single on B&C Records CB 131, A-side, featuring Vincent Crane)

 

7. Taken All The Good Things – STRAY (May 1970 UK Debut Album "Stray" on Transatlantic Records TRA 216, featuring Steve Gadd and Del Bromham)

 

8. Out Demons Out – EDGAR BROUGHTON BAND (April 1970 UK Non-Album 45 7" single on Harvest HAR 5015, A-side)

 

9. For Mad Men Only – MAY BLITZ (May 1971 UK Second and Last Studio LP "The 2^nd Of May" on Vertigo 636 0037)

 

10. Back Street Luv – CURVED AIR (June 1971 UK 45-single on Warner Brothers WB 8029, reissued and charted as Warner Brothers K 16092 - featuring Sonja Kristina, Francis Monkman, Darryl Way, Ian Eyre and Florian Pilkington-Miksa)

 

11. Ejection – HAWKWIND (2011 Remastered Version from the Back On Black ROVO13LP reissue of their third studio album "Doremi Fasol Latido" – recorded during those 1972 sessions)

 

12. Meat Pies 'Ave Come But Band's Not 'Ere Yet – STACK WADDY (October 1972 UK second album "Bugger Off" ("Bugger Off! on the artwork) on Dandelion Records 2310 231)

 

13. Lovely Lady Rock – JAMES HOGG [Band name not an individual] (June 1972 UK debut Non-LP 45-single on Regal Zonophone RZ 3054, A-side)

 

14. Third World – PALADIN (May 1971 UK Debut Album "Paladin" on Bronze Records ILPS 9150, featuring Lou Stonebridge, Derek Foley, Peter Solley, Pete Beckett and Keith Webb)

 

15. Taking Some Time On – BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST (June 1970 UK Debut LP "Their First Album" on Harvest SHVL 770)

 

16. Ricochet – JONESY (January 1973 UK 45-single on Dawn DNS 1030, A-side, an abridged edit of a track on their 1972 "No Alternative" LP)

 

17. Led Balloon – STEVE GRAY (1973 Various Artists Library Music LP "Fusion: Contemporary Styles In Electro-Pop" on KPM Music KPM 1121, credited as Steve Grey on the LP)

 

18. Big Boobs Boogie – SLOWLOAD (June 1971 UK Non-LP 45-single on Mam Records MAM 27, B-side of "On The Road Again")

 

19. Freelance Fiend – LEAFHOUND (October 1971 UK Debut LP rarity "Growers Of Mushrooms" on Decca SKL-R 5094, featuring Peter French later with Atomic Rooster)

 

20. Confunktion – DAVE RICHMOND (1975 Various Artists UK Library Music LP "Rock Spectrum" on KPM Music KPM 1163)

 

Across its 20-pages, Bob Stanley explains the choices and history of both the tunes and the bands - "Incident At A Free Festival" being a sort of tribute compilation to mid-afternoon slots by uppercoming combos who needed to win the crowd (unlike most of the headliners). The text as you can imagine is hugely informative and is accompanied on almost every name with photo memorabilia from the period - a Pink Fairies Music Press advert for the stand-alone 7" single "The Snake" b/w "Do It" - cool 45 labels like "Tomorrow Night" by Atomic Rooster on B&C Records abutting with Curved Air giving it some "Back Street Luv" on Warner Brothers (magic both of them). Stack Waddy's "Bugger Off!" LP on Dandelion up to a £2.09 advert by Decca for Leafhound's legendarily rare LP "Growers Of Mushrooms" of which there are said to be less than 500 copies.

 

The listen is very Prog Rock meets Hard Rock meets Funky Rock meets Flute and Synth Library Music on KPM and I must admit I mucked about with the track list's playing order on my CD player (I sequenced 13, 14, 15, 4, 5, 6, 7, 3, 10, 1, 2, 8, 9, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20). There is a truly amazing clarity across the presentation of what amounts to recordings from 1969 right through to 1975 - all of it sounds good, clear, punchy and in the cases of say Paladin and Hawkwind and May Blitz - better than ever (Remasters courtesy of Ace's long-standing Audio Engineer NICK ROBBINS - a man with vast experience handling material like this). To the listen...

 

It opens with Deep Purple, Rod Evans as Lead Vocalist not quite convincing like Ian Gillan would do. Better for me is Mike Hugg taking the vocals on Manfred Mann's Chapter Three song ""One Way Glass" - a cool fusion-type tune that Trifle covered on their December 1970 UK LP "First Meeting" (Dawn DNLS 3017) - see my review for the 3CD Grapefruit Box Set from 2017 called  "One Way Glass: Dancefloor Prog, Brit Jazz & Funky Folk 1968-1975". Tremendous Drums and Poptastic Flute fill out a hammering Andwella while Members of Blue Mink - Alan Holdsworth and Alan Parker - moonlight on a Library Music LP with guitars and flute - one of those expensive and rare sets you can never find. 

 

Paul Rudolph of Pink Fairies puts in a blinding guitar solo for their sought-after B-side "Do It" - he who would eventually replace Lemmy in Hawkwind. Normally hard-rocking Stray manage a very swish groove with their "Taken All The Good Things" - teenagers getting it on in 1970. Can't say I'm enamoured with the sheer crazy of Edgar Broughton's "Out Demons Out" (some love it) and the riffage of the May Blitz track "For Mad Men Only" is a little too plodding for my refined pallet. Although it's a staggering 50-years plus since teenagers like me lusted after Sonja Kristina of Curved Air as they synth-trashed our groovy brains in 1971 with "Back Street Luv" - it still thrills and feels like that woman would sort out your lurve-life in a Brompton bike shed in no time at all. 

 

Trashy, grungeing, full of Pre-Punk attitude and snotty holler - the Hawkwind "Ejection" track for appeared as a Bonus on the 2001 EMI CD reissue for the band's 1972 third album "Doremi Fasol Latido" - Bob Calvert living up to his rep for balls-to-the-wall (here they use a 2011 Mix). The Stack Waddy track is fun at best, only OK at worst but the obscure band James Hogg is a brilliant inclusion/choice - their "Lovely Lady Rock" being a died-a-death debut 45 on Regal Zonophone that I must admit in 30 years of collecting seriously - I've never seen. And on it goes to Jonesy and Leafhound blowing our Prog-addled minds with Mellotron tales of Crimson alternatives and freelance mushrooms (yum yum). The four instrumental Library Music pieces give different flavours to the listen and make available on CD for the first time tracks we enthusiasts would rarely get a look in on.

 

Ace (of the UK) have also issued "Incident At A Free Festival" on a 2LP 20-Track Double-Album (no extras) on Ace Records XXQLP2 120 (Barcode 029667022019) – while Rough Trade have an exclusive – 300 Copies only on Denim Blue Vinyl on Ace Records XXQLP2 120RT - both also issued Friday, 24 Nov 2023.

 

I haven't loved-to-worrisome-oblivion every Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs compilation outing they've done for Ace Records, but as an entry in a good series of finally representing the underdogs - "Incident At A Free Festival" rocks. And that gatefold vinyl double is surely gonna make some black-stuff fanatic a very happy (mushroom) bunny indeed. Pass me the Wellingtons boys...I'm goin' in...again...