"Can I Be A Witness: Stax Southern Groove" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Featuring Little Milton, Eddie Floyd, R.B. Hudmon, Eric Mercury, The Soul Children, The Nightingales, The Sweet Inspirations, Jean Knight, The Emotions, Major Lance, Jeanne & The Darlings, Members of Con-Funk-Shun and more (September 2021 UK Ace/Kent Soul CD Compilation – Nick Robbins Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Trouble I Had..."

In my chequered past as a dodgy reviewer of sorts, I've done all four volumes of the huge Stax Singles Box Sets in track-by-track details and every one of the 'Stax Remasters' series of singular CDs (as well as other Kent-Soul compilations). Southern Soul Grooves and I'm a happy bunny too. So I got more than a little hot under the Covid-19 matching collar, tie and mask ensemble when I heard of this wee September 2021 CD beauty. 

11 new Stax tracks - yum city - and if it’s not too offensive (or dangerous) to raise my white-privileged hand at a Labour party conference - count me in mama. Lots to witness, so let's have at the Southern Soul Groove details...

UK released Friday, 24 September 2021 - "Can I Get A Witness: Stax Southern Groove" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 507 (Barcode 029667104029) is a 20-Track CD compilation with 11 Previously Unreleased Tracks that plays out as follows (72:57 minutes):

1. Bad Water - PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED (Probably recorded 1971, a cover of The Raeletts' US 45-single A-side issued October 1970 on Tangerine TRC-1014 – July 1971 UK as The Raelettes on Tangerine 6121 002, A-side)

2. Can We Talk This Over - EDDIE FLOYD (First issued on the 1998 UK CD compilation "5000 Volts Of Stax" on Stax CDSXD 116)

3. How Can I Be A Witness - R.B. HUDMON (September 1975 US 45-Single on Truth TRA-3230, B-side of "If You Don't Cheat On Me (I Won't Cheat On You)")

4. Love Is Taking Over (August 1973 Us 45-single on Enterprise ENA-9080, A-side)

5. Burning On Both Sides - THE NIGHTINGALES (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED)

6. Forever And A Day - MEL & TIM (August 1974 US 45-single on Stax STN-0224, B-side to "That's The Way I Want To Live My Life" - also on the 1973 "Mel & Tim" US LP on Stax STS 5501)

7. I Wanna Make Up (Before We Break Up) - MAJOR LANCE (April 1972 US 45-single on Volt VOA-4079, A-side)

8. You Ain't Playin' With No Toy - THE SOUL CHILDREN (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

9. I Got To Be Myself - THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP (April 1973 US 45-single on The Gospel Truth GTA-1208, A-side - also on the 1973 US LP "Brothers" on Gospel Truth GTS-3502 - March 1976 UK LP on Stax STX 1034)

10. Passing Thru/World Keeps Turning - FREDERICK KNIGHT (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED 'Extended Version' of "Passing Thru" issued June 1974 as a US 45-single on Truth TRA-3202, A-side - this mix runs to 10:54 minutes)

11. Ain't Enough Hours - THE EMOTIONS (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED)

12. Changes - JEANNE & THE DARLINGS (first issued in 1998 on "5000 Volts Of Stax" on Ace/Stax CDSXD 116)

13. Slow Down - THE NIGHTINGALES (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED)

14. Soul Groove - ART JERRY MILLER (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED)

15. Don't Fight The Feeling - THE SWEET INSPIRATIONS (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED)

16. Three's A Crowd - THE TEMPREES (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED)

17. Helping Man - JEAN KNIGHT (July 1972 US 45-single on Stax STA-0136, A-side)

18. True Love Don't Grow On Trees - VEDA BROWN (first issued on the Judy Clay/Veda Brown CD compilation "The Stax Solo Recordings" on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 302 in 2008)

19. The Natural You - OLLIE & THE NIGTINGALES (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED)

20. Leaning On Your Undying Love - SHACK (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED)

NOTES: 

Tracks 7, 14, 17, 19 and 20 in MONO, all others are STEREO  

Tracks 1, 5, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19 and 20 are PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED (11 in total) 

Long-time collaborator with Ace and Kent Soul - DEAN RUDLAND provides the typically in-depth and knowledgeable liner notes while Audio Engineer whizz NICK ROBBINS does his magic again with the Master Tapes. The 16-Page booklet gives a track-by-track breakdown by Soul aficionado Rudland whilst siding all that info with promo photos of The Soul Children, The Emotions, The Rance Allen Group, Jeanne & The Darlings, The Temprees and a cool cover shot of Stax stalwarts Isaac Hayes and Eddie Floyd enjoying a natter. And already noted - eleven of the twenty tracks are UNISSUED which is a hefty chunk. It's typically cool stuff from Ace Records of the UK.  

