"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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"...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...

"Spotlight On Maxine Brown/Maxine Brown's Greatest Hits" by MAXINE BROWN – March 1965 and November 1967 US Albums on Wand Records in Stereo – Guests include Arrangers and Songwriters Ed Townshend and Van McCoy with Backing Singers Cissy Houston, Dee Dee Warwick, Estelle Brown and Sylvia Shemwell who became The Sweet Inspirations (July 2000 UK Ace Records/Kent Soul Compilation – 2LPs Remastered onto 1CD in MONO with Bonus Tracks Including Two Previously Unreleased) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...My Baby... "

What a peach of a CD reissue this is. Class and quantity combined. 

In a nutshell, you get the full 12-tracks of Maxine Brown's second US studio album "Spotlight On..." (first issued March 1965) sat alongside the guts of a "Greatest Hits" mop-up set from November 1967 that featured chart R&B winners across several labels from the previous two years itself pumped up by unique new cuts to tempt customers of the day. Both were originally on Wand Records. 

You should say that a wee glitch in proceedings is that the original 15-track Greatest Hits LP does inexplicably have two tunes missing (see Notes below), but those omissions are more than compensated for by seven very tasty and period-applicable Bonus Tracks. Featured amongst those are four unissued sides from a long deleted but much admired 1985 UK LP on Ace's own Kent label ("Like Never Before"), a rare stand-alone British 45 B-side first released in 1986 (also on Kent) and Two Previously Unreleased making their debut here.

Talk about spotlight on some classy 60ts Soul and the lady who delivered it. Oh no, not my baby - oh yes indeed I say. Let's get to the magic wands...

UK released 31 July 2000 (August 2000 in the USA) - "Spotlight On Maxine Brown/Maxine Brown's Greatest Hits" by MAXINE BROWN on Ace Records/Kent Soul CDKEND 187 (Barcode 029667218726) offers 2LPs Remastered onto 1CD with Eight Bonus Tracks (Two Previously Unreleased) in MONO that plays out as follows (71:31 minutes):

1. Oh No, Not My Baby [Side 1]

2. It's Gonna Be Alright 

3. Ask Me 

4. I Cry Alone 

5. Coming Back To You 

6. He Does Something To Me [aka "You Do Something To Me"]

7. I Wonder What My Baby's Doing Tonight [Side 2]

8. Since I Found You

9. Gotta Find A Way 

10. Yesterday's Kisses

11. You Upset My Soul 

12. Little Girl Lost 

Tracks 1 to 12 are her second studio album "Spotlight On Maxine Brown" - released March 1965 in the USA on Wand Records LP-663 (Mono) and Wand WDS-633 (Stereo) – the MONO mix is used.

13. We Can Work It Out 

14. I Don't Need Anything 

15. Anything For A Laugh 

16. If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody 

17. One Step At A Time 

18. I've got A Lot of Love Left In Me 

19. One In A Million 

20. Soul Serenade

Tracks 13 to 20 are from the "Maxine Brown's Greatest Hits" LP in MONO – see NOTES

22. He's The Only Guy I'll Ever Love (first issued November 1985 on the Maxine Brown UK Compilation LP "Like Never Before" on Kent Records KENT 047 - then a Previously Unissued track)

23. Slipping Thru My Fingers (as per Track 22, from the LP KENT 047, November 1985)

24. Do It Now (as per Track 22, from the LP KENT 047, November 1985)

25. When I Fall In Love (as per Track 22, from the LP KENT 047, November 1985)

26. I Got Love (B-side of "It's Torture", first released March 1986, UK 45-single on Kent Records TOWN 110)

27. Listen to My Heart (Previously Unissued, 2000)

28. Wrong Number, Right Girl (Previously Unissued, 2000) 

All songs in MONO 

NOTES (Tracks and Audio): 

The November 1967 US LP "Maxine Brown's Greatest Hits" on Wand Records WDM-684 (Mono) and Wand WDS-684 (Stereo) featured 15-Tracks when originally issued (the front cover artwork lists only 14 sides in error). So it should really have 15-songs as this release claims to have all of both LPs. But it doesn’t – two are missing. Ace later explained that those songs ("All In My Mind" and "Funny") were originally on Nomar Records so excluded from this Wand Records based CD. 

