"You Got The Power: CAMEO PARKWAY Northern Soul 1964-1967" by VARIOUS ARTISTS - Featuring The Four Exceptions, Evie Sands, Frankie Beverly & The Butlers, Bunny Sigler, Jerry Jackson, The Orlons, Bobby Paris, Chubby Checker, Eddie Holman and more (June 2020 US ABKCO Records CD Compilation of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=mabasreofcdbl-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B07QF2GG77&asins=B07QF2GG77&linkId=141dea4cf387195afc933fd08f7538d1&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>

"...Shake And Shingaling..."

I've reviewed nearly 500 or so R&B and Soul CDs across the years and most buyers will not be in the least bit surprised when I rave about England's Kent Soul releases, Bear Family's Sweet Soul Music Series (15 amazing volumes out of Germany) or any number of American Rhino R&B, Funk and Soul Box Sets. Other British labels like Edsel, Demon and Soul Jazz Records in my prayers too. 

Add to that roster stunning independent newcomers like England's SoulMusic, Big Break Records (of Cherry Red) and Real Gone Music (of the USA) - and it comes as something of a shock to me when I now find myself championing a (ahem) 'major' label - in this case ABKCO Records of the USA - a set of letters far more associated with copyright shenanigans to do with The Rolling Stones and their late 60ts catalogue on London/Decca. 

But, I recently bought and reviewed ABKCO's stunning Sam Cooke 5CD Box Set "The Complete KEEN Years: 1957 to 1960" of 2020 - and here's yet another unassuming gem come slithering out of that New York City-based camp. Perhaps because there are so many Soul Reissues these days – it has gone slightly unnoticed. We need to rectify that. 

For sure "You Got The Power" boasts only 20 Northern Soul tracks from an array of labels under the Cameo-Parkway umbrella (those US 45-labels are pictured on the last page of the booklet) and with that sub 52-minute total playing time, it really should have had five or six more rarities added in. 

But with ADY CROASDELL compilation choices (some of these 1964 to 1967 cuts are so sought after) and TERI LANDI first-generation tape transfers - what "You Got The Power..." loses in waist bulge, it more than makes up for in quality stitching. Fit? It's a cracking listen, and fun too. Let's get to the Shake and the Shingaling...

US released 19 June 2020 - "You Got The Power: (Cameo Parkway) Northern Soul 1964-1967" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on ABKCO 8536-2 (Barcode 018771853626) offers 20-Tracks Remastered and plays out as follows (51:53 minutes):

1. You Got The Power - THE FOUR EXCEPTIONS (June 1966, Parkway P-986, A-side)

2. Because Of My Heart - FRANKIE BEVERLY & THE BUTLERS (1967, Fairmount F-1017, A-side - also 2012 UK Reissue on Outta Sight OSV-074, A-side)

3. (Whao, Whoa) I Love Him So - NIKKI BLU (November 1964, Parkway P-931, A-side - Chubby Checker Production - Ernest Evans and Thom Bell song)

4. Girl Don't Make Me Wait - BUNNY SIGLER (December 1966, Parkway P-123, A-side - Leon Huff song)

5. It's Rough Out There - JERRY JACKSON (September 1966, Parkway P-100, A-side - also October 1966 UK on Cameo-Parkway P-100, A-side and Reissued 2012 UK on Outta Sight OVS-076)

6. Envy In My Eyes - THE ORLONS (October 1965, Cameo C-384, B-side of "No Love But Your Love" - Gamble & Huff Production of Eugene Dozier song)

7. Picture Me Gone - EVIE SANDS (June 1966, Cameo C-413, A-side - also August 1966 UK on Cameo-Parkway C 413, A-side - from the Motion Picture Soundtrack "Step Out Of Your Mind" - a Chip Taylor, Al Gorgoni song)

8. Country Girl - VICKIE BARNES (November 1965, Parkway P-966, A-side)

9. Night Owl - BOBBY PARIS (February 1966, Cameo C-396, B-side of "Tears On My Pillow" - November 1977 UK reissue on London HLU 10553, B-side of "You Didn't Say A Word")

10. Village Of Tears - BEN ZINE (July 1966, Parkway P-996, B-side of "What The Heck's The Hanky Panky")

11. You Just Don't Know (What You Do To Me) - CHUBBY CHECKER (December 1965, Parkway P-965, A-side - January 1966 UK on Cameo Parkway P 862, B-side of "Two Hearts Make One Love")

12. The 81 - CANDY AND THE KISSES (October 1964, Cameo C-336, A-side - January 1965 UK on Cameo-Parkway C 336, A-side)

13. Shake And Shingaling (Part 1) - GENE WALTERS (1967, Fairmount F-1018, A-side)

14. S.O.S. (Heart In Distress) - CHRISTINE COOPER (January 1966, Parkway P-971, A-side) 

15. Eddie's My Name - EDDIE HOLMAN (April 1966, Parkway P-981, B-side of "Don't Stop Now")

16. Pass Me By - HATTIE WINSTON (1964, Parkway P-956, A-side)

17. The Grass (Will Sing For You) - LONNIE YOUNGBLOOD (November 1966, Fairmount F-1016, A-side)

18. (Your Love Was Just A) False Alarm - TARI STEVENS (March 1955, Fairmount F-1001, A-side)

