"Make Mine Mondo! 2" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – 28-Tracks from 1954 to 1967 of Fuzzed Out Garage Bands - Manic Instrumentals and Wayward Rockabillies on the Dore Label and its Subsidiaries (November 2024 UK Ace Records CD Compilation with Nick Robbins Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Make-Mine-Mondo-Various-Artists/dp/B0DKG3595W?crid=2M9A3Q120A5K8&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.hTVB7TX1BVrdh1fkzJ9QzBIdDm7181qZiTcxQOp6qdxQpt79TGUl2vVx3AbPuBOyYF20EyyGJsXlDXM5kqL7K8iejviFkeVpF0_JiXAZZ_24Q6UsUK3L0n6uMxkE3ZbX.NINVYlTDmSWMyCjErEnyTjZf4a75uonnJ9FYkKZzdjY&dib_tag=se&keywords=make+mind+mondo+2&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732730819&sprefix=make+mine+mondo+2%2Caps%2C91&sr=8-1-fkmr2&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=ba98bdb7dbb374bdce16b2573ae64a61&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

RATINGS: 

Overall ****

Presentation ****

Audio *** to ****

"...Hullee Gullee..."

June 2018's mad as a wine-drinking Euro bureaucrat "Make Mine Mondo!" CD compilation from Ace Records concentrated primarily on the Doré Records label – a US 50ts and 60ts independent with a seriously eclectic roster.

That 2018 Volume 1 offered up nearly 68-minutes of wildly adventurous styles and largely unknown names (part genius, part yeah-baby nuttiness) – lambasting our lavishly creamy and unsuspecting fragilities with Fifties and Sixties Garage, Rockabilly, off-centre Instrumentals, Fuzz Guitar Psych, Doom Girl Groups, the occasional surfing tune and much more (1958 to 1969) - nearly all of which worked and entertained like the beautifully presented liner notes promised it would.

Well, what we get here (a full six years later) is Volume 2 for November 2024 - this time covering 1954 to 1967. "Make Mine Mondo! 2" offers up the same butt-wobbling array of drunken Rock 'n' Rollers, yee-haw Rockabillies, unhinged instrumentals and fuzz-guitar loopers - but this time on an array of different labels orbiting around Doré - Flip, Acree, Era, Mira, Rayjack, Downey, Bamboo, Daytone and more. Only one of these Non-LP As and Bs is a returning name from Volume 1 (The Zanies) – the others are often so obscure, there are barely images for them should you do a Net search. Rare and Rocking indeed. Time for Beaver Patrol, Voodoo Doll and The Outlaw Blues (they got their Mojo working I can tell you) – to the details...

UK released Friday, 29 November 2024 - "Make Mine Mondo! 2" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace/Records CDTOP 1642 (Barcode 029667111829) is a 28-Track CD Compilation of Remasters that plays out as follows (66:59 minutes):

1. Clap Your Hands – AMBERTONES (December 1965 US 7" single on Rayjack 1001, A-side - Reissued January 1966 on Newman 601, A-side)

2. Slander - TY WAGNER (November 1966 US 7" single on Era 3168, A-side)

3. Viet Nam – BOBBY JAMESON (1965 US 7" single on Mira 208, A-side)

4. By Bye Baby (My Pride) – SHANK And MAYDIEA (August 1962 US 7" single on Flip 45-361, A-side)

5. Beaver Patrol – THE BLAZERS (July 1963 US 7" single on Acree 101, A-side)

6. Café Bohemia – THE ENCHANTERS (1961 US 7" single on Bamboo Records 513, B-side of "Touch of Love")

7. I'm A Blind – THE WIZARD'S (May 1966 US 7" single on Era 3161, B-side of "I Want To Live")

8. The Voodoo Doll – BOBBY PLEASE & THE VOODOO DOLLS (1958 US 7" single on Flip 45-342, A-side)

9. Hurricane – CONRAD and THE HURRICANE STRINGS (December 1963 US 7" single on Daytone G-6401, A-side)

10. I Got My Mojo Working – JOYCE HARRIS & THE DAYLIGHTERS (Originally Unissued Domino Records recording first released on the 1997 UK CD Compilation "The Domino Records Story" on Ace Records CDCHD 506 – a Trailer Version of "I Got My Mojo Working" was also UK 45-single issued February 2024 on Ace Records NW 518 with the 1961 recording "No Way Out" as its B-side)

11. Crab Louie – THE SANDABS (July 1962 US 7" Single on Bamboo 522, B-side to "Beach Ball" by Little Herbie and The Sandabs on the A-side, Little Herbie is Herb Newman – reissued July 1963 on the B-side of Catch 107 credited to Little Herbie And The Wise Guys – A-side was "I Want My Beach Ball")

