"Dragonfly by STRAWBS - February 1970 UK Second Studio LP on A&M Records featuring Dave Cousins, Tony Hooper, Rick Wakeman and Paul Brett (2008 UK A&M Records/UMC 'Expanded Edition' CD Reissue - Paschal Byrne and Ben Wiseman Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Delicate, Tranquil and Tender..."

The first two STRAWBS albums - the self-titled "Strawbs" debut in June 1969 and its more accomplished follow up - February 1970's "Dragonfly" highlighted a band very much on the up - growing in stature with each rapid release - receiving critical acclaim and a fattening fan base - but still finding chart action elusive.

As a rarities buyer in Reckless (London) for nearly 20 years - I can count on one hand the number of times I saw Tan A&M label UK originals of either vinyl LP. Both are forgotten gems filled with music that's daring and reaching. So it's with some pleasure that I come to this superb 2008 CD Remaster - expanding the original 9-track LP with 4 Bonus Tracks. Here are the Visionary Ladies in the Lake...

UK released August 2008 - "Dragonfly" by STRAWBS on A&M Records/UMC 5302680 (Barcode 600753026809) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster with Four Bonus Tracks and plays out as follows (49:29 minutes):

1. The Weary Song

2. Dragonfly

3. I Turned My Face To The Wind

4. Josephine, For Better Or Worse

5. Another Day

6. Til The Sun Comes Shining Through [Side 2]

7. Young Again

8. The Vision Of The Lady In The Lake

9. Close Your Eyes

Tracks 1 to 9 are their 2nd studio album "Dragonfly" - released February 1970 in the UK on A&M Records AMLS 970 (no USA release). Produced by TONY VISCONTI - it failed to chart in the UK. All tracks written by Dave Cousins except "Young Again" by Tony Hooper.

BONUS TRACKS:

10. We'll Meet Again Sometime [Recorded at Trident Studios, London in June 1969]

11. Forever [Non-Album Track, A-side to a UK 7" single on A&M AMS 791 - released July 1970 with the LP cut "Another Day" as the B-side]

12. Another Day

13. We'll Meet Again Someday [Tracks 12 and 13 recorded for the BBC's John Peel 'Top Gear' Radio Show on 7 September 1969]

STRAWBS was:

DAVE COUSINS - Vocals, Guitars, Piano, Dulcimer, 'Chinese Piano' and Percussion

TONY HOOPER - Vocals, Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Tambourine and Percussion

RON CHESTERMAN - Double Bass

CLAIRE DENIZ - Cello

Guests:

TONY VISCONTI - Recorder on "Dragonfly" and "Young Again"

RICK WAKEMAN – Piano, PAUL BRETT - Lead Guitar and BJARNE ROSTVOLD - Drums - all on "The Vision Of The Lady In The Lake"

The 16-page booklet is a lovely thing to behold and pleasingly in-depth and a nice touch is the Tan Label for the CD aping the original English LP rarity. MARK POWELL of the quality reissue label Esoteric Recordings (part of Cherry Red UK) provides the superb new liner notes chronicling the band's history from 1968/1969 darlings of Progressive Folk with Sandy Denny before she jumped ship for Fairport Convention to the re-jiggered Strawbs on the cusp of 'a new musical rebirth' with 1971's "From The Witchwood". The rare lyric insert that came with original 1970 British LPs has its words reproduced on Pages 8 to 14 - there's a photo of the stand-alone British 45 for "Forever" (a session outtake released one week after the new line-up had recorded the 11 July 1970 Queen Elizabeth Hall gig that would become the live LP "Just Another Collection Of Antiques And Curios") as well as repro of a rare A&M Records trade advert trying to drum up interest in their 'new one'. The beautiful 'Dragonfly' painting/logo done by Roger Saunders that so elevated the artwork of the original LP crops up throughout the text - as do black and whites of Dave Cousins - all neatly wrapped up with the usual re-issue credits.

PASCHAL BYRNE and BEN WISEMAN (of Audio Archiving) did the Remaster and these hugely experienced Audio Engineers have pulled off a winner. Those slightly Psych-sounding keyboards of Rick Wakeman (before he joined the ranks of Yes and helped out David Bowie sessions in 1971) have amazing clarity on the epic 10-minute "The Vision Of The Lady In The Lake". And that loose English Folk Band 'live in the studio' feel to the Danish sessions (recorded in Copenhagen) is captured so well on tracks like "I Turn My Face To The Wall" and the gorgeous opener "The Weary Song" – Chesterman's Double Bass and Claire Deniz's Cello leaping out the speakers in all the right ways.

