"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…

"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 

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

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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)

"Modernity" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Featuring Birdlegs & Pauline, Jackie Lee, Ray & Bob, Willis Jackson, The Fashionettes, Willie Tee, King Carl, Ike & Tina Turner and more (May 2021 UK Ace/Kent Dance CD Compilation of 60ts Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review and over 184 More Are Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD Music Books Series - An Amazon E-Book

SOUL GALORE! 
 

60ts Soul, R'n'B, Mod, Northern Soul, New Breed and More
Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters  

Also Includes Harmony Soul, Rare Groove and Funk...
Just Click Below To Purchase for £5.95 (Jan 2022 Update)
Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 
(No Cut and Paste Crap)

 

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"...Just Can't Help Myself..."

Another strong pull on my wallet for my increasingly geriatric living-room shuffling playlists - "Modernity" is the third volume of Mod movers from Ace's Kent Dance label imprint and sees Kent reach No. 500 in their fantastic compilation history.

 

There's the usual mix of 24 tracks covering 60ts Soul, R&B, Jazz, Mod Dancers etc - the good, the great and the not-so-sure slices with five Previously Unreleased cuts for collectors (see full list below for this Mod Music Series and complimentary compilations). Lots to get through - so let's have at it...

 

UK released Friday, 7 May 2021 - "Modernity" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace/Kent Dance CDKEND 500 (Barcode 029667102223) is a 24-Track CD Compilation of Remasters (Five Tracks Previously Unreleased) that plays out as follows (58:37 minutes):

 

1. Just Can't Help Myself - BIRDLEGS & PAULINE (Numero Download from 2018, NUM5038, featuring Sidney 'Birdlegs' Banks on Lead Vocals with his wife Pauline)

 

2. Deuces Wild - GARY & GARY (March 1964 US 45-single on Arock 1003, B-side of "I'm Leavin' (For Parts Unknown)", featuring Gary Klyvert and Garrett Saunders)

 

3. Drop That Gun - TEDDY REYNOLDS (March 1966 US 45-single on Newman 603, A-side)

 

4. I Found A Little Girl - EDDIE BO (1963 US 45-single on Last 1006, B-side of "Hold Me")

 

5. Go Away With Me - HOLLIS DIXON & THE KEYNOTES (1963 US 45-single on Fame 704, B-side of "Time Will Tell")

 

6. Sundown - THE MERCED BLUE NOTES (first appeared on a 1984 US LP "Music With A Beat That Won't Stop" by The Merced Blue Notes on Recherché RR-1963, then 2004 on the UK CD MBN compilation "Get Your Kicks On Route 99" on Ace CDCHD 1026)

 

7. Is It Because You Love Me - STICKS HERMAN (1961 Tic Toc recording, PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, 2021)

 

8. Walk Home With Me - IKE & TINA TURNER (1964 Buck Ram recording, PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, 2021)

 

9. Ooh Baby - THE TEEN QUEENS (1966 Modern Records recording, PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, 2021)

 

10. See See Rider - BYRDIE GREEN (from the 1967 US MONO LP "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)" on Prestige PRLP 7509)

 

11. Earthquake - THE FASHIONETTES  (1963 Garpax recording first issued in June 2009 on the UK CD compilation "Where The Girls Are Volume 7" on Ace Records CDCHD 1218)

 

12. The Bounce - JACKIE LEE (from the 1966 US Mono LP "The Duck" on Mirwood Records MW-7000)

 

13. You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet - IKE PORTER & THE FABULATIONS (1969 US 45-single on Anla Records ANL-107, A-side)

 

14. The Hawg Part 2 - EDDIE KIRK (Unedited Version of Volt 106 that first appeared on the 1995 UK CD compilation "4000 Volts of Stax & Satellite: Rare & Unreleased Tracks From The Golden Era of Soul" on Ace/Stax CDSXD 107)

 

15. Monkey Walk Part 1 - THE KINGSMEN (1963 US 45-single on Sarjo Records 105, A-side)

 

16. (Oh) Lady Be Good - CHARLES HODGES (1965 US 45-single on Alto 2018, A-side)

 

17. Lonely Am I - CHUCK JACKSON (January 1963 US 45-single on Wand 132, B-side of "Tell Him I'm Not Home")

 

18. Who Knows - WILLIE TEE (an unissued 1962 AFO recording first released 1994 on the UK CD compilation "Still Spicy Gumbo Stew (Original AFO New Orleans R&B)" on Ace Records CDCHD 520)

 

19. Bossa Blue Port - THE BIRDS OF PARADISE (February 1966 US 45-single on Newman 602, A-side)

 

20. Soul Grabber - WILLIS JACKSON (1967 US 45-single on Prestige 45-457, B-side of "The Song Of Ossanha (Canto de Ossanha)")