12. I Ain't Drunk – LONNIE "THE CAT" (April 1954 US 7" Single on RPM Records 45x410, A-side)

13. Red Hot Rockin' Blues – JESSE JAMES (September 1958 US 7" Single on Kent 45x314, B-side of "South's Gonna Rise Again")

14. The Wild Bird – THE JIVE-A-TONES (1958 US 7" Single on Fraternity F-823, A-side)

15. Jambo – CLAUDE McLIN (1963 US 7" Single on Mac-Jac Records MJR-1208, B-side of "Jacquelyn")

16. Stalled – THE ZANIES (June 1962 US 7" Single on Doré 638, A-side)

17. Hullee Gullee – FRED RICHARDS (April 1959 US 7" Single on Flip 45-344, B-side of "Barricade")

18. Non-Stop Blues – THE OUTLAW BLUES (January 1967 US 7" Single on Era 3171, A-side)

19. Sleepy Hollow – THE LAST WORD (June 1966 US 7" Single on Downey D-137, A-side)

20. Talk To Me Baby – DONNIE BOWSER (June 1961 US 7" Single on Bamboo 508, B-side of "Tomorrow")

21. Mumbles – JOHNNY BACHELOR (March 1959 US 7" Single on Era 1091, A-side – also issued March 1960 in the UK as a 45-single on London HLN 9074, A-side)

22. Soul Serenade – BEAU DOLLAR & THE COINS (1966 US 7" Single on Fraternity F-960, A-side – Produced by LONNIE MACK)

23. No Way Out – JOYCE HARRIS (January 1961 US 7" Single on Domino R-905, A-side – Reissued March 1961 in the USA on Infinity INX-005, A-side)

24. Tell Me Why – KICKS (1964 US 7" Single on X-P-A-N-D-E-D Sound X-102, B-side of "Oh My Baby (Always Be True)")

25. Don't Leave Me Baby – JOE LOVER And THE GAYLADS BAND (1960 US 7" single on Parliament P-1001, A-side – Reissued 1961 in the USA on Paxley P-754, A-side)

26. So What!! – THE LYRICS (November 1965 US 7" Single on Era 3153, B-side of "You Can't Hurt Me" – Reissued May 1968 in the USA on Feather 101, B-side of "Why'd He Go")

27. Church Key Twist – BOB VAUGHT & THE RENEGAIDS with Barbara Atkins (1962 US 7" Single on Impact 24-IM, A-side – Reissued May 1962 in the USA on Bamboo 520, A-side)

28. The Cave (Part1) – GARY 'Spider' WEBB (April 1961 US 7" Single on Bamboo 504, A-side)

NOTES:
All Tracks MONO except Tracks 3, 5, and 19 in STEREO

Volume 1 came with a 26-page booklet – Vol.2 has 20 – and again each page of the ROB FINNIS liner notes is peppered with those rare US 45-single labels, a Forbidden World magazine, trade reviews for the Fred Richards song, pictures of one-time Elvis Presley mentor and friend Jesse Lee Denson (aka Jesse James), Saxophonist Claude McLin (looking like Inspector Clouseau with Hat and Pipe), a Domino Records Promotional black and white for Etta James-soundalike Joyce Walker (there is a recent interview with the lady quoted) and Ohio Rockabilly hero Donnie Bowser getting his two-frantic-minutes of Rock and Roll B-side glory. 

Finnis knows his onions and what listeners want – his superlative liner notes illuminating histories on so many virtual unknowns while Ace's trusted Audio Engineer NICK ROBBINS delivers (as best he can) on a huge variety of Mono 7" singles (only 3 are in Stereo). It should be said – Mondo 2 is very far from Audiophile territory – these homemade productions reflecting their manic strung-together nature – but there is no doubting the punch they pack which I can't help think is exactly what Frat Boys like me want from a CD like this. To the music and its wild variety of genres...

Things begin with a manic tambourine-shaking brass-and-guitar blaster calling all hipsters to get their bellbottoms on and party. Not surprisingly called "Clap Your Hands" - The Ambertones were right on the zeitgeist money. An absolute garage monster – party mania slice number two follows with the wavering Hawaiian guitar sounds and screeching organ of Ty Wagner bemoaning his wayward girl and her big mouth in "Slander". Even better is the Bo Diddley-type sonic assault of Harmonica and Rhythm from Bobby Jameson doing his vocal and lyrical worst to "Viet Nam" – a fantastic frantic piece of social-conscious 60ts R&B. Things slinky-on-down with a clever duet vocal from Ed Wells (as Shank) and his sister Maydiea Cole (as Maydiea) – and as the liner notes – it is an oddly endearing performance that stays on the right side of lounge-cool.