19. Who Do You Think You Are - THE SOUL CITY (1967, Good Time GT-802, B-side of "Cold Hearted Blues")

20. You Didn't Say A Word - YVONNE BAKER (March 1967, Parkway P-140, B-side of "To Prove My Love Is True" - November 1977 UK reissue on London HLU 10553, A-side)

There are very classy black and white publicity shots of Frankie Beverly & The Butlers, Evie Sands, Candy And The Kisses (their single "The 81" actually dented the US Billboard charts at No. 19 R&B, No. 51 Pop), Christine Cooper, Yvonne Baker, The Orlons, Eddie Holman and Bunny Sigler who each get a page shot, and so on. The track-by-track annotation includes songwriting credits, US and UK Catalogue Numbers, US chart info if any and the last page of the booklet gives you a collage 16 rare 45 labels - Cameo, Parkway, Fairmount, England's Cameo-Parkway. It's nicely done and Croasdell goes into the songs and their history with typically enthusiastic and informative details. The TERI LANDI Remasters are tremendous - full of punch and the sheer hutzpah that 60ts Soul recordings elicit. To the tunes... 

A frantic bom-bom backing group of boys and girls anchors the 'goddess of temptation...relieve me of my frustration' dance-a-thon that is "You Got The Power" - The Four Exceptions tearing into it like their lives depended on it. It's a cool opener and a taster of themes. As it is with all the best Northern Soul compilations like this, misery and elation are the subject matters. My man's the best (say the girls), better than all the crappy rest, then quickly descending in emotional scales to false alarms, jealousy, envy, broken hearts, tickers in distress, send out an S.O.S. to the love doctor - you get the picture. 

Take "Pass Me By" by Hattie Winston, a Thom Bell Production of a song he co-wrote with Arthur Ross. She starts her story with "I was your only girl...I don't know why you cheated and lied..." and in comes the brass and strings as the drums whack out the hoo-hoo pain in the chorus. You can just imagine earnest young men shimmying on a Northern Soul night dancefloor loving every "...now that you disown me..." line (is it any wonder people want the 45 and Croasdell included it here). 

Eddie Holman doesn't drive a big car, doesn't act like a movie star, because pleasin' is his game and he assures us in the great dancer "Eddie's My Name" that business is good (you go Eddie). Evie Sands has eyes and she can see that some other girl is telling her man that it's over, but she pleads "Picture Me Gone" (another great strings and melodrama dancer). And on it goes...

"... What a fool you've been..." - Bobby Paris tells us in his cautionary "Night Owl" B-side. Northern Soul fans need to buy this and not make a mistake like poor heartbroken Bobby...

"Big New York Soul: Wand Records 1961-1966" by CHUCK JACKSON – Previously Unreleased Material (including a duet with Dionne Warwick), Alternate Versions, Rare Wand 45s, LP Cuts and Originally Unissued 60ts Wand and Scepter Recordings Previously Only Available On Vinyl and CD Compilations from the 1980s and 1990s (September 2017 UK Ace/Kent Soul CD Compilation – Duncan Cowell Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=mabasreofcdbl-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B074JV6YCL&asins=B074JV6YCL&linkId=1495d6e87e0921655751d3d89bc77b50&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>

"...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...

TOMMY HUNT - "The Complete Man: 60s NYC Soul Songs" – Single, Album and Previously Unreleased Recordings from 1962 to 1986 on Scepter, Dynamo, Atlantic and Capitol Records (February 2019 UK Ace/Kent Soul CD Compilation of Remasters – Nick Robbins Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=mabasreofcdbl-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B07MTJMHHJ&asins=B07MTJMHHJ&linkId=c939459908184b4474d7b5748b43e007&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>

"...Lonely For You..."

Amongst the 25 goodies contained within "The Complete Man" by Tommy Hunt are his classy 1962 to 1968 Soul recordings for the Scepter and Dynamo labels, nestled alongside a duo of stand-alone 45s on Atlantic and Capitol Records respectively (1965 and 1966), two exclusives on a 1968 'Greatest Hits' set and Five Previously Unreleased newbees recently unearthed in the Scepter vaults in 2018 and 2019. 

It's a typically tasty little listen from Ace and their beloved Kent Soul imprint. To the details and the Big Apple Soul...