The listen is very Seventies Stax rather than 60ts – some of the titles veering into Strings and Funk and hints of the burgeoning Disco scene – but most are more mellow than that – downbeat as they say in dance circles. It opens with a great Little Milton find – his unreleased cover version of "Bad Water" written by Jackie DeShannon, Jimmy Holiday and Randy Myers and first issued late 1970 by Ray Charles' lady backing group The Raeletts (or Raelettes as they were known in the UK). That's followed by Eddie Floyd using Con-Funk-Shun as his backing band for "Can We Talk This Over" – itself unissued until the "5000 Volts Of Stax" British CD compilation in 1998. A 'baby let me talk to you this morning' song where Eddie has been a bad boy and is pleading for mercy – "Can We Talk This Over" is produced by Al Bell in his inimitable flick-guitar Funky fashion (a grower that sounds stunning too).  

The compilation's title track "How Can I Be A Witness" is a gorgeous shuffler that was hidden away as a B-side on an obscure Truth Records 45 in late 1975 - a very clever and warm upbeat inclusion. Little black and white children playing together act as the positivity theme to the chipper "Love Is Taking Over" - Eric Mercury sounding convincing in front of those Memphis strings and brass as he sings of giant steps being taken to see hate banished (it don't live here no more). Perhaps less convincing is the strained Funk of "Burning On Both Ends" - The Nightingales givin' it some "...baby your love is so electrifyin'..." - the second of the Previously Unreleased (fabulous production values though). I know there are those who worship at the feet of this Stax Seventies Vocal Group, so they'll be thrilled to see that Ollie Hoskins and The Nightingales feature two mores time on this CD and again in unreleased form - "Slow Down" and "The Natural You".

A very cool Stax dancer comes in the shape of the Fuzz Guitar/Bass Funk of Major Lance's "I Wanna Make Up (Before We Break Up)" where the Major wants to tighten up with his baby before emotional catastrophe strikes his happy home (dig that 1972 distorted keyboard solo that tail-ends this great inclusion). On any other day "You Ain't Playin' With No Toy" by The Soul Children would have been a hit - its unreleased 'Mr. Big Stuff' groove later reworked by writer Mack Rice into a US A-side for the Treasures in 1976 on Mercury 73838. The Rance Allen Group have their fans and they'll enjoy "I Got To Be Myself" - a tune The Staple Singers returned to with great effect in 1981 on their "This Time Around" LP on Stax. 

The near eleven-minutes of "Passing Thru..." has its moments of brilliance when the 'Extended Version' kicks in about 3:26 minutes, but soon looses its complicated way towards the end. Speaking of dodgy ends, one of the singers in The Emotions literally starts giggling towards the finish of "Ain't Enough Hours" only to say 'this is terrible' as she realises she's not put in her best performance. Towards the second half of the CD we get obscure cuts - one by Keyboardist Art Jerry Miller (a regular player with Willie Mitchell and Ike Turner) whose "Soul Groove" sounds like Burt Bacharach goes Stax goes rude Blaxsploitation - a quite cool and funky instrumental. Far funkier is the down and dirty groove of "Three's A Crowd" where an unreleased chune by The Temprees laments the lady's penchant for more than one baby (this sucker will fill a dancefloor near you soon). 

Amongst the others are Jean Knight's "Helping Man" from 1972, Veda Brown's funky "True Love Don't Grow On Trees" and the clavinet dancer "The Natural You" by Ollie & The Nightingales - but you can unfortunately hear why they were canned - good but not really great. 

Missing the full five-star mark more times than a body would like, there is still much on "Can I Be A Witness: Stax Southern Groove" to be savoured. And CDKEND 507 is a very timely reminder that even in September 2021 – decades and decades after the event – and just like the Motown label - such was the magnificence of their songwriter/artist roster - Stax Records the label still seems to have riches to offer the faithful. Dig in and enjoy...

"Southern Soul Brother: The Murco Recordings 1967-1969" by EDDY GILES (October 2014 UK Ace Records/Kent Soul CD Compilation of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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60ts Soul, R&B, Northern Soul

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"...If She Treats You Right...You Feel A Tingling..."

I suspect like so many genre loons, I first stumbled on Shreveport's Southern Soul singer par excellence Elbert Giles as late as October 2008 when his name popped up on Disc 1 of that year's reissue sensation - "Take Me To The River: A Southern Soul Story 1961-1977". 

That card-wrapped Ace Records 3CD Hardback-Booked Set (on KENT BOX 10) would quickly become 'Reissue of the Year' for many in 2008 - and there was Eddy Giles holding pride of place on Track 8, CD1. His understated but 'has something' weep and moan debut 45 "Losin' Boy" on Murco Records 1031 being one of the many gems on offer.  