Also, with regard to Audio, the Remasters were done at Sound Mastering in London (probably Nick Robbins) but although this reissue uses a STEREO LP on the front page of the booklet artwork – the Remasters are actually all MONO (fans will note that many of the song titles have their US 45-single catalogue number beside them because of this). 

So, with the exception of two songs, the full 15-track MONO variant of "Maxine Brown's Greatest Hits" US LP can be sequenced from CDKEND 187 as follows:

Side 1: 

1. All In My Mind (Not on this CD)

2. Oh No, Not My Baby (Track 1)

3. Funny (Not on this CD)

4. We Can Work It Out (Track 13)    

5. It's Gonna Be Alright (Track 2)

6. Ask Me (Track 3)

7. I Don't Need Anything (Track 14)

8. Anything For A Laugh (Track 15)

Side 2:

1. If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody (Track 16)

2. Since I Found You (Track 8)

3. One Step At A Time (Track 17) 

4. Little Girl Lost (Track 12)

5. I've Got A Lot Of Love Left In Me (Track 18)

6. One In A Million (Track 19) 

7. Soul Serenade (Track 20)

You have to love liner notes where your interviewee (Mick Patrick, Peter Gibbon and Rob Hughes do the writing and explaining) tells you with a clear twinkle in her eye that she bought the mini-skirts used for the cover art of two 60ts LPs ("Hold On, We're Coming!" and Commonwealth United") in London's Oxford Street while on a British 1967 tour. There are 1997 photos of Maxine, adverts for her shows in the UK, even a signed publicity photo. It's very good, although you'd have to say that if this compilation should be reissued in 2021, it would be packed out more and feature better photos applicable to the years of the LPs and the singles that surrounded it. The AUDIO from original master tapes is all MONO and kicks like a mule - lovely clarity (45-junkies will dig all those A&B-sides they can sequence with practically every song). Speaking of which, to the tunes...

Dee Dee Warwick and Cissy Houston are amongst the girly backing singers for the utterly sublime "Oh No, Not My Baby" - a Goffin and King song that had been previously butchered by The Shirelles. Maxine's gorgeous almost languid 'Dock Of The Bay' interpretation simply oozed class - and the public thought so too raising the 45-single of Wand 162 up to No. 2 R&B in October 1964 and No. 24 in December 1964 on the Pop Charts. As well as Cissy and Dee, the backing singers also included Sylvia Shemwell and Estelle Brown - all four of who would go on to be The Sweet Inspirations on Atlantic Records. 

Other notable Arrangers and Songwriters include Ed Townshend and Van McCoy for "Since I Found You" with Luther Dixon on "Little Girl Lost" and "I Cry Alone". Goffin & King also sprinkle their songwriting magic dust on the lovely "It's Gonna Be Alright". Van McCoy was also the songwriter on the wonderful "Wonder What My Baby's Doing Tonight" and one of the newbees - "Listen To My Heart".

There are loads more like say Ashford & Simpson's "One Step At A Time" and Maxine's own "Anything You Do Is Alright". It may be over 20 years old, but this little groover still has the goods and the lovely lady is still with us. How cool is that...

"That's It! The Complete Kent Recordings 1964-1968" by Z.Z. HILL – Including The 1967 US Stereo LP "A Whole Lot Of Soul", Over 30 US 45-Single Sides and Subsequently Released Period Outtakes Issued Between 1970 and 2000 (February 2018 UK Ace Records/Kent Soul 2CD Compilation of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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This Review Along With Nearly 195 Others Is Available in my

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"SOUL GALORE!" 

60ts Soul, R&B, Northern Soul

Mod, New Breed, Funk, Jazz Dancers, Rare Grooves

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

 

Your Guide To The Best CD Reissues and Remasters 

Thousands of E-Pages

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(No Cut and Paste Crap)

 

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"...Make Me Yours..."