UK released 26 February 2019 - "The Complete Man: 60s NYC Soul Songs" by TOMMY HUNT on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 480 (Barcode 029667094221) offers 25 Remastered Tracks from 1962 to 1969 (including five unreleased) and plays out as follows (65:10 minutes):

1. I Don't Want To Lose You

2. Hold On (Tracks 1 and 2 are the A&B-sides of a February 1965 US 45-single on Atlantic 45-2278)

3. I'll Make You Happy 

4. The Clown (Tracks 3 and 4 are the A&B-sides of an April 1966 US 45-single on Capitol 5621)

5. Lonely For You (2018, originally unissued 1964 Scepter recording)

6. The Pretty Part Of You (1965 Scepter recording first issued on the June 1987 UK compilation LP "No, No, No, No, No Not My Girl - And 15 Other Northern Soul Dancers" on Kent KENT 069) 

7. Never Love A Robin (January 1967 US 45-single on Dynamo D-101, B-side of "The Biggest Man")

8. The Work Song (May 1962 US 45-single on Scepter 1231, A-side)

9. What's The Matter Baby (2019, Previously Unissued 1962 Scepter recording)

10. One Of These Days (2019, Previously Unissued 1963 Scepter recording)

11. Who You Gonna Thrill Tonight (2019, Previously Unissued 1962 recording)

12. And I Never Knew (August 1962 US 45-single on Scepter 1236, B-side of "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself")

13. Human (from the 1968 US LP "Tommy Hunt's Greatest Hits" on Dynamo DS 8001 in Stereo)

14. Searchin' For Love

15. The Complete Man (Tracks 14 and 15 are the B&A-sides of a July 1967 US 45-single on Dynamo D-100, Note that "The Complete Man" is the A-side)

16.  Searchin' For My Baby (Lookin' Everywhere) 

17. I Need A Woman Of My Own (Tracks 16 and 17 are the B&A-sides of a December 1967 US 45-single on Dynamo D-113, Note that "I Need A Woman Of My Own" is the A-side)

18. You're So Fine (from the 1962 US LP "I Don't Know What To Do With Myself" on Scepter SLP 506 in Mono)

19. I'm With You (October 1963 US 45-single on Scepter 1261, B-side to "I Am A Witness")

20. The Door Is Open (November 1961 US 45-single on Scepter 1226, A-side)

21. How Young Is Young (May 1964 US (2nd issue) 45-single on Scepter 1275, B-side of "You Made A Man Out Of Me")

22. Girls Are Sentimental (2019, Previously Unissued 1962 Scepter recording)

23. Son, My Son (May 1963 US 45-single on Scepter 1252, A-side)

24. Born Free (September 1968 US 45-single on Dynamo D-124, B-side of "Just A Little Taste (Of Your Sweet Lovin')")

25. I Believe (from the 1968 US LP "Tommy Hunt's Greatest Hits" on Dynamo DS 8001 in Stereo)  

All Tracks are MONO except 8, 10, 12 and 13

Tracks 5, 9, 10, 11 and 22 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

The 20-page booklet features new liner notes from Soul aficionado ADY CROASDELL and classy black and white photos and publicity shots that go right back to his stint with one of the most beloved Vocal Groups of all time - The Flamingos. There are trade adverts for Dynamo's "The Biggest Man", a rare UK Demo 45 for "The Door Is Open" on Top Rank JAR-605, those Atlantic and Capitol Records labels and even Pittsburgh’s finest giving it some Northern Soul at the Wigan Casino - Tommy dressed to impress - microphone stand in hand like he's channelling wicked Wilson Pickett dance moves. 

Hunt had his autobiography published in 2008, so Croasdell puts together a potted history of his extraordinary life with alarming amounts of detail including early poverty and trouble with the law up to his triumphs and lows with British and European Soul fans, run down venues and touring without family. At 87 years of age in 2021, the great singer is still with us, suited and booted and ready to go...

But it keeps coming back to the music and once again, long-standing and uber-experienced Audio Engineer for Ace Records NICK ROBBINS has done the master tapes a solid. Both Mono and Stereo mixes swooning and bopping with equal gusto. And those songwriting-names entice too - Luther Dixon (whose wedding to singer Inez Foxx is pictured in a January 1966 Cash Box article on Page 10), Van McCoy, Jimmy Radcliffe, Ed Townsend, Thomas Bell - names that tingle Deep Soul lovers from the toes up. To the music...

In a very smart move, the compilation opens with the kind of smooch-fest Northern Soul fans would shoot Granny for – the A-side of his lone 1965 Atlantic Records single "I Don't Want To Lose You". A gorgeous slow deep Soul gem, everything about it is right – his voice, the subtle brass accompaniment that slinks in just when needed and of course, a genuinely lovely song from the pen of Van McCoy. Other hidden torch-ballads include two LP cuts on the Greatest Hits set from 1968 – a the best girl in the world but I am only a man tune in "Human" and the Lord hear my words "I Believe" – Hunt lifting up both with his husky Richie Havens vocals despite some heavy on the seaside town organ threatening to derail everything. 