Musically I'm reminded of The Incredible String Band experimenting with and bending the barriers of Rock with string instruments and wondering why this superb album didn’t make The Strawbs huge. The musical lushness of "The Weary Song" and the Dulcimer beauty of "Dragonfly" that soon expands into an Acid-Folk dream are both utterly brilliant – the remaster beautifully accenting those heavily drawn string notes and percussive bell tinkles – our Dave lying awake at night waiting for those North winds to blow. The piano/string combo of "I Turned My Face To The Wind" has traces of The Moody Blues and Procol Harum in its melody and slightly sad 'mist rolled down the countryside' lyrics. And even though it's a mere 2:36 minutes long - "I Turned My Face To The Wind" manages to feel more epic than its playing time. Back to the sublime with one of Cousins' loveliest airs – the nuptials/betrothing ballad "Josephine, For Better Or Worse". The Remaster on this track is astounding – as clear as I've ever heard this song. Side A ends with "Another Day" where its jolly upbeat nature makes it the most poppy of tracks on a Folk-Rock LP - like they were aiming for a single.

Side 2 gives us the first trace of hiss with "'Til The Sun Comes Shining Through" - a split-vocal peach that floats like Nick Drake or John Martyn over on Island Records. It's hugely romantic 'my love a primrose fair' lyrics are complimented by sweet acoustic guitars and that soaring cello - Visconti making certain to accentuate the lot. "...Laughing as they run..." go the words to "Young Again" - a gorgeous Tony Hooper song that sounds like its sentiments - where simple pleasures make you and I "...young again...". The lyrics to the mammoth "The Vision Of The Lady In The Lake" take up two pages – but if I'm completely honest I've always found the noises in the background as the verses pass more intrusive than complimentary – and that drums/guitar break about six minutes in kills it for me. Others of course will view it as Prog Folk/Acid Folk at its expressive wild best (one man's poison etc). By way of melodic compensation for the indulgence that just went before – we get the 49-second "Close Your Eyes" ditty that ends Side 2 – leaving the listener panting for more (of the same).

All four of the Bonus Tracks have much to recommend – the Lindisfarne bop of the outtake "We'll Meet Again Sometime" would have been a very cool signal with its 'look upon your loveliness' vibe. An acoustic guitar opening quickly followed by Bowie Cello notes introduces the stand-alone British 45 "Forever" - a good song that is perhaps too overly busy for its own good – and stylistically too similar to The Moody Blues. But I must admit it's an amazing piece of well-produced melodrama and a huge fan rarity finally on CD. The two BBC Sessions are pleasingly well recorded – those duet vocals very clear as are the strings and acoustic guitars. But for me it's the version of "We’ll Meet Again Sometime" that feels special – stripped of that over-production – it makes you concentrate on The Hollies vocals and the 'my love reflected in your eyes' the-boy's-in-love lyrics. Very nice...

London's Psych-Folk-Rockers would have to wait until John Ford and Richard Hudson joined the line-up in June 1970 and recorded what would be November 1970's live album "Just A Collection Of Antiques And Curios" to chart in Blighty - a modest No. 27 - but a start nonetheless. July 1971 would give us "From The Witchwood" and February 1972 the breakthrough album "Grave New World" which finally saw them go Top 20 peaking at an impressive No. 11 (see separate review).

Overlooked – unfairly forgotten – a bit of a friggin' masterpiece frankly – The Strawbs' second album "Dragonfly" is all of these things. And how good is it to hear this amazing CD Remaster do that flirting moment of musical brilliance a proper solid. Big respect to all involved...

"Hey Jude" [aka "The Beatles' Again"] by THE BEATLES - February 1970 US STEREO Album (2014 Apple 'The U.S. Albums' CD Album Repro - Using 2009 Stereo Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...When The Sun Shines..."

I've always held a torch for this forgotten American compilation - a stopgap between September 1969's "Abbey Road" and the wait for the 'new' and final Beatles album - "Let It Be" in May 1970. And while American fans have grown up with the 10-track "Hey Jude" retrospective as if it were the most natural thing in the world (essentially a chronological line-up of non-album singles) - British fans rarely saw 1970 UK originals because of their rarity.