It's become something of a cliché in collector's circles to praise Ace Records and their extraordinary back catalogue of reissues now stretching back 47 years to 1975. Those saintly sanctified Soul Men and their undoubtedly nubile minions over at Steele Road in London's NW10 have whomped us with more than a few digital-doosies in the 80ts to 20ts too. 

But this Z.Z. Hill Southern Soul 2-CD Anthology from 2018 on their imprint Kent Soul is just the absolute dog's dangly bits and dingbat's wing nuts. It may also (in my book anyway) be up there in the Top 10 'Best Soul and R&B Reissues' ever made. 

Sometimes, bluntly, reissue companies of real distinction like say Ace, Bear Family, Esoteric, Light In The Attic, Rhino etc (to name but a few) just get it so damn right. And this is one of those. There's a whole lot of soul and vocal classiness to wade through here (never mind miles of pain), so let's have at one of the finest voices Texas had to offer, Mr. Arzell Hill...

UK released 23 February 2018 (March 2018 in the USA) - "That's It! The Complete Kent Recordings 1964-1968" by Z.Z. HILL on Ace Records/Kent Soul CDTOP2 476 (Barcode 029667087629) is a 49-Track 2CD Anthology of Remasters that plays out as follows: 

CD1 "The Kent Singles 1964-1968" (75:39 minutes, all MONO):

1. You Don't Love Me

2. If I Could Do It All Over (Tracks 1&2 are the A&B-sides of Kent 404, 1964)

3. Someone To Love Me

4. Have Mercy Someone (Tracks 3&4 are the A&B-sides of Kent 406, 1965 - "Have Mercy Someone" also used as the B-side to "You Got What I Need" on Kent 494 in September 1968 - see Track 25 on Disc 1)

5. Hey Little Girl 

6. Oh Darlin' (Tracks 5&6 are the A&B-sides of Kent 427, 1965 - "Oh Darlin'" also used as the B-side to "Greatest Love" on Kent 460 in February 1967 - see Track 16 on Disc 1)

7. What More

8. That's It (Tracks 7&8 are the A&B-sides of Kent 432, 1965)

9. Happiness Is All I Need 

10. Everybody Has To Cry (Tracks 9&10 are the A&B-sides of Kent 439, 1965 - "Everybody Has To Cry" was also used as the B-side to "Nothing Can Change This Love (I Have For You)" on Kent K 4577 in 1974 - that 70ts version of "Nothing... is not on this 2CD set)

11. No More Doggin' 

12. The Kind Of Love I Want (Tracks 11&12 are the A&B-sides of Kent 444, 1966)

13. I Found Love (Track 13 is the A-side of Kent 449, 1966 - it's B-side was "Set Your Sights Higher" - see Track 27 on Disc 1)

14. You Can't Hide A Heartache

15. Gimme Gimme (Tracks 14&15 are the A&B-sides of Kent 453, 1966)

16. Greatest Love (Track 16 is the A-side of Kent 460 - it's B-side was "Oh Darlin'" - see Track 6 on Disc 1)

17. Where She Att

18. Baby I'm Sorry (Tracks 17&18 are the A&B-sides of Kent 464, 1967 - A-side is spelt "Att", probably in error)

19. Everybody Needs Somebody 

20. You Just Cheat And Lie (Tracks 19&20 are the A&B-sides of Kent 469, 1967)

21. What Am I Living For 

22. You're Gonna Need My Lovin' (Tracks 21&22 are the A&B-sides of Kent 478, 1967)

23. Nothing Can Change The Love I Have For You 

24. Steal Away (Tracks 23&24 are the A&B-sides of Kent 481, 1968)

25. You Got What I Need (Track 25 is the A-side of Kent 494, 1968 – B-side was "Have Mercy Someone" – see Track 4 n Disc 1)

26. Don't Make Promises (You Can't Keep) 

27. Set Your Sights Higher (Tracks 26&27 are the A&B-sides of Kent 502 - "Set Your Sights Higher" was also the B-side of "I Found Love" on Kent 449 – see Track 13 on Disc 1)