The sub-Jackie Wilson brass bopper "You're So Fine" wouldn't be my fave nor the worthy cover of John Barry's lion-theme soundtrack song "Born Free", but tasty B-sides include "I'm With You" and "Searchin' For Love" make up for it. And although the inclusions are great, I think the compilation missed a trick in not placing the gorgeous almost Bacharach/David soft Soul of "Lover” – a Scepter out-take that appeared on the Ace/Kent Soul CD compilation "Manhattan Soul 3" in January 2017. I dug that track big time and it would have fit right in here. 

Still, a lovely CD release that will appeal to fans and newcomers alike and one that leaves me sentimental for Manhattan Soul...

"Dave Godin's Deep Soul Treasures Volume 5" by VARIOUS ARTISTS - Featuring Tracks from 1958 to 1972 by James Carr, Z.Z. Hill, The Soul City, Lattimore Brown, Jerry Washington, Ronnie Taylor, Big Maybelle, Esther Phillips, The Masqueraders, Zilla Mayes, The Chantels, Linda Jones, Kenny Carter, The Emotions, Barbara Lynn, Helena Ferguson, Mark IV, Betty Harris, Dee Dee Warwick and George Jackson with Songwriting from Van McCoy, Gil Scott-Heron, Eddie Hinton, Marlin Greene and more (October 2019 UK Ace Records/Kent Soul CD Compilation of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=mabasreofcdbl-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B001JE6QW2&asins=B001JE6QW2&linkId=06825826fc55c4a86e73232ded7e5851&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>

This Review Along With Nearly 200 Others Is Available in my

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

"SOUL GALORE!" 

60ts Soul, R&B, Northern Soul

Mod, New Breed, Funk, Rare Grooves

Atlantic, Chess, Motown, Stax Labels and many more...

 

Your Guide To The Best CD Reissues and Remasters 

Thousands of E-Pages

All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

 

<iframe sandbox="allow-popups allow-scripts allow-modals allow-forms allow-same-origin" style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=mabasreofcdbl-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B08YS58MPX&asins=B08YS58MPX&linkId=3962ed6fb1283b3f93519653796b8ade&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>

 

"...Nothing Can Change The Love I Have For You..."

There's a black and white photo on page 30 of the rammed booklet in this exemplary CD reissue. Two earnest white Englishmen - Dave Godin and Norman Jopling - stand with beer and wine glasses in hand talking enthusiastically to a slightly stunned Berry Gordy Jr. (Motown's main man) during a Press Conference in London for the then fledgling American Soul label's first UK tour. The up-close and personal snap is dated September 1964. And in February 2021 – a paltry 57 years later - I frankly sit in awe at such smarts in these unlikely hipsters - and so early on too. 

Dapper and tall Dave Godin – originally a London, Lambeth boy - had discovered Atlantic Records R&B via an American Air Force Base Jukebox that had been recently placed in the 'Silver Lounge' Ice Cream Parlour in Bexleyheath - home of the luscious calorie-inducing Knickerbocker Glory, that then washed down with some decent coffee whilst checking out tunes your mommy warned you about emanating every 2:39 minutes from the carnal carousel by the wall. Full of import 45s on exotic labels, these were not cream-puff Pat Boone types nicking Black Music and winking through their trilbies pretending it was their own. These centerless 7" singles contained the raunchy real deal – deep-vocal men and women singing about lust and shifty lovers and daughters being treated mean whilst dancing their asses off in saucy Chitlin Circuit dives every Saturday Night with a Sour Mash in one hand and a revolver in the other. 

Norman Jopling had championed the American R&B chart when he joined the British 'Record Mirror' music newspaper as an article-writer in 1961 - likewise tapping into an underground love affair with music The Beatles and Stones were soaking up big time before they’d ever got an actual record out. Godin and Jopling were clued-in tuned-in British young men - pioneers - both of them – the lads of Northern Soul and Mod New Breed and have been genre heroes to besotted collectors ever since. Baring in mind the prejudice and racial crap he and his performers must have had to put up with back home (and all too often) - is it any wonder that Berry Gordy Jr. looked ever so slightly taken aback. As I say, on the money dudes who opened eyes, ears and hearts...

And that's where Volume 5 of this extraordinary series comes roaring in - not so much a tribute to a pioneer, but a belated homage and celebration of their love affair with American Soul and R&B (it's been 15 years since Volume 4 – see full list below). Covering 1958 to 1972 with many 60ts stopovers inbetween, there's a lot to celebrate and catalogue, so let's get deep into these British Soul Brother's sanctified craves...