Flicking his guitar, its shuffling 1967 sway-rhythms backed up by the Saxophone of James Steward and that great guttural voice Giles had, saw lyrics like "...I'm like Ray Charles, I guess I was born to lose..." create a slow storm of Dallas sales. A few months later it break through the local R&B charts all the way to No. 1 jostling with such legendary titles as "Respect" by Aretha Franklin. Sadly despite many thousands of local 45-single sales, Eddy "G" Giles (as some of his releases credited him) never did see National R&B chart action not achieve an album release. But that doesn't stop this superb little 2014 CD compilation from being so impressive. 

So what's on the menu? Six of its eighteen cuts are new Extended Versions (Tracks 3, 8 and 14) while three are Previously Unissued (Tracks 16, 17 and 18). You get 12 single-sides and even a post-released rarity from a year 2000 CD compilation - all of it mastered from well-kept master tapes. Let's get to the tinglin' details...   

UK released 11 October 2014 (27 October 2014 in the USA) - "Southern Soul Boy: The Murco Recordings 1967-1969" by EDDY GILES on Ace Records/Kent Soul CDKEND 401 (Barcode 029667240123) is an 18-Track CD Compilation of Remasters that plays out as follows (48:57 minutes):

1. Losin' Boy (February 1967 US 45-single on Murco 1031, A-side)

2. I Got The Blues (February 1967 US 45-single on Murco 1031, B-side of "Losin' Boy")

3. Don't Let Me Suffer (Previously Unissued Extended Version of Murco 1033, 1967 US 45-single, A-side)

4. While I'm Away (Baby, Keep The Faith) (1967 US 45-single on Murco 1033, B-side of "Don't Let Me Suffer")

5. Eddy's Go-Go Train (July 1967 US 45-single on Murco 1034, A-side - B-side reissued "While I'm Away" from 1033, just with a shortened title)

6. Happy Man (1967 US 45-single on Murco 1037, A-side)

7. Music (1967 US 45-single on Murco 1037, B-side to "Happy Man")

8. Baby Be Mine (Previously Unissued Extended Version of Murco 1042, March 1968 US 45-single A-side)

9. Love With A Feeling (March 1968 US 45-single on Murco 1042, B-side of "Baby Be Mine")

10. Soul Feeling (Part 1) (July 1968 US 45-single on Murco 1048, A-side) 

11. Soul Feeling (Part 2) (July 1968 US 45-single on Murco 1048, B-side)

12. Ain't Gonna Worry No More (1969 US 45-single on Murco 1053, A-side)

13. Tingling (1969 US 45-single on Murco 1053, B-side of "Ain't Gonna Worry No More")

14. That's How Long My Love Is (Extended Version of the 1969 US 45-single Silver Fox SF-9, A-side, first issued on the February 2000 CD compilation "Shreveport Southern Soul" on Ace Records/Kent Soul CDKEND 178)

15. So Deep in Love (July 1969 US 45-single on Silver Fox SF-9, B-side of "That's How Long My Love Is")

16. Pins And Needles (2014, Previously Unissued)

17. It Takes More (2014, Previously Unissued)

18. Ain't Gonna Worry No More (2014, Previously Unissued Alternate Version)

All Tracks in MONO 

Tracks 1 and 2 plus 14 to 18 credited to EDDY GILES

Tracks 3, 4 and 5 credited to EDDY "G" GILES and The Jive Five 

Tracks 6 to 13 credited to EDDY "G" GILES

The 16-page booklet features detailed DEAN RUDLAND liner notes that include a new interview with our hero - now the Reverend Eddy Giles who does a Gospel Hour on Shreveport Radio (pictured as such on Page 4). Stock and Demo copies of those rare Murco US 45s are peppered across the text alongside a concert poster, signed publicity shot and a fabulous black and white 'live show' photo from 1967 where Eddy and his band play in front of a multi-cultural crowd of dancing hipsters. It's the usual classy affair from England's Ace and the NICK ROBBINS Remasters from real tapes are the same - punchy and kicking Mono that actually feels more alive for its slight amateurishness rather than homemade. To the tunes...

March 2015 would see two tunes from this October 2014 set turn up on other Ace/Kent Soul Soul-based CD compilations - "Tingling" on "Modernists: A Decade Of Rhythm And Soul Dedication" (CDKEND 431) and "Pins And Needles" on "Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities Volume 5" (CDKEND 432). And it is easy to hear why, both with a sort of lovely almost naivety feel to them that fans love. That lost my baby lurch fills the cool B-side "I Got The Blues" – his guitar work so Robert Cray – tight and lean as he licks those notes. 

Murco's follow-up to the popular "Losin' Boy" was "Don't Let Me Suffer" presented here as an extended version - 3:31 minutes as opposed to the original 2:45 minutes of the 1967 single. I'd rate it as good rather than great, but that slight disappointment is quickly offset by the organ-led Soul of "While I'm Away" which might have been called "Keep The Faith" for the number of times those words are used in the chorus. "While I'm Away" is properly gorgeous homegrown Southern Soul and features a duet vocal with Charles Brown of The Violinaires - the song subtly referencing US GIs away in Vietnam pining for their ladies/wives back home.