NOTE: From Disc 1 you will also be able to sequence his 1965 debut album "The Soul Stirring Z.Z. Hill" on Kent KLP 5018 in MONO using the following tracks: 

Side 1: Tracks 9, 5, 3, 1, 2 and 10

Side 2: Tracks 8, 7, 6, 4, 13 and 27 

CD2 "A Whole Lot of Soul" 1967 US Kent LP Plus Bonuses 

(62:42 minutes, all STEREO except 13-17 and 21 Mono):

1. When Something Is Wrong With My Baby [Side1]

2. What Am I Living For 

3. Nothing Takes The Place Of You 

4. Knock On Wood 

5. Steal Away 

6. You Gonna Make Me Cry 

7. You Send Me [Side 2]

8. Midnight Hour 

9. When A Man Loves A Woman 

10. Make Me Yours 

11. Nothing Can Change The Love I Have For You 

12. Greatest Love 

Tracks 1 to 12 are the album "A Whole Lot Of Soul" - released June 1967 in the USA on Kent Records KLP 5028 in Mono and KST 528 in Stereo - the STEREO Mix is used here. 

PLUS: 

13. You Won't Hurt No More (first issued 1992 on the UK CD compilation "The Down Home Soul Of Z.Z. Hill" on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEN 099)

14. You Got Me Chained To Your Love (first issued 2000 on the UK CD compilation "Southern Soul Brothers" shared with Clay Hammond on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 188)

15. I'm Gonna Love You 

16. Please Take Me Back (Tracks 15 and 16 first issued 1984 on the US compilation LP "Final Appearance" on Kent KLP 2026)

17. My Girl Has Gone Away (first issued 2000 on the UK CD compilation "Southern Soul Brothers" shared with Clay Hammond on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 188)

18. I Need Someone (To Love Me) (with strings) - A-side of a May 1971 US 45-single on Kent KS 4547

19. You Don't Love Me (with strings) - A-side of a July 1971 US 45-single on Kent KS 4550

20. If I Could Do It All Over (with strings) 

21. You Won't Hurt No More (with strings) - Tracks 20&21 are the A&B-sides of a 1972 US 45-single on Kent KS 4560

22. Nothing Can Change This Love (I Have For You) (with strings) - A-side of a 1973 US 45-single on Kent K 4577

The 16-page booklet features typically info-packed details from long-standing Soul expert TONY ROUNCE – his text peppered with illustrations of US trade adverts, two pages with nine Kent 45 labels on each, a Portuguese picture sleeve for the Tim Hardin cover of "Don't Make Promises" and the uber-rare/seriously desirable British pic sleeve for the "Gimme Gimme" Sue Records EP (IEP-711) – a 1966 zero-sales 4-Track artefact that regularly lists for £300 or more (if you can find one). There is 1964 to 1968 'Session Details' listing studio locations that are given letters from 'A' to 'O'. This will allow aficionados to find out that "Everybody Has To Cry" from 1965 for instance was recorded at 'E' - Western Recorders in May 1965 - arranged and conducted by Maxwell Davis. The US album artwork for the Stereo versions of "The Soul Stirring Z.Z. Hill" (Kent KST 518, 1965) and "A Whole Lot Of Soul" (Kent KST 528, 1967) are here as is other period pieces like adverts from Cash Box, a British 45 on Action (and so on) – many of the cool images supplied by another compilation stalwart to Ace Records – ADY CROASDEL. 

Long-standing Audio Engineer NICK ROBBINS has handled the master tapes – Mono on CD1 and (mostly) Stereo on CD2 - including the unfinished overdubbed stuff Kent issued in the 70ts (credited on Disc 2 as 'with strings') and it all sounds just stunning. There is a sense of pride to this release – a good company doing the great man's legacy right. To the music...