UK released 25 October 2019 (1 November 2019 in the USA) - "Dave Godin's Deep Soul Treasures Volume 5" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace Records/Kent Soul CDKEND 485 (Barcode 029667096126) is a 25-Track CD compilation of Remasters covering 1958 to 1972 that plays out as follows (76:08 minutes):

1. Who Knows - THE SOUL CITY (November 1966, Goodtime Records GT-801, B-side of "Everybody Dance Now" – "Who Knows" is a Gladys Knight & The Pips cover)

2. Without Love - BONNIE TAYLOR (August 1967, Nassau N-101, A-side)

3. Don't Pass Me By - BIG MAYBELLE (September 1966, RoJac 1969, A-side)

4. Where Is The Party - HELENA FERGUSON (August 1967, Compass CO-7009, A-side)

5. Dead! - CAROLYN SULLIVAN (January 1968, Philips 40507, A-side)

6. Home Is Where The Hatred Is - ESTHER PHILLIPS (March 1972, Kudu KU-904, A-side - Gil Scott-Heron cover)

7. I Ain't Got To Love Nobody Else - THE MASQUERADERS (August 1968, Bell B-733, A-side)

8. I'll Be Right There (To Make Love To You) - MARK IV (December 1972, Mercury 73353, B-side of "My Everything You Are")

9. I'm Not The One - KENNY CARTER (2019, Previously Unissued 1966 Recording)

10. Somebody New - THE EMOTIONS (March 1968, Twin Stacks 126, A-side)

11. (Until Then) I'll Suffer - BARBARA LYNN (from the July 1968 US LP "Here Is Barbara Lynn" on Atlantic SD 8171 in Stereo)

12. Foolish Fool - DEE DEE WARWICK (January 1969, Mercury 72880, A-side)

13. My Desires Are Getting The Best Of Me - GEORGE JACKSON (July 1969, Fame 1457, B-side of "Find 'Em, Fool 'Em and Forget 'Em")

14. These Ain't Raindrops - JAMES CARR (March 1969, Goldwax 340, B-side of "To Love Somebody")

15. Standing At The Crossroads - EDDIE & ERNIE (August 1971, Buddah 250, B-side of "Hiding In Shadows")

16. Can't Last Much Longer - BETTY HARRIS (September 1967, Sansu 471, A-side)

17. Lovers Always Forgive - GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS (August 1964, Maxx 329, A-side - Van McCoy song)

18. Every Night (I Pray) - THE CHANTELS (February 1958, End E-1015, A-side) 

19. Satisfaction Guaranteed - JUDY WHITE (December 1968, Buddah BDA 79, A-side - Eddie Hinton and Marlin Greene song)

20. Right Here Is Where You Belong - JERRY WASHINGTON (December 1972, Excello EX-2327, A-side)

21. I Will - LATTIMORE BROWN (September 1970, Renegade 1201, B-side of "Sweet Desiree")

22. It's Too Late (For Tears) - RENE BAILEY (August 1968, Carnival CAR-539, A-side)

23. All I Want Is You - ZILLA MAYES (February 1968, Tou-Sea 132, B-side of "I Love You Still")

24. What Can I Do (Without You) - LINDA JONES (June 1968, Loma 2099, A-side)

25. Nothing Can Change This Love I Have For You - Z.Z. HILL (January 1968, Kent 45X481, A-side - Sam Cooke cover)

Tracks 6, 7, 9, 12 and 20 are STEREO - All Others MONO

Track 10 is PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

The booklet is a pleasingly chunky 30-page affair and a masterstroke is to reprint long forgotten interviews with Godin (done in the 90ts) about his beginnings in the scene - the text peppered with mouth-watering fan-pleasing memorabilia. There's a telegram to Godin at his old Church Road home in Bexleyheath about an impending fan reception for Marvin Gaye and Harvey Fuqua in November 1964 - a July 1965 letter from Charlotte the secretary in The Miracles Fan Club thanking him for plugging Motown that is way more personal than someone Stateside keeping in with him because it was necessary - trade adverts and photos of 'Soul City' Record Shop in Monmouth Street to which he was associated - publicity photos for lesser-seen artists like Helena Ferguson, Mark IV, Lattimore Brown and Judy White (Daughter of the great US Folk legend Josh White), and so on. 

There are UK and American label repros - British demos of "Home Is Where The Hatred Is" on Kudu KUS 4000 (June 1972) and one I've never seen, "I Ain't Got To Love Nobody Else" on Bell BLL 1022 (October 1968). But the real meat is actually the sheer amount of space given to each entry by long-standing compiler and annotator for Ace Records - ADY CROASDELL. 

Many had thought Volume 5 would never show (Godin sadly passed in 2004 as Volume 4 went to press) - so it's clear that both Croasdell and Ace felt they had big shoes to feel and the quality count to keep high, and I think they've achieved both with aplomb (can't imagine the nightmare of chasing licensing on some of these). DUNCAN COWELL has done the transfers and Remasters and they sing like the proverbial lark arising (gettin' up off of that thing to make himself feel better). To the tunes...