The original vinyl album was US-released 26 February 1970 on Apple SW 385 – a common record in secondhand bargain bins across the USA for decades to come (some re-pressed copies titled it "The Beatles’ Again"). But in England it was initially 1970 released as an 'Export Only' LP with the super rare Parlophone CPSC 106 catalogue number (laminate sleeve as opposed to the American card issue). No one seems to know how many of these were pressed for 'Export Only' but it wasn't vast. Hence the biggest band in the world had a rarity that now clocks in at a whopping £600 in the 2018 issue of the Record Collector 'Rare Record Price Guide'. Its official UK issue to Joe Public didn't inexplicably come until the end of the decade on Apple PCS 7184 - released 21 May 1979 - nine years after the event. It was quickly deleted and that pressing has also been hard to find ever since too. Which brings us to the digital age...

"Hey Jude" and its history on CD has been the subject of countless bootlegs (some with bonus tracks) - until now. Using the 9 September 2009 Remasters - at last EMI/Capitol has reissued all of the American-configured albums in "The U.S. Albums" Box Set - released 21 January 2014. If you don't want the large and expensive Box - each has been given an individual issue too (except "The Beatles Story" which is exclusive to the Box Set). While most of the CDs in that Box Set contain the Mono and Stereo variants of their American LPs - only "Hey Jude" and "The Beatles' Story" are presented in STEREO. So what we have here is a Repro of the 10-track LP as originally released in the spring of 1970. Here are the 'Christ you know it ain't easy' details...

UK and US released 21 January 2014 - "Hey Jude" by THE BEATLES on Apple B0019710-02 (Barcode 602537643738) is a straightforward 10-track CD reissue of the 1970 American compilation LP (aka "The Beatles Again") in STEREO only and plays out as follows (33:24 minutes):

1. Can't Buy Me Love [Side 1]
2. I Should Have Known Better
3. Paperback Writer
4. Rain
5. Lady Madonna
6. Revolution
7. Hey Jude [Side 2]
8. Old Brown Shoe
9. Don't Let Me Down
10. The Ballad Of John And Yoko

As you can see from the photos provided below - the repro is an accurate depiction of Apple SW 385. There's an OBI strip with the 50th Anniversary logo (the Box set was issued to celebrate the British band's earth-shattering first visit to America in February 1964) and a plain white inner bag with the SW 385 catalogue number. But disappointingly there are no liner notes or booklet. But that all pales because what gets me is the 'listen'...

People raved about the 'Red' and "Blue' doubles when they were released in 1973 - the way the tracks were so brilliantly configured on each double-album - non-album single sides following choice album cuts. With "Hey Jude" you get the same feeling. The way "Paperback Writer" follows the Side 1 openers "Can't Buy Me Love" and "I Should Have Known Better" shows a line of creative growth that's staggering. The next three cleverly keep up this 'anything can happen next' momentum with the guitar-jangle of the lesser heard "Rain" - the non-album British B-side of "Paperback Writer" in June 1966. We then leap to March 1968 with the UK A-side "Lady Madonna" - Macca having fun with lyrics like 'creeping like a nun' while the boys bah-bah-bah behind some brass. The Apple side ends with the monster guitars of Lennon's stunning "Revolution" - a hundred million light years away from the mop tops that charmed everyone in 1963 and 1964 (you know it's gonna be alright).

Side 2 opens gives us the full 7:10-minute range of "Hey Jude" – a McCartney ballad that to this day astonishes with its sheer staying power (rocking John held the B-side with "Revolution"). George Harrison finally gets his moment to shine with the slightly throwaway "Old Brown Shoe" while I’ve always argued that "Don't Let Me Down" would have elevated the "Let It Be" album into immortality and is the greatest B-side ever penned. Lennon brings wit and reality to end proceedings on Side 2 with the deceptively brilliant "The Ballad Of John And Yoko" - Macca's counter vocal so damn good - and those lyrics "...newspapers say she's gone to his head...they look like two gurus in drag..."

They were so grown up and yet so far apart (that photo on the rear sleeve) when this compilation hit the streets in a country that took them into their very souls.

 

A stocking-filler in February 1970 - a stopgap appetizer between the main courses of "Abbey Road" and "Let It Be" - one of those knocked-out record company exploit-the-popularity-of-the-band releases?