Time to bop and get ready - let's ride on "Eddy's Go-Go Train" - an organ-driven groover aimed firmly at the feet rather than the heart. Giles then slows it down to the church-lurch of "Happy Man" informing us that his baby is a winning hand and the big "G" can no longer lose (sweet tune man). Obviously trying for the Stax Records dancers market, “Soul Feeling” Parts 1 and 2 sound just like its Blues Brother title suggests. Time to don the shades and cartwheel down the aisles. Similar and something of a fab find is the brassy bopper that is "It Takes More" - the best of the three excellent Unreleased cuts. I'm fairly sure that Northern Soul stormer will be gracing something out of the Kent Soul camp soon enough. 

Its playing time may seem short and for sure Eddy "G" Giles is not exactly a household name in any circles never mind Southern Soul - but this CD has been a revelation. Typically cool and on the money - Kent Soul gives the man his due with style...

"The Complete Westbound Recordings 1973-76" by JUNIE [Walter "Junie" Morrison, ex Ohio Players, later Funkadelic] – Including Three Full Albums "When We Do" and "Freeze" (both 1975) and "Suzie Super Groupie" (1976) Plus Seven Bonus Tracks (May 2017 UK Ace Records/Westbound 2CD Anthology of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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70ts Soul, R'n'B, Funk, Jazz Fusion
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"...Musical Son... "

Genius Musician, Arranger and all-round Funkmeister Walter "Junie" Morrison is looking rather pleased with himself on the outtake photo that adorns this fabulous 2CD set from England's Ace Records (and why wouldn't he be - pawed by an icon like that!). 

Model Pat Evans is captured in all her beguiling bald sexiness by Joel Brodsky - the photographer who brought us so many of those memorable Ohio Players saucy LP covers – albums Junie wrote tunes for and was instrumental in the origins of. His other period claim to fame is of course the future Funkadelic P-Funk sound – Junie having co-written the anthem "One Nation Under A Groove" with George Clinton and Garry Shider – a US R&B No. 1 in October 1978 for Clinton's Funkadelic.

Pat Evans had featured on the Ohio Players "Pain" LP cover (February 1972) and the not-so-subtly titled "Ecstasy" LP from September 1973 - two hugely popular albums Junie had been instrumental in (Morrison was gone from their orbit by 1974's "Skin Tight"). So come his debut Solo album "When We Do" (recorded in 1973 and 1974 but not released until mid 1975) - hardly surprising then that Pat returns to give our hero some more temperature-rising cover-art strokes. And that's where this rarities haul comes stomping-in. There's a lot of Granny in her Funky Rolls Royce to groove through, so let's have at the details...

UK released 26 May 2017 - "The Complete Westbound Recordings 1973-1976" by JUNIE on Ace Records/Westbound CDSEW2 157 (Barcode 029667083720) features Three Full Albums "When We Do" and "Freeze"  (both 1975) and "Suzie Super Groupie" (1976) Plus Seven Bonus Tracks Remastered onto 2CDs as follows:

CD1 (72:37 minutes):

1. Junie [Side 1]

2. Loving Arms 

3. Johnny Carson Samba 

4. The Place 

5. Anna 

6. Tight Rope [Side 2]

7. You And You 

8. When We Do 

9. Married Him 

10. Walt's Third Trip

Tracks 1 to 10 are his debut album "When We Do" - released June 1975 in the USA on 20th Century Records/Westbound Records W-200 

11. Freeze [Side 1]

12. Cookies Will Get You 

13. Not As Good As You Should 

14. Musical Son 

15. Super J. [Side 2] 

16. World Of Woe 

17. Granny's Funky Rolls Royce 

18. Junie II

Tracks 11 to 18 are his second solo album "Freeze" - released November 1975 in the USA on 20th Century Records/Westbound Records W-214 

CD2 (56:53 minutes):

1. Junie III [Side 1]

2. Suzie Thundertussy 

3. If You Love Him 

4. What Am I Gonna Do

5. Super Groupie

6. Surrender 

7. Suzie 

8. Stone Face Joe 

9. Spirit 

Tracks 1 to 9 are his third studio album "Suzie Super Groupie" - released October 1976 in the USA on 20th Century Records/Westbound Records W228. 