The lovely "Who Knows" by The Soul City was issued Stateside in November 1966 as the B-side of "Everybody Dance Now" on Goodtime Records, but had the sides reversed in the UK for its 45-single debut in February 1967 on Cameo Parkway C 103. "Everybody Dance Now" was more of a Frat House Garage Rocker than a Soul side, but "Who Knows" had actually been a Gladys Knight & The Pips tune before The Soul City got their grubby paws on it and give an intensity edge. Following that is a Guitarist and Singer called Ronnie Taylor who had been with King Pharoah & The Egyptians for their April 1961 single "Shimmy Shammy" on Federal 12413. The obscure 'Nassau' label put out his scorch-earth ballad "Without Love" and you can so hear why Godin loved it. 

Hurting way down inside continues with a get down your knees Big Maybelle giving it some pleading in her "Don't Pass Me By" – the kind of eerie echoed vocal that a drugged-up Etta James might have given that somehow actually feels like pain rather than a voyeur just singing about it. More concerned in her tune with where the in-crowd goes, the lovely Helena Ferguson is said to have shifted less than 250 copies of her "Where Is The Party" 45 when London UK issued it in November 1967 (there is a trade advert for it on Page 14 of the booklet). From there we go to proper heartbreak as Carolyn Sullivan sings in absolute earnest "...leave me alone...I ain't got nothing to live for... " – literally a slow-suicide plead that organ/tambourines its way to a shuffling finish. I must say I can see why it's here, but it wouldn't be a go-to winner in my book. Sticking with domestic horrors, Esther Phillips gets all 1972 wah-wah guitar with her Gil Scott-Heron cover of "Home Is Where The Hatred Is”. Sounding like some Blaxploitation track that's taking no prisoners lyrically - the former Atlantic Records chanteuse sings of needles and neighbourhood's destroyed and all your essence being lost. As good as it is with that extraordinary mixture of Funk and Soul - it's perhaps just a little too much reality for me (how very GSH) where its inclusion here feels slightly out of kilter. 

Other highlights include the strings vs. girls "Somebody New" by The Emotions, clearly distraught as they wail "...I don't want to go if I can't be with you..." (I know how you feel darling). Just one kiss would do so much for James Carr in his fantastic croak-Soul weepy "These Ain't Raindrops" – great audio as the great man struggles all the way to the bar. That other famous Southern Soul Man George Jackson is instead trying to dampen his ardour in his "My Desires Are Getting The Better Of Me" – paired in August 1969 on Capitol CL 15605 with the equally brilliant "Find 'Em, Fool 'Em and Forget 'Em" – a Fame Records double-whammy of great Soul. And on it goes to a cover of a Sam Cooke classic that sums up his abiding adoration to a tee.

I would admit that not everything on here lights up my dimly lit noggin, but I know that so many others will have the lights explode in their heads at the sheer class and presentation that is going on in CDKEND 485. A great set for a great pioneer. I own the other four volumes and love seeing their spines sat on my shelf. Job done, respect shown...

Dave Godin's Deep Soul Treasures CD Series – A List

1. Dave Godin's Deep Soul Treasures: Taken From The Vaults... (Volume 1) – April 1997 UK CD on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 143 (Barcode 029667214322) 

2. Dave Godin's Deep Soul Treasures: Taken From The Vaults... Volume 2 – January 1999 UK Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 158 (Barcode 029667215824)

3. Dave Godin's Deep Soul Treasures: Taken From The Vaults... Volume 3 – November 2000 UK Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 200 (Barcode 029667220026)

4. Dave Godin's Deep Soul Treasures: Taken From The Vaults... Volume 4 – August 2004 UK Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 230 (Barcode 029667223027)

5. Dave Godin's Deep Soul Treasures Volume 5 – October 2019 UK Ace Records/Kent Soul CDKEND 485 (Barcode 029667096126)

"Soul Voices: 60s Big Ballads" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Featuring Walter Jackson, Freddy Butler, Roy Hamilton, Chuck Jackson, Kenny Carter, Ben E. King, Clyde McPhatter, Lou Johnson, Brooks O’Dell, Garnet Mimms, Tommy Hunt, Clarence Pinckney, James Carr and more (May 2020 UK Ace Records/Kent Soul CD Compilation of Remasters – Nick Robbins 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 £6.95 (December 2021 Update)
Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 
(No Cut and Paste Crap)

 

<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=mabasreofcdbl-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B08YQR7ZW2&asins=B08YQR7ZW2&linkId=f4622ebcffdb7aa3fc1fd0d03ef4f143&show_border=t

 

<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=mabasreofcdbl-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B084QJ24X1&asins=B084QJ24X1&linkId=43bbced51ba7cd92122fc99dabb471a7&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>

"...Reach Out For Me..."

This is the kind of CD compilation you just know is going to be dripping class and quality – its swaying anthems of lad heartbreak and misery awash with a big old hunk of churning-burning lurve gone wrong (or just plain gone) - all of which, apparently, is entirely the woman's fault (no honestly). 