 

Whatever way you look at it - America's "Hey Jude" album (aka "The Beatles Again") was one of those Capitol Records vinyl compilations that worked in spades and remains a joyous one-stop career listen to this day. And this CD Repro in its natty artwork with its stunning audio quality is a blast - and dare we say it - so cool. What's not to love me do. And wouldn't John and George have just loved that...

"Witness" by SPOOKY TOOTH (2016 Universal/Island 'Expanded Edition' CD with One Bonus Track - Paschal Byrne and Ben Wiseman Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...More Than An Ocean Of Power..."

Like Mott The Hoople and The Pretty Things - England's SPOOKY TOOTH have never really received the accolades they deserve. Between 1968 and 1974 they produced seven studio albums (six on Island - one on Goodear) as well as a posthumous Island Records 'Best Of' in 1976 - yet I defy even knowledgeable Rock types to name just two of those original LPs.

Spooky's sixth studio album is the same. Released only a half-dozen months after its January 1973 predecessor - it came at Blighty customers in July 1973 with a big-eyed pyramid-on-a-banknote sleeve and the mysterious moniker "Witness" – something few LP buyers did. Our pals in American had to wait until November 1973 for Capitol to issue Island SW-9337 and in different front cover artwork – the band stood in front of three crosses – one of the photos used on the rear collage of the British LP sleeve.

Four of the five-piece line-up that had made January 1973's delightfully entitled "You Broke My Heart So...I Busted Your Jaw" (Island ILPS 9227) such a rocking success were back – Singers Mike Harrison and Gary Wright with future Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones ably aided by Bassist Chris Stewart and new Drummer replacement – Mike Kellie. Gary Wright's songwriting hand was in all nine tracks – six solo and three co-writes - "Don't Ever Stray Away" with Chris Stewart, "All Sewn Up" with Mick Jones and "Pyramids" with Drummer and Percussionist Mike Kellie.

Long-suffering fans will know that none of Spooky Tooth's Rock, Blues-Rock, Prog-Rock albums ever bothered the British LP charts (not even a nostalgia 'Best Of' in 1976) and though founder member and songwriter Gary Wright did some commercial welly in the mid Seventies (especially in the USA with his "Dream Weaver" LP) - Luther Grosvenor and Mike Harrison had solo careers also but few seemed to care nor notice. The band is not even in Martin C. Strong's stunning 'Great Rock Discography' Books (and almost everyone is in there). And now the final facial slap...

These new CD Reissues and Remasters on UMC's Universal/Island with truly superb Audio and a wad of good bonus tracks on most (only one for "Witness" unfortunately) have already quietly slipped under the radar only months after release in September and October of 2016. Time to rectify this horrid 2017 anomaly on the part of an uncaring pre-Valentine Day public - here are the eerie dental details...

UK released 30 September 2016 (7 October 2016 in the USA) - "Witness" by SPOOKY TOOTH on Universal/Island 570 547-7 (Barcode 602557054774) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster of the 9-track 1973 Island Records album with One Bonus Track and plays out as follows (40:13 minutes):

1. Ocean Of Power

2. Wings On My Heart

3. As Long As The World Keeps Turning

4. Don't Ever Stray Away

5. Things Change

6. All Sewn Up [Side 2]

7. Dream Me A Mountain

8. Sunlight On My Mind

9. Pyramids

Tracks 1 to 9 are their sixth studio album "Witness" - released July 1973 in the UK on Island ILPS 9255 and November 1973 in the USA on Island SW-9337. Recorded at Olympic and Apple Studios in London - it was produced by SPOOKY TOOTH and the LP peaked at No. 99 in the USA but didn't chart in the UK.

BONUS TRACK:

10. All Sewn Up (Alternative Mix, February 1973)

SPOOKY TOOTH was:

GARY WRIGHT – Lead and Backing Vocals, Keyboards and Synthesiser

MIKE HARRISON – Lead and Backing Vocals and Percussion

MICK JONES – Electric and Acoustic Guitar and Percussion

CHRIS STEWART - Bass

MIKE KELLIE – Drums and Percussion

The 12-page booklet is researched, co-ordinated and produced by MARK POWELL of England's much-revered reissue label Esoteric Recordings who have issued absolute wads of CD Remasters – re-presenting Sixties and Seventies music and artists in a quality way. You get the usual black and white band photos (posed and live) – a nice colour shot of the group sat on some rocks spread across the two inner pages and a repro of a September 1973 Tour Poster. Complimenting that are new Mark Powell liner notes covering the band's history on Island Records (including stuff about The V.I.P's and Art). With contributions from Wright and Harrison- Powell explains how the arrival of Mick Jones into the ever-changing line-up and the re-emergence of Gary Wright as principal songwriter brought out the best in them - even if (like Badfinger) – the public seemed not to care in their native land.

