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"...All About You..."
A heady if not entirely unsuccessful stew of eight previously unreleased 60ts tracks, alternate variants of popular back catalogue hits, two deep LP cuts and ten lesser-heard Wand Records 45s into the bargain. Top that lot off with four vinyl-only compilation tracks from long deleted 80ts LPs/90s CDs and an unheard duet with Dionne Warwick from 1963 and you're set.
Although I will confess to not loving obvious filler like his (not surprisingly) unreleased cover of the spy theme "The Silencer" (originally done by Vikki Carr) - this is still a typically classy Kent Soul release for the Mod-beloved Chuck Jackson from England's Ace Records. Let's not waste a second and have at the Manhattan Soul from "Big New York..."
UK released 29 September 2017 - "Big New York Soul: Wand Records 1961-1966" by CHUCK JACKSON on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 465 (Barcode 029667083027) is a 24-Track CD compilation of Remasters that plays out as follows (64:05 minutes):
1. Things Just Ain't Right (2017, Previously Unissued 28 March 1965 Wand recording)
2. Little By Little (Originally Unissued 28 October 1965 Wand recording, first appeared on the September 1987 UK CJ compilation LP "A Powerful Soul" on Kent KENT 073 - see also Track 16)
3. Hand It Over (February 1964 US 45-single on Wand 149, A-side)
4. Big New York (September 1963 US 45-single on Wand 141, A-side - Ed Townsend song)
5. King Of The Mountain (from the 1963 "Encore!" LP on Wand LP 655 in Mono)
6. Another Day (from the 1963 "Encore!" LP on Wand LP 655 in Mono)
7. Need To Belong (2017, Previously Unissued 28 October 1965 Wand recording)
8. For All Time (May 1964 US 45-single on Wand 154, Second Issue B-side of "Beg Me" - see also Track 15)
9. If I Didn't Love You (July 1965 US 45-single on Wand 188, A-side)
10. The Same Old Story (March 1961 US 45-single on Wand 108, B-side of "(It Never Happens) In Real Life"
11. Why Some People Don't Like Me (2017, Previously Unissued 21 May 1964 Wand recording)
12. What You Gonna' Say (January 1962 US 45-single on Wand 119, A-side)
13. I've Got To Be Strong (October 1966 US 45-single on Wand WN-1142, A-side)
14. The Silencer (Originally unissued 1965-6 recording, first issued May 1992 on the Various Artists US 3CD Compilation "Capricorn Records Presents The Scepter Records Story" on Capricorn 9 42003 2 - a Vikki Carr cover version)
15. This Broken Heart (That You Gave Me) (May 1964 US 45-single on Wand 154, First Issue B-side of "Beg Me" - see also Track 10 for second issue B-side)
16. Forget About Me (Originally Unissued 28 October 1965 Wand recording, first appeared on the September 1987 UK CJ compilation LP "A Powerful Soul" on Kent KENT 073 - see also Track 2)
17. Meet Me Half Way (2017, Previously Unissued 1962 recording)
18. And That's Saying A Lot (April 1966 US 45-single on Wand WN-1119, B-side of "All In My Mind")
19. Through My Tears (2017, Previously Unissued 1962 recording)
20. Getting Ready For The Heartbreak (October 1962 US 45-single on Wand 128, A-side)
21. In Between Tears (2017, Previous Unissued version of Wand 128 B-side (A-side is Track 20). First appeared on the August 1986 UK compilation LP "The Magic Touch" on Kent KENT 057)
22. All About You (2017, Previously Unissued 1962-3 recording)
23. Anymore [Duet with DIONNE WARWICK] (2017, Previously Unissued 1963-4 recording)
24. Why, Why, Why (2017, Previously Unissued 28 October 1965 Wand recording)
All Tracks in MONO except Track 1 in STEREO
Tracks 1, 7, 11, 17, 19, 22, 23 and 24 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
Ace/Kent Soul really does the biz-schnizz by these jam-packed booklets, and this 20-page info/pic-fest is no different. ADY CROASDELL has compiled and done the comprehensive liner notes - his text peppered with Wand Records trade adverts and period promotional material, concert posters in colour, Cash Box magazine issues repro'd, photos of Chuck with his Scepter Records ladies in crime The Shirelles and an ultra-rare acetate of the "Little By Little" track. They have even given a page over to a gorgeous 1966 Japanese picture sleeve for the "I've Got To Be Strong" 45 – something I've never seen in all my years in rarities.
Long-standing Audio Engineer DUNCAN COWELL has done the deed by the tapes and transfers - most all of it in punchy Mono - sounding fresh and alive. To the tunes...
Over the top strings and brass greet you for the common-man tune "King Of The Mountain" and strangulated Egyptian shakers on "Another Day" - but while his vocals are great - I could personally live without these sub-Coasters tunes. Closing up all of his windows so no one can see, Chuck sobs as he informs of his totally innocent behaviour. Why, 'cause he's "Getting Ready For The Heartbreak" (gorgeous audio on those girly vocals, guitars and organ).
Mod lovers go for his "Beg Me" big time - a sought-after stop-start-rhythm dancer with a fantastic wild chorus - Ace featured it on their May 2016 CD compilation "Modernism". Say you need my arms, he pleads in the frantic "Hand It Over" and I'd forgotten the sheer melodrama of "Forget About Me" - certainly the version hidden on KENT 073 all these decades. A man of very few words, you have to love the full-on I'm-gonna-die melodrama in "And That's Saying A Lot" – a forgotten 45 side presented here with great audio.
The unreleased stuff is a very mixed bag of good and just plain crap. Although the vocals are a little too far back in the mix, "Need To Belong" is a lovely find – a slow sexy melody. You can so hear though why "In Broken Tears" and "Why Some People Don't Like Me" remained in the can – starting out slow and then going into a beat that is just plain awkward and confused – both would have died on radio. "Things Just Ain't Right" opens the CD in startling Stereo while the thought-you-loved-me-too of "Little By Little" is an excellent boohoo moaner, presented here in top-class audio. The big disappointment is the Dionne Warwick duet "Anymore" where her lead vocal (followed by him a few verses later) is somehow lost way back in the mix. It makes for a pleasant Bacharach/David Pop-Soul moment, but also feels like unfinished business few wanted to actually complete. At least the CD ends on "Why, Why, Why" – a nice slice on Northern Soul-ish melodrama.
There are other Chuck Jackson CDs (loads in fact) that cover the eight or so albums he put out on Wand, never mind his stint with Motown and that Bacharach/David monster "Any Day Now". But "Big New York Soul" goes deeper than most into the singles and rarities (there are B-sides here I'm quite sure you can't find anywhere else) and I for one like this off-the-beaten track compilation for just that.
Chuck Jackson's "Big New York Soul: Wand Records 1961-1966" is not all genius by any stretch, but there is enough to keep devotees faithful. And when you hear that voice, you know why they loved him in the first place...
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