Ace's 'Kent Soul' roster of CD compilations clocks up catalogue number 490 here and even after all these decades, we still get a wee flutter in the groin area at the mere mention of one. And so it is with "Soul Voices: 60s Big Ballads" – you pretty much get what it says on the tin - majestic male vocalists from the heyday of that swinging decade giving it some vocal silk and sophistication ably abetted by girly backing singers and heavy-on-the-mascara string arrangements where via US 45s words like 'cry' and 'gloomy' and 'wrong' and 'losing you' populate each and every mini opera. 

And if that's not enough, five of these twenty-four pleaders are in the kind of jaw-dropping STEREO that only bigger studios like RCA and Columbia could provide – whilst another five are Previously Unreleased – even these with some genuinely great finds amongst them. Let's get to the river of tears, which is just outside the town of lonely, across the border from...etc.

UK released 29 May 2020 (delayed from April 2020 due to Covid-19 pandemic) - "Soul Voices: 60s Big Ballads" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace Records/Kent Soul CDKEND 490 (Barcode 029667098120) is a CD compilation of 24-tracks that plays out as follows (68:59 minutes):

1. Forget The Girl - WALTER JACKSON (originally unissued 1968 Okeh recording, first appeared on the 2007 CD compilation "Speak Her Name: The Okeh Recordings, Vol. 3" by Walter Jackson on Ace Records/Kent Soul CDKEND 273)

2. They Say I'm Afraid (Of Losing You) - FREDDY BUTLER (from the 1967 US Mono LP "With A Dab Of Soul" on Kapp KL-1519)

3. Heartache (Hurry On By) - ROY HAMILTON (July 1965 US 45-single on RCA Victor 47-8641, A-side)

4. Like A Big Bad Rain - KENNY CARTER (2020, Previously Unissued 1966 RCA recording in STEREO)

5. (There's) No Place To Hide - BEN E. KING (August 1965 US 45-single on Atlantic 45-6371, A-side)

6. Lonely People Can't Afford To Cry - CLYDE McPHATTER (July 1967 US 45-single on Amy 993, B-side of "I Dreamt I Died")

7. Gloomy Day - HERB JOHNSON (August 1965 US 45-single on Arctic 109, A-side, co-write with Kenneth Gamble)

8. Just Outside Of Lonely - CLARENCE PINCKNEY (2020, Previously unissued Brass Parrot recording from 1973)

9. Seeing Is Believing - TONY MASON (February 1967 US 45-single on RCA Victor 47-9104, B-side of "Take Good Care"

10. Don't Make Me Over - TOMMY HUNT (originally unissued 1963 Scepter recording, first appeared on the October 1986 UK compilation LP "Your Man" by Tommy Hunt on Kent Records KENT 059)

11. Reach Out For Me - LOU JOHNSON (July 1963 US 45-single on Big Top 45-3153, A-side)

12. Now You Are Gone - BROOKS O'DELL (1968 US 45-single on Valentine VAL 104, A-side)

13. You Got Too Much Going For You - JIMMY BEAUMONT (June 1966 US 45-single on Bang B-525, A-side - Joe Simmons song)

14. A Day Or Two - GARRETT SAUNDERS (October 1962 US 45-single on Serock SR 2001, A-side)

15. Where Does Love Go - FREDDIE SCOTT (February 1964 US 45-single on Colpix CP-724, A-side)

16. I Can't Stand To See You Cry - CHUCK JACKSON (Originally Unissued 1965 Wand recording, first released on the September 1987 UK compilation LP "A Powerful Soul" by Chuck Jackson on Kent Records KENT 073)

17. Anytime You Want Me - GARNET MIMMS (February 1964 US 45-single on United Artists UA 694, A-side)

18. Can't Stand Your Fooling Around - GENE BURKS (October 1963 US 45-single on Arock AR-1001, B-side of "Monkey Man")

19. I Want To Be Loved - BILLY WATKINS (2020, Previously Unissued 1964 Kent recording)

20. Lover's Competition - JAMES CARR (February 1965 US 45-single on Goldwax GW-112, B-side of "I Can't Make It")

21. You Are A Lucky So And So - SAMMY SEVENS (July 1963 US 45-single on Swan 4146, A-side)

22. Good For A Lifetime - AL HIBBLER (January 1966 US 45-single on Satin S-401, A-side)  

23. Through A Long And Sleepless Night - JIMMY RADCLIFFE (2020, Previously Unreleased 'Alternate Vocal' of a September 1963 US-issued 45-single on Musicor 1033, A-side)

24. I Love You So Much - JUNIOR LEWIS (2020, Previously Unreleased 1962 Arock recording)

Tracks 1, 4, 15, 16 and 17 in STEREO - all others in MONO

Tracks 4, 8, 19, 23 and 24 are PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