The CD is coloured Pink when in fact it was a Orange Palm-Tree label by mid 1973 (all the reissues I've bought in this series are like this - Pink labels regardless of the time frame) and there's a close-up photo of the album artwork 'symbol' beneath the see-through CD tray. But the big news is new PASCHAL BYRNE and BEN WISEMAN Remasters from original tapes - wonderful chunky sound on the accomplished "Ocean Of Power" and the very Bad Company chug of "All Sewn Up".

There's proper riffage in tracks like "Ocean Of Power" where Wright seems to have discovered the Lord and won't be held in contempt for such beliefs. There's lovely warmth in the Bass and Piano bottom end and when Harrison's voice blends with the others - it feels so damn good - meaty like it didn't before. "Wings On My Heart" is a 'feeling like I'm free' churchy organ song and is prettier than I remember it back in the day. Treated piano notes open "As Long As The World Keeps Turning" - a deceptively musical song and one I return to again and again (why hasn't someone covered this?). Power chords ala Montrose open "Don't Ever Stray Away" - a 'don't throw the magic away' plea to his girly - huge guitars panning across your speakers. Side 1 ends with the Acoustic-Rock of "Things Change" where Spooky Tooth sound American - like Spirit or Jefferson Airplane's Paul Kantner - and again with great axe work from the boys.

Side 2's "All Sewn Up" is presented to us in two forms - the original album rocker where ST come across like a more boogiefied ACE with Paul Carrack on the Vocals - and a brilliant 'Alternate Mix' that could (and should have been) an American single. I'm sure fans will be chewing up this lone but truly excellent Bonus Track. "Dream Me A Mountain" is another wicked Wright hooky melody - a Rock song with warmth that lifts it up above the average (and dig that just-right guitar solo). More James Gang grunge guitars open "Sunlight On My Mind" - a 'shine a light on me' plea with Harrison's echoed vocals giving the whole thing pathos. Drummer Mike Kellie co-wrote the Soulful piano-led "Pyramids" with Wright - ending the album on a building ballad with big voices and perhaps too much melodrama. To sum up - I like "Witness" as an album. It's true that nothing grabs you by the short 'n' curlies immediately - but I like the overall musicality of it. There are real growers on here and this new CD Remaster has only elevated that.

1973’s duo "You Broke My Heart So...I Busted Your Jaw" and "Witness" are both Classic 1970s Rock albums that cry out for re-discovery. And at last they’ve received the aural makeover they’ve both long needed and deserved.

With the April 2015 "Island Years: 1967-1974" 9CD Box Set now fetching huge prices after deletion – these 2016 individual CD Remasters are welcome. Well done to everyone involved for giving SPOOKY TOOTH this late dental polish. Time indeed to bear witness...

PS: Reissue Titles for SPOOKY TOOTH - 2016 Universal/Island CD Remaster Series:

1. It's All About (1968 Debut) - 30 Sep 2016 CD release on Universal/Island 570 547-1 (Barcode 602557054712) with 10 Bonus Tracks

2. Spooky Two (1969 2nd LP) - 7 Oct 2016 CD release on Universal/Island 570 547-3 (Barcode 602557054736) with 9 Bonus Tracks

3. Ceremony: An Electronic Mass (1969 3rd LP with Pierre Henry)

- 7 Oct 2016 CD release on Universal/Island 570 547-0 (Barcode 602557054705) with 6 Bonus Tracks

4. The Last Puff (1970 4th LP) - 7 Oct 2016 CD release on Universal/Island 570 547-5 (Barcode 602557054750) with 6 Bonus Tracks

5. You Broke My Heart...So I Busted Your Jaw (1973 5th LP) - 30 Sep 2016 CD release on Universal/Island 570 547-8 (Barcode 602557054781)

6. Witness (1973 6th LP) - 30 Sep 2016 CD release on Universal/Island 570 547-7 (Barcode 602557054774) with 1 Bonus Track

7. The Mirror (1974 7th LP) - 30 Sep 2016 CD release on Universal/Island 570 547-6 (Barcode 602557054767)

"Manhattan Soul 3" by VARIOUS ARTISTS (2017 Ace/Kent Soul CD Compilation - Nick Robbins Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Open Up Your Heart..."