BONUS TRACKS:

10. Junie's Ultimate Departure (first appeared as a Previously Unreleased track on the April 1994 UK CD compilation "The Westbound Years" (by Junie) on Ace Records/Westbound CDSEWD 64 (Barcode 029667376426)

11. Walt's Second Trip 

12. Tightrope (Single Mix)

Tracks 12 and 11 (note sequence) are the A&B-sides of his first US solo 45 released December 1973 on Eastbound E 619 - both tracks are on the debut LP "When We Do" in different forms with "Tightrope" credited on the album as "Tight Rope"

13. Loving Arms (Mono Single Mix) - July 1975 US 45 A-side for Westbound WT-5007 

14. If You Love Him (Single Edit) - 1976 US 45 A-side for Westbound WT-5027

15. Super "J". (Single Edit)

16. Granny's Funky Rolls Royce (Mono Single Edit) 

Tracks 16 and 15 (note sequence) are the A&B-sides of an October 1975 US 45 on Westbound WT-5013

The knowledgeable and erudite DEAN RUDLAND heads up the praises in the 20-page booklet – not surprisingly first mentioning Kanye West and Solange Knowles (sister of Beyoncé) – Kanye with his prominent sampling of "Suzie Thundertussy" for his "No More Parties In L.A.” track on the February 2016 album “The Life Of Pablo" - while Solange actually name-checked the great Dayton, Ohio man upfront as "Junie" - a cut on her "A Seat At The Table" album from September 2016. Not before time either. With none of his three albums featured here having troubled the R&B charts in their days of release – Walter Morrison has been an underground name ever since. Nice to know then that Junie got to feel the love of his contemporaries 'before' his tragic passing in January 2017 - only months after Solange's album release. 

The booklet also features photos of the debut’s gatefold artwork, the second and third LPs and their rather plain and boring rear sleeves as well as those promo-only 45s that never seemed to make it to stock copies. Audio is care of Ace’s long-standing Engineer NICK ROBBINS and no stranger to Soul and Funk tapes – this twofer kicks in all the right places. 

Before the delayed debut LP "When We Do" appeared label co-shared by 20th Century and Westbound Records – Westbound tried "Tightrope" b/w the instrumental "Walt's Second Trip" in December 1973 on their imprint label Eastbound but to no joy (very cool to see both mixes in amongst the bonuses - the versions on the album are different). The very Disco-Funk opener "Junie" is predominantly an instrumental workout featuring The Detroit Symphony. Punctuating the trippy voices and space-feel of "Loving Arms" - soon after a wickedly great 'keep me in your arms' groove is set up - come the Horns and Hammond - the Remaster kicking it. At only 2:32 minutes, the Salsa meets Bass meets shaker Drum rhythms of "Johnny Carson Samba" feels like The Crusaders having a cocktail - a fab little piano groove a la Joe Sample. Back to hard-hitting midnight-hour Pump-Funk with "The Place" - his guitar passages going all heavy Isley Brothers while a fantastic combo of Brass and Strings brings up the rhythmic rear. And it's hard to think now in 2021 why something as bum-shakingly fun-key-fun-kay as the title track "When We Do" wasn't a hit - maybe too many instruments cluttering the mix - but surely that Stevie Wonder clavinet backbeat should have garnished better attention. The whole LP is great really and yet period sales never reflected that. 

Album two "Freeze" goes up a notch and is closest to Funkadelic – the opener is a fast-hammering synth workout where voices and instruments are given that fazed-feel. "Cookies Will Get You" continues in a hard-hitting Brothers Johnson vein – thumping rhythm section, voices, piano and a huge Remaster that threatens to do damage. You touch the height is what you do, Junie claims in "Not As Good As You Should" – another rapid Funk workout that feels like Part 3 on a Side 1 suite. The LP comes close to a voicebox hit with the wild synth playing of "Granny's Funky Rolls Royce" – a ferocious piece of keyboard Funk that has Granny giving it some old mama ad libs (I hear you baby) – and I can so hear why Funkadelic and Parliament aficionados dig the LP so much (despite that poor no-sales artwork). 

Highlights on album three "Suzie Super Groupie" feature the very Todd Rundgren soundscapes of the opener "Junie III" and of course that 'chance to be a star' "Suzie Thundertussy" chorus and backbeat. Junie needs the tenderness so desperately in "Surrender" where the clavinet and general rhythms feel so the "Contusion" instrumental on Stevie Wonder's 1976 double magnum opus "Songs In The Key Of Life". James Brown Funk fans will also dig the near five and half minutes of "Super Groupie" - a get on up moment on Side 2.

 

For sure the whole in-yer-face blasting-no-let-up Funkadelic Funk (truth be told) is an acquired taste and it's easy to see why Earth, Wind & Fire through to The Brothers Johnson and The Ohio Players were so commercially successful – they mixed in elements of P-Funk but just not so hard-hitting all the time. But that won't stop "The Complete Westbound Recordings 1973-76" by JUNIE from being a bit special to aficionados of P-Funk. 

A humdinger of a release and surely (yet again) one of the myriad reasons why Ace Records of the UK are the bizz-schnizz when it comes to Soul and Funk reissues. Musical man remembered well, and with real affection...

"This Is Fame 1964-1968" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – featuring Jimmy Hughes, Clarence Carter, Arthur Conley, Otis Clay, The Del-Rays, Art Freeman, James Barnett, Jeanie Greene, Dan Penn (and Spooner Oldham), George Jackson, Billy Young, Ralph Jackson, June Conquest, Herman Moore, Richard Earl & The Corvettes and more (October 2020 UK Ace/Kent Soul CD Compilation in Mono – Nick Robbins Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Almost Persuaded..."