 

21. The Warm Up Part 1 - CLIFTON WHITE & HIS ROYAL KNIGHTS (1968 US 45-single on Anla 104, A-side)

 

22. That's All I Want - KING CARL (1964 La Louisianne recording, PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, 2021)

 

23. Air Travel - RAY & BOB (September 1961 US 45-single on Ledo 1151, A-side)

 

24. Looking Through My Spyglass (1967 Goldband recording, PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, 2021)

NOTES:

All Tracks in MONO except Tracks 17, 18 and 20, which are in STEREO

Tracks 7, 8, 9, 22 and 24 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

 

The 24-page booklet annotated by longtime contributors and enthusiasts DEAN RUDLAND and ADY CROASDELL is the usual feast of rare US 45-labels, publicity photos, the occasional LP shot, trade adverts and more - all wrapped up with a beautiful black and white of Eddie Kirk adorning all of the back page. It's cool to see underground genre heroes like The Merced Blue Notes actually be pictured and that publicity shot of Birdlegs & Pauline has to be so ludicrously rare. Mastering is by long-standing Audio Engineer genius NICK ROBBINS and it's a tale of many cities depending on the source tapes. With these kind of do-it-yourself 60ts recordings, you take the rough with the smooth - so some sound amazing while others betray their crude origins - but none lack that vibe that collectors love. To the listen...

 

I'm down with "Just Can't Help Myself" being a cool dancefloor shuffler (great duet vocals between Sidney 'Birdlegs' Banks and his wife Pauline), but my heart goes instead to the wicked B-side "Deuces Wild" giving it some 'which girl should I pick' between Gary & Gary (decisions-decisions boys). Whole lot of ducking goin' on in the woods when Teddy Reynolds goes hunting in his brass-jabbing Funkathon "Drop That Gun" - a real obscurity from the spring of 1966 and a very clever compilation inclusion.

 

Everybody's stopping/staring at Eddie Bo's new squeeze in "I Found A Little Girl" (not surprisingly he's terribly pleased with himself at this), but I actually dig the thinny organ-sound of "Go Away With Me" by Hollis Dixon & The Keynotes more - a fantastic guitar-flicking shuffler that is best described as irresistible. "Sundown" by The Merced Blue Notes immediately follows, another genius inclusion with a winning saxophone (Merced is a town in the San Joaquin Valley). "Sundown" has male and female lead vocals battle out their feelings just before night comes and the suitcases get packed. It's not surprised that this winner was championed by Mod DJ Lee Miller and hence saw it get a Kent Select 45-single reissue in 2018).

 

After such a promising run to Track 6 - "Is It Because You Love Me" by Sticks Herman is a Previously Unreleased 1961 Tic Toc recording and it's weedy R&B half-heartedness kind of lets the side down. Not a whole lot better and just as unconvincing, Ike & Tina Turner get uncomfortably coy in "Walk Home With Me" - another Previously Unreleased cut that Ike quite rightly canned. Next up is a 1966 Modern Records recording by The Teen Queens (Rosie and Betty Collins) that actually stands a chance of becoming a fave on the scene should it get more plays - and the fact that its Unreleased until now is a testament to the well of astonishment that the 60ts was/is.

 

Can't say the same for the rather functional cover of "See See Rider" by Byrdie Green - good but never better than that. Things improve immeasurably with the happy-to-be-alive flute-bopper "Earthquake" by The Fashionettes - a 1963 Garpax cut that languished in the vaults until its resurrection in 2009 on an Ace CD compilation. I'd normally flip for anything Chuck Jackson does, but his B-side "Lonely Am I" is not his best - better is the Willis Jackson dancer "Soul Grabber" while King Carl's "That's All I Want" is a discovery worth acquainting yourself with.

 

To sum up - "Modernity" is not a masterpiece by any means (there are one too many weaknesses for that). But the smart inclusions and the odd newly unearthed gem make it another proud entry in a long line of Mod-related releases from England's Ace Records.

 

"Just Can't Help Myself" Sidney 'Birdlegs' Banks sang in the 60ts – well because of releases like this, has been like that ever since mate...