In my ravenous search for all things 'Soul' - it's nice every now and then to be surprised - even taken aback - and Ace's "Manhattan Soul 3" has achieved both.

The British reissue label first explored the Soul Side of Scepter, Wand and Musicor Records in February 2011 with "Manhattan Soul" on CDKEND 347 (Barcode 029667234726) - following that in July 2012 with "Manhattan Soul 2" on CDKEND 379 (Barcode 029667237925).

Now it's January 2017 and time for Volume 3. You get 24 slices of rare mostly laid-back New York Soul - four of which are Previously Unreleased. Three others come from long deleted 1980's Kent LPs and are new to CD - while all the rest are mostly first time to the format also (19 in Mono and 5 in Stereo). Here are the in-depth details...

UK released 27 January 2017 (10 February 2017 in the USA) - "Manhattan Soul 3" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 459 (Barcode 029667078528) is a 24-Track CD compilation with Four Previously Unreleased Tracks and plays out as follows (62:25 minutes):

1. Open Up Your Heart (And Let Me In) - DAN and THE CLEANCUTS (1966 USA 7" single on Scepter SCE 12141, A-side)

2. Now That You're Gone - SONNY TURNER and SOUND LIMITED (1972 USA 7" single on Musicor MU 1459, B-side of "Chicago Woman")

3. Haven't I Been Good To You - JOHNNY MOORE (1967 USA 7" single on Wand WND 1165, A-side)

4. Fun City Woman - ANN BAILEY (1973 USA 7" single on Wand WND 11265, B-side of "Sweeping Your Dirt Under My Rug")

5. Nobody Made You Love Me - THE CHARTS (1966 USA 7" single on Wand WND 1124, A-side)

6. Billy Boy - BILLY ADAMS (1963 USA 7" single on Wand 133, A-side)

7. That Same Old Song - THE FABULOUS DINOS (1962 USA 7" single on Musicor MU 1025, A-side)

8. Every Little Bit Helps - HELEN HENRY (Previously Unissued Wand Recording, 2017)

9. Two Stupid Feet - THE SHIRELLES (Previously Unissued Scepter Recording, 2017)

10. Lover - TOMMY HUNT

(Previously Unissued Scepter recording first appeared on the October 1986 UK LP compilation "Your Man" on Kent KENT 059)

11. Giving Up - JUNIOR LEWIS

(Previously Unissued Scepter recording first appeared on the November 1988 UK LP compilation "The Hurt Of The City - Big City Soul Volume 2" on Kent KENT 087)

12. A Part Of Me - EARL KING (1970 USA 7" single on Wand WND 11230, B-side of "Tic Tac Toe")

13. Never In My Life - LEE MOSES (1968 USA 7" single on Dynamo D-115, A-side)

14. Nobody Knows - MAURICE WILLIAMS (1965 USA 7" single on Scepter SCE 12113, A-side)

15. Doesn't It Ring A Bell - THE PLATTERS (on the 1968 USA Mono LP on "Sweet, Sweet Lovin'" on Musicor MS 2156 [UK on Stateside SL 10245])

16. How Could It Be - THE ESQUIRES (1968 USA STEREO 7" single on Bunky BNK 7756, B-side To "I Know I Can")

17. Mr Schemer - BRENTON WOOD (1963 USA 7" single on Wand 145, B-side of "Hide-A-=Way")

18. Ooh Baby - HAROLD HOPKINS  (1965 USA 7" single on Scepter SCE 12120, A-side)

19. What's The Matter Baby - VAN McCOY (Previously Unissued Scepter recording, 2017)

20. The Landlord - THE TABS (Previously Unissued Wand recording incorporating elements of "Mother In Law" by Ernie K-Doe, 2017)

21. You Picked Me - THE SOLDIER BOYS (1962 USA 7" single on Scepter 1230, B-side of "I'm Your Soldier Boy")

22. Remind My Baby Of Me - BILLY BYERS (1964 USA 7" single on Scepter 1283, A-side)

23. Does Love Believe In Me - MELBA MOORE (1966 USA 7" single on Musicor MU 1189, B-side of "Don't Cry Sing Along With The Music")