Covering the Southern Soul and Muscle Shoals sound of Rick Hall's famous and much celebrated FAME Studios in Alabama – a sympathetic haven for such Soul and R&B legends as Clarence Carter, Otis Clay, Arthur Conley and the quality writing duo of Dan Pen & Spooner Oldham plus many more - "This Is Fame 1964-1968" was originally issued 7 October 2016 in the UK as a 2LP vinyl-only compilation on Ace/Kent SoulKENT2 504 (Barcode 029667005111). What you have here is an October 2020 UK CD variant with the same track line-up. 

Nine of these twenty-four cuts were initially only on and exclusive to Kent CD-compilations issued between 2011 and 2014 - Tracks 2, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 22, 23 and 24 to be exact (see detailed list below). So in October 2016, they made sense being on a 24-track vinyl-only 2LP set. 

But four years later, an October 2020 CD reissue of just over 62-minutes should really have been extended by four or even six more songs because that playing time is now looking a little low. More importantly, a few more choice-choices would have fixed some initial reviews stating that although "This Is Fame 1964-1968" looked good in theory - the actual listen left you feeling somehow slightly short-changed. That would have been improved upon easily had the numbers been bumped up (this 2020 CD smacks of a Covid-19 pandemic schedule filler). 

But for now, let us deal with what we do have; here are the details and the hi-heel sneakers... 

UK released Friday, 30 October 2020 - "This Is Fame 1964-1968" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace Kent Soul CDKEND 494 (Barcode 029667100328) is a CD compilation that plays out as follows (62:17 minutes):

1. Steal Away - JIMMY HUGHES (May 1964 US 45-single on Fame 6401, A-Side)
2. It Tears Me up - JAMES BARNETT (from the March 2013 UK CD compilation "Hall Of Fame Volume 2: More Rare & Unissued Gems From Fame Vaults" on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 386 - a Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn song)
3. She Ain't Gonna Do Right - CLARENCE CARTER (September 1967 US 45-single on Fame 1016, A-side - a Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn song)
4. I Can't Stop (No, No, No) - ARTHUR CONLEY (August 1966 US 45-single on Fame 1007, A-side)
5. That Kind Of Lovin' - OTIS CLAY (October 1968 US 45-single on Cotillion 44009, B-side of "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man")
6. Fortune Teller - THE DEL-RAYS (1965 US 45-single on R and H Records 1005, A-side)
7. Slippin' Around With You - ART FREEMAN (September 1966 US 45-single on Fame 1008, B-side of "I Can't Get You Out Of My Mind" - A-side is a Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham song)
8. Keep On Talking - JAMES BARNETT (January 1966 US 45-single on Fame 1001, A-side - A Dan Pen and Spooner Oldham song - the B-side "Take A Good Look" is track 21 on this CD compilation)
9. Hi-Heel Sneakers - JIMMY HUGHES (August 1967 US 45-single on Fame 1015, A-side)
10. Long Ago - BEN & SPENCE (from the March 2013 UK CD compilation "Hall Of Fame Volume 2: More Rare & Unissued Gems From Fame Vaults" on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 386)
11. Don't Make Me Hate Loving You - JEANIE GREENE (from the November 2011 UK 3CD Various Artists Book Set "The Fame Studios Story 1961-1973" on Ace/Kent Soul KENTBOX 12)
12. (Take Me) Just As I Am - DAN PENN (May 1965 US 45-Single on Fame 6409, A - credited to Lonnie Ray)
13. Back In Your Arms - GEORGE JACKSON (from the September 2011 UK George Jackson CD-compilation "Don't Count Me Out: The Fame Recordings Volume 1" on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 363)
14. Feed The Flame - BILLY YOUNG (from the November 2011 UK 3CD Various Artists Book Set "The Fame Studios Story 1961-1973" on Ace/Kent Soul KENTBOX 12)
15. You Really Know How To Hurt A Guy - RALPH "Soul" JACKSON (from the May 2012 UK Various Artists CD-compilation "Hall Of Fame (Rare And Unissued Gems From The FAME Vault)" on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 372)
16. Thread The Needle - CLARENCE CARTER (April 1967 US 45-single on Fame 1013, A-side)
17. A Piece Of My Heart - ART FREEMAN (May 1967 US 45-single on Fame 1012, A-side)
18. Wish You Didn't Have To Go - SPOONER & THE SPOONS (January 1965 US 45-single on Fame 6406, A-side - a Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn song) 
19. Almost Persuaded - JUNE CONQUEST (February 1965 US 45-single on Fame 6406, A-side - a Dan Penn and Donnie Fritts song)
20. I'm Gonna Forget About You - ARTHUR CONLEY (October 1966 US 45-single on Fame 1009, A-side)
21. Take A Good Look - JAMES BARNETT (January 1966 US 45-single on Fame 1001, B-side to "Keep On Talking" - Track 8 on this CD compilation)
22. Come On Home - HERMAN MOORE (from the January 2014 UK Various Artists CD-compilation "Hall Of Fame Volume 3: Previously Unissued Gems From The FAME Vaults" on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 410)
23. Blind Can't See - RICHARD EARL & THE CORVETTES (from the May 2012 UK Various Artists CD-compilation "Hall Of Fame (Rare And Unissued Gems From The FAME Vault)" on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 372)
24. I Worship The Ground You Walk On - JIMMY HUGHES (from the May 2012 UK Various Artists CD-compilation "Hall Of Fame (Rare And Unissued Gems From The FAME Vault)" on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 372)
All tracks in MONO 