A 27-track Disc 1 will allow fans to sequence the A&B-sides of 19 American 45s (with some flip-sides duplicated of course) and a very tasty haul through Sixties Soul and R&B it is too. Even now it's astonishing to think that quality swayers like the Gospel-organ lurch of "Nothing Can Change The Love I Have For You" (a Sam Cooke cover), the misery march of "Someone To Love Me" (one of his own) or "You Can't Hide A Heartache" (a Fred Hughes tune) didn't dent the US R&B charts (none of his Kent sides did). And he was no slouch when it came to boppers - as far back as the legendary second album in the Kent Soul LP series "For Dancers Also" from 1983 - Ace featured "You Just Cheat And Lie". 

The strings and guitar shuffle of "You Don't Love Me" is the kind of 'hold me' 'love me' 'I just want to talk about it' bawler that Northern Soul fans love, while the blasting brass and backing-singing girls joy in "Where She At" has tears in poor Z.Z.'s bloodshot eyes. Southern Soul Man hero Allen Toussaint (long associated with The Meters) supplied "Gimme Gimme" and its fun Soul Bop should have made dents too on the R&B charts. She-done-me-wrong misery is never far away here – Z.Z. loving to get his teeth into a moaner. The if not for you "What Am I Living For" crawl or the Jimmy Holiday smoocher "Everybody Needs Somebody" are two such highlights - hands across your chest as you distribute the talcum powder on the dancefloor into scuff-patterns of pain. Even the upbeat Arthur Adams feel-so-bad dancer "You Got What I Need" (with great audio) failed to breach the charts. 

Disc 2 is primarily STEREO and what a fantastic thing to hear the legendary "A Whole Lot Of Soul" LP swirling around your speakers like this. Although very top heavy with covers - "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby" from Sam & Dave, "You Send Me” from Sam Cook, "In The Midnight Hour" from the wicked Pickett and Eddie Floyd with his "Knock On Wood” – they suit Hill and his gravel-one-minute silk-the-next voice. "Make Me Yours" by Bettye Swann and the echoed-guitar of "Steal Away" by Jimmy Hughes is manna to me. And I even like the "with strings" slurry of titles from 1971, 1972 and 1973. 

He would eventually find US chart success with Mankind Records, United Artists and Columbia in the Seventies and a renewed recognition from the lovely Malaco album "Down Home Blues" in 1981 – letting his hair down on the title track while her bad ways in "Cheating In The Next Room" became a compilation fave. But this is where Z.Z. Hill cut those teeth. 

Such a great reissue and since his loss in February 1984 to a car-crash – a worthy reminder of what Z.Z. Hill gave us and what we lost. Tops for CDTOP2 476...

"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

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SOUL GALORE! 
 

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

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"...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...

"Spring NYC Soul" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Rarities from New York's SPRING, EVENT and POSSE labels issued between 1967 and 1983 (mostly 70ts) including Six Previously Unreleased Tracks – featuring Joe Simon, The Determinations, Ray Godfrey, Clare Bathe, The Joneses, Garland Green, The Internationals, (Prince) Phillip Mitchell, C-Brand, Maxine Weldon, Tavares and more (January 2020 UK Ace/Kent Soul CD Compilation of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 289 Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

HIGHER GROUND 
70ts Soul, R'n'B, Funk, Jazz Fusion
Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters  

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"...Your Time To Cry..."

The truth lies somewhere in-between. A cleverly put together CD compilation on New York's Spring Records and its imprints Event and Posse that takes in a broad-spectrum of dates (1967 to 1983). Problems lie in those titles that veer aware from its 70ts heyday - later syrupy concoctions from 1980 and 1983. 

But still, with that huge playing time of nearly 79-minutes as a genuine plus, and enough Northern Soulish late 60ts and early 70ts dancer-orientated B-sides towards the end – we can declare CDKEND 487 yet another winner in Ace's cannon of exemplary Kent Soul reissues. Let's get determined baby...