24. If I Had You - BIG MAYBELLE

(Previously Unissued Scepter recording first appeared on the December 1986 UK LP compilation "Big City Soul Sound - NYC Soul Of The 60's" on Kent KENT 061)

Tracks 9, 10, 16, 19 and 20 are in STEREO - all others are MONO

Tracks 8, 9, 19 and 20 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

As with all of these Kent-Soul CD compilations - the 20-page colour booklet is a joy to behold and read. Legendary collector, fan and knowledgeable type ADY CROASDEL scribes the hugely in-depth liner notes while Billy Adams's "Billy Boy" (Wand 123), The Esquires "How Could it Be" (Bunky BNK 7756) and Melba Moore's "Does Love Believe In Me" all get full-page colour plates - each American 45 resplendent in their gorgeous label bags. There are publicity photos of Ann Bailey, The Shirelles and The Charts and a full page given over to the rare British LP "Sweet, Sweet Lovin'" by The Platters on Stateside. The AUDIO is typically brill - care of long-time engineer NICK ROBBINS - a man who knows his way around a master tape or two. Particularly thrilling to me is the five in glorious STEREO - while the punch out of the MONO 45s rocks too.

"Manhattan Soul 3" is mostly a mellow listen (New Yorker labels getting genuinely Soulful) and I'd argue is a lot tastier because of it. Proceedings open on a slow-stepper designed to send Northern Soul smoochers into a cross-armed frenzy of trancelike moves - "Open Up Your Heart (And Let Me In)" by Dan and The Cleancuts. Sonny Terry and Sound Limited are I believe The Platters under another name and they offer "Now That You're Gone" - another 'gotta hold my head up as soon as my tears dry' moment of heartache. Both of these opening songs bode very well. Things pick up pace with the brassy dancer "Haven't I Been Good To You" - Johnny Moore wanting his baby to stop and think it over (don't look now Johnny but I think she's out the door mate). Ann Bailey's B-side moment "Fun City Woman" is a 60ts dancer released in the wrong decade - the 'ba da' vocals of The Charts is 1966 and the kind of off-key vocal bopper that used to fill all those 1980s Kent LPs with such class.

Both "Every Little Bit Helps" by Helen Henry and The Shirelles with "Two Stupid Feet" are the first of the Previously Unreleased and are way better than they had any right to be. But they're trounced by the three from old Kent LPs now making their way onto CD for the first time - a fabulous cut from the silken voice of Tommy Hunt on "Lover" while the melodrama of Junior Lewis' "Giving Up" is a 'warm and tender touch that used to mean so much' tale of relationship woe. The whack off "How Could It Be" by The Esquires in stunning Stereo will be doing a storm in a Northern Soul club somewhere near you right soon. But for me the real blast here is the rough 'n' ready Lee Moses cut "Never In My Life". Imagine Howlin' Wolf is in a club and it's early in the morning and he's suddenly decided to go Funk-Soul with his band. The recording of "Never In My Life" is undeniably crude but man had this guy got the passion in his voice and Funk in his backing group. Ace promise there's more of this in the future - something lovers of hard-hitting Funk-Soul and Rare Groove will love. Unlike Lee Moses - some of the tracks left me cold like the dreadful Spanish guitar shuffle of Van McCoy's "What's The Matter Baby" but that's offset by joyous dancers like "Nobody Knows" from Maurice Williams and the sweet finger-clicking sway of "Ooh Baby" from a falsetto Harold Hopkins. "The Landlord" turns out to be an answer song to Ernie K-Doe's "Mother In Law" and cleverly skirts around that famous song's groove throughout. And on it goes...

After 40 years in the reissue-game – it’s safe to say that Ace Records of the UK have a downright knack with these CD compilations. They've once again pulled out yet another 24-track shimmy-shaker - a very cool start to 2017.

It falls short of genius in a few places for sure – but there’s enough on here to make me holler and I’ve not stopped playing the bugger since it arrived on my prickly doormat a few days back. In fact Volume 3 of "Manhattan Soul" makes me wanna investigate Volume 1 and 2 again in a hurry - and that's got to be the best compliment of them all. Way to go boys...