The 12-page booklet features the same DEAN RUDLAND liner notes done for the October 2016 2LP set. Promo photos of June Conquest, George Jackson, a dapper Billy Young and the gold-shirted Ben & Spence sit alongside those tasty Fame Records US 45 labels and even a Pye International UK demo of the fabulous "Steal Away" by Jimmy Hughes - a tune that opens the CD in spectacular form. Long-time Ace Records Audio Engineer NICK ROBBINS remastered all of the Mono tracks in 2016 and the feel is uniformly stunning - song after song (even the outtakes) reflecting an in-house band and production crew – both second-to-none. To the tunes...

"I gotta see you...can't wait..." Jimmy Hughes pleads in the gorgeous Southern Soul classic "Steal Away" that is quickly followed by a James Barnett cover of the Percy Sledge pleader "It Tears Me Up". Clarence Carter worries about a sinful world and the moral integrity of his girl in "She Ain't Gonna Do Right" - songwriters Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham giving the poor chap too much to think about in his Saturday night boozy dotage. 

We enter Blues Brothers territory with Arthur Conley's tremendous dancer "I Can't Stop (No, No, No)" and I doubt the talcum powder on English Northern Soul dancefloor boards will cease either with killers like this in the offing. We slow things down to a lurch with Otis Clay having a tender lurve moment on "That Kind Of Lovin'", but The Del-Rays cover of "Fortune Teller" that ends Side 1 of the LP feels oddly out-of-place and way weaker than the five impresarios that preceded it. 

A sexy keyboard backbeat turns the Art Freeman song "Slippin' Around With You" into another Penn/Oldham winner while the piano-rolling cool dancer "Keep On Talking" by James Barnett is complimented by its equally good B-side "Take A Good Look" further down the track list line (No. 21). Things slip dramatically when Jimmy Hughes fails to come close to the sexy Tommy Tucker original of "Hi-Heel Sneakers" - Hughes' version featuring some nice guitar for sure but still nowhere near as good as the 'put on' version we know and love. 

Ben & Spence save things with "Long Ago" - the kind of humdinger Motown or Stax would have been proud to call their own. And although the recording is defiantly rough around the Production edges, there's no knocking the vocal performance Jeanie Greene puts in for "Don't Make Me Hate Loving You" - a pained plea of the highest Soulful calibre. Dan Penn ends Side 2 by telling us that his old car might run funny, but he's still gonna give his girl his heart - if he can just get his mojo and motor into second gear (we're rooting for you man). 

George Jackson shows just why Soul Music aficionados adore him so as he slaughters the gorgeous "Back In Your Arms" - his woman pawning her best clothes so she can put food on the table for her temporarily broke beau. But Billy Young finds that unless he can "Feed The Flame" for his lady - she might buy back her finest apparel (from the same pawn shop no doubt) and head for the door. An upbeat dancer is needed about now and no man better than Clarence Carter to provide swivel-hip sustenance with his fantastic "Thread The Needle". 

Things slip again with the embarrassing sunshine-pop tweeness of "Wish You Didn't Have To Go" (not Spooner Oldham's finest moment) but the compilation is saved by June Conquest and her movie-sexy conscience-battle song, where she caught a glimpse of her former squeeze's wavy hair and was "Almost Persuaded" (keep it stiff June, that resolve). Arthur Conley doesn't initially know what he's going to do with his broken self either in "I'm Gonna Forget About You" - but then summons up his inner bad boy and decides that he's gonna go out and have a ball anyway (what a melch). 

Make no mistake - there is a lot of quality on the 2020 CD reissue of "This Is Fame 1964-1968". 

But as Clint Eastwood is fond of saying at a Wigan Casino all-nighter - for a few tracks more - it could have been good, bad and just a little less ugly in certain places. 

Still, with enough musical goodness to keep us shuffling on the kitchen lino for less than a fistful of Euros - "This Is Fame 1964-1968" is recommended anyway...

"If You're Not Part Of The Solution... Soul, Politics And Spirituality In Jazz 1967 to 1975" by VARIOUS (April 2019 Ace/Beat Goes Public (BGP) CD Compilation – Nick Robbins Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Warriors Of Peace..."