 

Compilations in this Mod Music Various Artists series by Ace/Kent

 

CD Titles:

1. Modernists: A Decade Of Rhythm & Soul Dedication – released June 2015 on Ace/Kent-Soul CDKEND 431 (Barcode 029667243124)

2. Modernism – released May 2016 on Ace/Kent-Soul CDKEND 452 (Barcode 029667245227)

3. Modernity – released May 2021 on Ace/Kent-Soul CDKEND 500 (Barcode 029667102223)

VINYL Title:

1. Modernists (Modernism's Sharpest Cuts) – released 30 June 2017 as a 14-Track LP on Ace/Kent Dance KENT 505 (Barcode 029667005418)

 

Other Compilations by Ace/Kent that compliment the "Modernity" CD and Genre:

1. Mod Jazz (Kent-Soul CDKEND 139)

2. Mo' Mod Jazz (Kent-Soul CDKEND 150)

3. Even Mo' Mod Jazz (Kent-Soul CDKEND 171)

4. Yet Mo Mod Jazz (Kent-Soul CDKEND 184)

5. The Return Of Mod Jazz (Kent-Soul CDKEND 250)

6. Further Adventures of Mod Jazz (Kent-Soul CDKEND 300)

7. Mod Jazz Forever (Kent-Soul CDKEND 368)

8. Mod Jazz And Then Some! (Kent-Soul CDKEND 416)

9. Mod Jazz Rides Again (Kent-Soul CDKEND 479)

GUS DUDGEON - "Production Gems" – Featuring Tracks from 1964 to 1992 by The Zombies, John Mayall with Eric Clapton, The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Sounds Nice, David Bowie, The Strawbs, Locomotive, Audience, Kiki Dee, Elton John (and Elton John with John Lennon), John Kongos, Joan Armatrading, Ralph McTell, Voyager, XTC, Lindisfarne, Chris Rea and more (December 2021 UK Ace Records/Right Recordings CD Compilation of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Sixty Years On..."

 

First up - this Friday, 3 December 2021 UK-released CD compilation by VARIOUS ARTISTS called "GUS DUDGEON: Production Gems" on Ace Records/Right Recordings CDTOP 1590 (Barcode 029667104227) is a looker (4 out of 5 stars).

 

It's only one of a few digipaks I've ever seen Ace do and has a jam-packed beautifully assembled 40-page booklet with huge contributions from many household names GUS DUDGEON touched base with (Ten Years After, The Settlers, Michael Chapman, Magna Carta, Marsha Hunt and Elkie Brooks are some of the notable exclusions not featured here).

 

Across 21 tracks and exactly 78:00 minutes playing time, you get the world-renowned producer's personally picked faves (the dates begin in 1964 and extend to 1992 with XTC but most are 70ts tracks). "Production Gems" was to be a tribute album for his 60th birthday before both he and his wife Sheila were lost in a car accident in July 2002 on his way home from a party. It subsequently languished for almost two decades, but now Ace Records of the UK in conjunction with The Gus Dudgeon Foundation have supplemented the original list with some extras and produced this lavish CD. There are exclusive written contributions in the last pages from Rick Wakeman, Ray Laidlaw of Lindisfarne, Nigel Olsson and Davey Johnstone of the Elton John Band, Colin Blunstone, Rod Argent, John Reid, Elton, Bernie Taupin and many more.

 

So why am I so underwhelmed? I know I should like this, but I find the tracks choices and the 'overall' listen once you're away from the hits to be something of a terrible let down. Sure, big names are here; David Bowie, Chris Rea, Kiki Dee, John Kongos, The Strawbs, The Zombies, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers LP with EC giving it some turned up axe hero and of course three top tracks involving Elton John. And the booklet goes on and on about them what a genius GD was. But I'm talking about the actual listen.

 

You can't dispute "Space Oddity" or "Rocket Man" or "Tokoloshe Man" or "Fool (If You Think Its Over)" or even Lindisfarne's forgotten and lovely "Run For Home" - all wonderful - but stuff like Locomotive, Sounds Nice, Audience, Voyager, Armatrading's early tracks and the awful Larry Smith "Springtime For Hitler" pastiche are all very much skips. And despite my affection for The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, do I ever want to hear "I'm The Urban Spaceman" again – not really. I would have traded any of these hit tracks for lesser-heard GD-produced gems like "March Rain" from Michael Chapman's 1970 Harvest LP "Fully Qualified Survivor" (with Paul Buckmaster string arrangements) or even "Boogie Pilgrim" from Elton's underrated 1976 double-album "Blues Moves".

 

Clever choices do include the stunning "Sixty Years On" from Elton's second self-titled LP in 1970 and the CD opens with a crystal clear DUNCAN COWELL remaster of "She's Not There" by The Zombies (Cowell does the whole compilation, great audio throughout). But I've already got the Kiki Dee stuff on EMI and Edsel and the live John Lennon duet and the Ralph McTell remake of "Streets Of London" that charted in 1974 is far better than the '69 Transatlantic label original presented here.

 

I know GD was a genius and everyone in this huge booklet tells the same story of his perfectionism in the studio, but I just wish it would actually translate into an enjoyable playlist instead of a bunch of tracks a genius happened to produce. A good CD then, but I really, really wanted it to be so much better...