UK released 31 January 2020 - "Spring NYC Soul" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace Records/Kent Soul CDKEND 487 (Barcode 029667097529) offers Rarities from New York’s SPRING, EVENT and POSSE labels issued between 1967 and 1983 including Previously Unreleased and plays out as follows (78:58 minutes): 

1. Save The Best For Me - THE DETERMINATIONS (2020, Previously Unissued Edited Version, Original opens Side 1 of the 1976 US LP "One Step At A Time" on Event Records EV-7001)

2. Do You Feel It - ACT 1 (November 1974 US 45-single on Spring SPR-152, B-side of "Party Hardy People")

3. I Love You More Than Anything - RAY GODFREY (2020, Previously Unissued 1970 Spring Recording)

4. Since You've Been Gone - GARLAND GREEN (2020, Previously Unissued Unedited Version, Original on the 1990 UK LP "The Spring Sides" by Garland Green on Kent Records KEND 090)

5. Magic's In The Air - RONNIE WALKER (August 1975 US 45-single on Event Records EV 225, A-side)

6. If You Could Turn Into Me - THE FATBACK BAND (from the August 1975 US LP "Yum Yum" on Event Records EV-6904)

7. Your Time To Cry - JOE SIMON (November 1970 US 45-single on Spring SPR 108, A-side)

8. I'm The Other Half Of You - MAXINE WELDON (2020, Previously Unissued 1973 Spring recording)

9. Forever - CLARE BATHE (1980 US 45-Single on Posse POS 5004, A-side)

10. The Storm Is Passing Over - JACKIE VERDELL (from the 1986 US LP "Lay My Burdon Down" on Spring 33-6739)

11. Plenty Of Love - C-BRAND (1982 US 45-single on Spring SP 3029, B-side of "Wired For Games")

12. (Beauty (Is In The Eye Of The Beholder) - THE JONESES (1980 US 45-single on Posse POS 5003, A-side)

13. Hold on - RAY GODFREY (2020, Previously Unissued 1979 Spring recording)

14. Kill The Monster - FLOWER SHOPPE (March 1971 US 45-single on Spring SPR 111, B-side of "You've Come A Long Way Baby")

15. If We Get Caught, I Don't Know You - PHILLIP MITCHELL (1975 US 45-single on Event EV 223, B-side of "There's Another In My Life")

16. If You Say You Love Me - US (2020, Previously Unissued 1975 Spring recording)

17. Falling In Love - VICTOR TAVARES (2020, Previously Unissued 1975 Spring recording)

18. (I Have Fallen Into) The Tender Trap - LEROY RANDOLPH (January 1972 US 45-single on Spring SPR 121, A-side)

19. Boiling Like Water - THE EQUATIONS (August 1971 US 45-single on Spring SPR 117, B-side of "You Make Me Feel So Good")

20. Sugar Plum (Give Me Some) - LITTLE EVA HARRIS (Previously Unreleased 1968 recording first issued on the 2004 CD compilation "Where The Girls Are - Volume Six" on Ace Records CDCHD 1032)

21. Get Right - RICHARD BARBARY (January 1968 US 45-single on Spring SK701, B-side of "When Johnny Comes Marching Again")