Part of the joy of 'Kent Soul/Dance' CD compilations is the research and how classily Ace Records present it - always championing names that are criminally forgotten like Brooks O'Dell and Clarence Pinckney alongside others that are seriously sought-after like James Carr, Chuck Jackson and Garnet Mimms. And so it is with the 24-pages presented here - compiled and annotated by long-time Ace Records associate and genre lover ADY CROASDEL. Cool photos abound - an ageing ex Drifters and Atlantic Records vocal legend Clyde McPhatter still finding time to smile alongside Fame Records Studio hero Jim Hall - a suited and booted Freddy Butler looking dapper in a publicity black and white - trade adverts for Roy Hamilton and Freddie Scott 45s on RCA Victor and Colpix - Garnett Mimms letting it rip live at the Whisky A Go Go in 1967 - and even Gene Burks displaying more bling on his bejewelled fingers and shirt cufflinks than Fats Domino in his Aladdin Records prime. Every song gets a paragraph, facts and details unfurled and all of it alongside rare 45-labels repro'd between the texts. It's a typically classy job. 

Ace's trusted Audio Engineer NICK ROBBINS amps up the Remasters to truly lovely clarity. For sure one or two of the Mono singles feel like the tapes might not have survived as well as one would have hoped - but those stunning Stereo cuts, quality unreleased and seriously popular dancers (Clyde McPhatter) in this kind of audio quality is going to be a huge draw for Northern Soul fans galore. To the music...

"Soul Voices..." smartly opens with a Stereo winner where Walter Jackson realises that "...this time she's gone..." - if only he could "Forget The Girl". Amongst his final recordings for Columbia, it has beautiful production values and sets up the predominantly funereal pace of all to come. On the contrary, Freddy Butler doesn't feel ominous in any way as his girl could never be that cruel - flat out denying emotional catastrophe on the horizon in his gloriously camp LP cut "They Say I'm Afraid (Of Losing You)". Sweet as honey and deep as walnut, Roy Hamilton's fantastically expressive voice soars up and down in "Heartache (Hurry On By)" - a classic cross your arms across your heart dancefloor shuffler. Despite the hammy thunder and rain beginning, the first of five Previously Unreleased sides turns out to be a Stereo stunner from Kenny Carter - its top-notch RCA Victor production telling us that she's ready to move on again (what a find). 

And while the Ben E. King B-side "(There's) No Place To Hide" is aided by Bert Barns arrangements - most NS fans will leap to Track 6 and Clyde McPhatter's "Lonely People Can't Afford To Cry" - another B-side discovered through crate trawls that became expensive in the 80ts collecting scene (very tasty my dear). Personally though, the Clarence Pinckney discovery "Just Outside Of Lonely" from 1973 is far more exciting in my book - a pleader to not break his heart that features Gwen Guthrie amidst its three backing singers (another bonus worthy of the moniker). Rounding out the first eleven cuts, you then get a sort of Soul Men take on Lounge Music perpetrators double-whammy. Tommy Hunts brings genuine class to his cover of Bacharach and David's "Don't Make Me Over" (originally their first 45 for Dionne Warwick) - while Lou Johnson also elevates B&D's "Reach Out For Me" (an original song for him). Bacharach provided the arrangements (and piano I think) on the sweet Lou Johnson session and it is as lovely as crossover Pop vs. Soul can get (both Tracks 10 and 11 with fabulous audio too).

Making melodrama sound so good, another clever choice comes in the shape of Brooks O'Dell whose "Now You Are Gone" is a 'you were my symphony' crier - whilst Jimmy Beaumont (another drama merchant) is clearly channelling Phil Spector is his production of Joe Simmons' "You Got Too Much Going For You". You will recognise Beaumont's superb voice from The Skyliner's huge 1958 Vocal Group hit "Since I Don't Have You" - he was the lead vocalist and melodist on that gorgeous Calico Records ballad. Speaking of misery adverted - Garrett Saunders could avoid it too if only the memories didn't linger on in his 48-hours pleader "A Day Or Two". And amongst the final run is breathtaking Stereo for Garnet Mimms on his "Anytime You Want" while gorgeous is the only word I can use to describe the Van McCoy-written Chuck Jackson offering "I Can't Stand To See You Cry" - a rarity only available on a long-deleted Kent Records LP from 1987. And on it goes, tune after tune... 

As beautifully done and as swish as the photograph of Junior Lewis on the front cover of the booklet is - I also know that 24-cuts of this variety of shuffling 60s ballad might be someone's else idea of water-boarding. But I'm not one of them and I'm sure there will be legions more like me. 

Tony Mason saw his girl '...kissing his best friend the night before...' so had to hide his face, shed a grievous tear and walk on by. Thank God Producer Richard Tee was on hand to record his vocal response the next day, is all I can say. Buy and behold baby...and shame on all those ladies who were entirely at fault...no honestly...