I really love a CD compilation like this - clever choices by knowledgeable types - discoveries by still-learning baby-boomers like me.

Using their Beat Goes Public label - Ace Records of the UK has been down this digital road before. But I have to say that this is a superb addition even by their lofty standards - a genuinely thoughtful exploration of why Jazz musicians began embracing and reflecting in both music and words what Soul and Rock musicians had been airing since the mid Sixties. Those staggeringly productive and explosive years saw in an era of huge social change – and what comes screaming off every entry here is the feeling of great players no longer satisfied with the confines of mere Saxophone expertise and phrasing – it was get on board, shout to the rooftops man or forever be that brooding young man in the corner – or worse - the establishment's kicking-boy.

Long time associate to Ace - DEAN RUDLAND has penned some killer liner notes before, but he's excelled with this musically angry yet hopeful little brute of 75 and half minutes featuring often lengthy tracks culled from three beloved labels - Milestone, Prestige and Muse Records. There's a lot worth tooting your horn about here, so let's get to those warriors of peace, Hard Bop, Modal and Jazz Fusion and the righteous moments their inspired celestial bodies brought to us, most over 50-years ago...

UK released 26 April 2019 - "If You're Not Part Of The Solution... Soul, Politics And Spirituality In Jazz 1967 to 1975" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace/Beat Goes Public (BGP) CDBGPD 308 (Barcode 029667084123) is a 10-Track CD compilation that plays out as follows (75:30 minutes):

1. If You're Not Part Of The Solution, You're Part Of The Problem - JOE HENDERSON QUARTET (from the 1970 US live LP "At The Lighthouse" on Milestone Records MSP 9028)

2.  Black Feeling - JOHNNY HAMMOND SMITH (from the 1970 US LP "Black Feeling" on Prestige PR 7736)

3. Celestial Bodies - CATALYST (from the 1973 US LP "Perception" on Muse Records MR 5025)

4. John Coltrane - CLIFFORD JORDAN QUARTET (from the 1975 US LP "Night Of The Mark VII" on Muse Records MR 5076)

5. H.N.I.C. (Head Ni**er In Charge) - HAROLD VICK (from the 1974 US LP "Commitment" on Muse Records MR 5054 - a 1967 recording)

6. Towhid - JOHNNY LYTLE (from the 1973 US LP "People & Love" on Milestone MSP 9043)

7. Bitches Brew - EDDIE JEFFERSON (from the 1974 US LP "Things Are Getting Better" on Muse Records MR 5043 - a MIles Davis cover)

8. Africans Unite - GARY BARTZ NTU TROOP (from the 1973 US LP "Juju Street Songs" on Prestige 10057)

9. Warriors Of Peace - AZAR LAWRENCE (from the 1974 US LP "Bridges Into The New Age" on Prestige 10086)

10. Let's Make Peace, Stop The War - FUNK, INC. (from the 1972 US LP "Chicken Lickin'" on Prestige 10043)

The 20-page booklet with DEAN RUDLAND liner notes gives pride of picture place to the ten rare and sought-after LP sleeves as well as musician breakdowns for each cut – huge names like Victor Feldman playing vibes with Harold Vick, Bernard Purdie playing drums for Johnny Hammond Smith whilst also highlighting hidden heroes like Steve Weakley and his guitar work on the “What’s Going On” vibe to Funk, Inc.’s “Let’s Make Peace, Stop The War”.  Long-time Audio Engineer NICK ROBBINS has handled the Remasters and every track is kicking reflecting their original quality production values.

It opens with a winding monster – former Blue Note Records stalwart Joe Henderson and his 11 and half-minute live version of the compilation's title track "If You're Not Part Of The Solution, You're Part Of The Problem". Recorded at The Lighthouse Café in Hermosa Beach, California in September 1970, Ron McClure provides the funky bass-line ably abetted by pianist George Cable and trumpeter Woody Shaw punching in sexy solos as the night's groove took them. Philly legends Norman Harris and Pat Gleeson provide guitar and synths for the Weather Report-ish feel to "Celestial Bodies" from Catalyst while Harold Vick gets radical and street with his "H.N.I.C." - head brothers in charge - or words to that affect.

From his duo of socially conscious platters - 1972's "The Soulful Rebel" and 1973's "People & Love" - Rudland picks the Islam-themed "Tawhid" from the latter where producer Orrin Keepnews brings out the best in the five players involved including Marvin Cobell on Tenor Sax and Betty Glamann on Harp. The murderous, sickening and farcical communist conflict far away and ripping both countries apart (Vietnam and the USA) permeates into the final duo - Azar Lawrence's "Warriors Of Peace" and Funk, Inc.'s "Let's Make Peace, Stop The War". It's kind of disturbing that half a century on, it feels like there's been some change for sure, but the message is still disturbingly relevant.

A great listen and an eye-opener, well done (as ever) to all involved...