22. Daddy's Coming Home - PRINCE HAROLD (January 1968 US 45-single on Spring SK702, B-side of "Ain't It Amazing")

23. Of Your Life - VERNON BROWN (March 1971 US 45-single on Spring SPR 112, B-side of "I'm A Lover")

24. I Ride Alone – THE INTERNATIONALS (August 1972 US 45-single on Spring SPR 129, B-side of "Lead Me On")

Tracks 7, 20, 21, 22 and 23 are MONO - all others STEREO

Prompted by multi-track finds in the Spring Records vaults - Ace have once again dug deep (six Previously Unreleased on top of American vinyl-only rarities). ADY CROASDEL pours on the charm and details in 20-pages of liner notes - giving a song-by-song analysis - itself peppered with those fab repro labels and classy black and white publicity photos of names less seen like Richard Barbary, Clare Bathe and Phil Flowers who is sporting a floral shirt with a collar so big there may indeed be a law against it somewhere. There is a trade advert for Spring Records, an elated Joe Simon being interviewed by an even more-pleased white DJ and a rarely seen Kent LP in the shape of Garland Green's "The Spring Sides" - Kent 90 being only the ninth last vinyl LP in the series before CDs took over completely (as I recall). The details are of course fascinating - The Fatback Band doing a Soulful smoocher when they are of course more associated with booty-waddling Funk - Jackie Verdell and her modern-Gospel LP from 1982 (once a member of The Davis Sisters in the 50ts) and how most copies of the secular 45s put out by The Internationals feature "Lead On Me" on both sides, hence Ace have chosen the rarer and more sought after B-side "I Ride Alone" for inclusion. The usual class act in other words. Audio is care of the vastly experienced DUNCAN COWELL and again – these transfers have oomph and lovely warm vitality - poppermost of the toppermost. To the music...

Things start dancing immediately with the 'everything that glitters may not all be gold' stepper "Save The Best For Me" - a joyful slice from The Determinations that will have Northern Soul fans weeping in the aisles. "Do You Feel It" by Act 1 graces all of the rear of the 20-page booklet, resplendent in its Spring Records label bag - another shimmy-shaker. Next up is the first of six new discoveries - a 1970 brassy upbeat tune called "I Love You More Than Anything" by Ray Godfrey - not quite NS-magical but more than respectable and a pretty damn cool discovery after 50 long years in oblivion (produced and co-written by Joe Simon). 

The deep-as-walnut voice of Garland Green lifts up the truly lovely "Since You've Been Gone" - a very smart choice indeed - especially as the LP isn't that easy to find (the edit is small, 3:36 minutes for the original LP cut but 3:17 for this newer version). The unnervingly heavy synth and Stylistics type beat/strings of "Magic's In The Air" may be a skip for many and The Fatback Band sound frankly uncomfortable with the sappy "If You Could Turn Into Me" (a bad vocal too). But things are rescued by the genuinely gorgeous expressiveness of Joe Simon's "Your Time To Cry" - his 1970 voice and ache - a hundred times more real than the two cheese-puffs that preceded it (a highlight for me this). 

Another newbee is the 'feeling sad and blue' of Maxine Weldon giving it some hey baby come on over because "I'm The Other Half Of You" - a fabulous ballad find and truly worthy of the moniker 'Bonus'. Clare Bathe is a Jazz singer who had stints with August Darnell's Kid Creole & The Coconuts and actually sang on the Chic debut LP - but her "Forever" has that big 80ts polish that almost threatens to drown the otherwise pretty tune. Better is a Joe Simon co-write with Jackie Verdell - her straight-up 1983 Gospel anthem "The Storm Is Passing Over" just the right side of hallelujah righteous Soul - the 1970's sounding LP famously featuring a young gal called Whitney Houston pre superstardom. The slap-bass chugging Funk of "Plenty Of Love" combined with its 1982 Pop-Soul Heatwave backbeat has made it a sought after 45 - and again - a smart inclusion here - if not a wee bit out of place. 

Other highlights for me are "Kill The Monster" by Flower Shoppe featuring the Sly Stone exciting vocals of Phil Flowers - a warning song for kids in the neighbour. It seems that sexpot (Prince) Phillip Mitchell finds that everything is the 'other' girl's fault - his witty and funky B-side "If We Get Caught, I Don't Know You" (I have reviewed his 1978 and 1979 albums for Atlantic Records - "Make It Good" and "Top Of The Line" - they were part of Rhino's "Classic Soul Album - Expanded And Remastered" Series of CD reissues in 2007). The old-stylee Vocal-Group performance of "(I Have Fallen Into) The Tender Trap" benefits greatly from Leroy Randolph's expressive pipes (Don Covay's brother) - while fans of future disco divas Tavares will have to have the Victor Tavares ballad outtake "Falling In Love" (not my cup of Java mind). And it ends on a flurry of Mono single-sides aimed squarely at the hips and not the quivering lips. 

For sure the CD stumbles a few times mid-stream (as others have mentioned), but there is still just so much to like and dig on "Spring NYC Soul". And isn't that typical of Ace's Kent Soul releases - the quality far outweighs everything else...