Next up is the first instrumental of "Make Mind Mondo! 2" – Vern Acree, Jr. giving it some Link Wray Rumble-type guitar rat-a-tat attacks while Saxophonist Larry Robins (both in The Blazers) tries to keep up in their homemade and self-financed "Beaver Patrol. The Enchanters start out in their opening notes as a 50ts Vocal Group would – but suddenly about 20-seconds in "Café Bohemia" turns into a shimmy-shaker with echoed Tablas and lounge-lizard type Saxophones schmoozing the olive-laden martinis. So mid-60ts The Wizards and their "I'm A Blind" – remind me of melodious Kinks while the very funny novelty record "The Voodoo Doll" has our poor lead singer opening a box from his gal - who in a call-and-answer duet vocal assures him that the contents within will take only three days to make him hers (permanently – and is he freaked by that). More instrumental madness only this time with a decided Surf vibe - "Hurricane" by Conrad and His Hurricanes virtually dripping bikinis and beach bums riding the waves man.

A rip-roaring prize here is surely the Wanda Jackson/Judy Henske-like wail of Joyce Harris giving us the fab "I Got My Mojo Working" – an unreleased 60ts Rock and Roller first released in 1997 on an Ace CD. A clever follow comes in the fun-time Sax-driven shout and response what-do-you-want "Crab Louie". Rhythm and Blues comes in the form of a drink-denial Shopping For Clothes tune - "I Ain't Drunk" – Lonnie "The Cat" assuring us the he ain't high – he's just drinking! Another fantastic find for Rockabilly and Rock and Roll fans is the go-for-it-boys beat-basher "Red Hot Rockin' Blues" – a fast and furious B-side from Jesse James. Time for a shuffler that sounds like early Chuck Berry at Chess – only a very cool "The Wild Bird" is a guitar instrumental from The Jive-A-Tones. Sounding like a human Jew's Harp as he literally scats dings and dongs to an Organ and Drums bip-bop beat – Claude McLin is having a blast with "Jambo" – a fabulous inclusion. And the fun continues with the car-not-starting beep-beep of "Stalled" – another great bopping instrumental B-side from The Zanies. Shivering guitars hover a distant beatbox drumbeat in the eerily brill "Hullee Gullee" – Fred Richards earning his place. 

Hurtling towards the end run, we get another fuzz-guitar garage romper in the shape of the driving "Non-Stop Blues" – a head-shaker that has nothing to do with its misleading title. A lone bass note introduces yet another prize on here – the superb Stereo of "Sleepy Hollow" – The Last Word sounding like The Animals and Them combined as they try to convince us there is no headless horseman. Back to Rhythm and Blues Fats Domino rolling rhythm fun - "Talk To Me Baby" by Donnie Bowser - which is followed by the whisper in his ear baby "Mumbles" – dig that echoed Eddie Cochran type vocal. And on it goes with the fantastic Harmonica R&B of "So What!!" to the pleading Vocal Group vibe of "Don't Leave Me Baby" to the Bobby Boris & The Crypt Kickers echoed weirdness of "The Cave (Part 1)" where Jimmy and Julie keep calling out to each other but are lost in the dark.

I had thought that Volume 1 of "Make Mine Mondo!" was going to be a chore – but it wasn't – and to my weary ears – Volume 2 is even better. With so many genres vying for your attention, it's gotta be hard to make it all work and yet – once again – Ace Records have pulled it off. 

In short - "Make Mine Mondo! 2" is another wee nugget CD compilation (November 2024) from the worryingly disturbed minds of men who should know better over at Steele Road, London NW10. Recommended...

"Here, There And Everywhere: Black American Sings John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison" by VARIOUS ARTISTS - Twenty-Two Songs from 1964 to 2004 featuring Sam Fletcher, Sarah Vaughan, Natalie Cole, Four Tops, Junior Parker, Madeline Bell, The Supremes, Carmen McRae, Randy Crawford, Syreeta, Mary Wells, Billy Paul, The Drifters, Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, Keb' Mo', Marvin Gaye and more (November 2024 UK Ace Records CD Compilation with Nick Robbins Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Here-There-Everywhere-McCartney-Harrison/dp/B0DKZ3Z95P?crid=104W44UCV8743&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.odG3jsdT2LWBzOWSSnSPfQ.oFzs_p2-DfUD3TE4SuLCRenrk3dizxZpE5yTsUEJl9U&dib_tag=se&keywords=029667111621&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732486546&sprefix=029667111621%2Caps%2C83&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=c8fa2b8bddceb761658e94c484440be8&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

RATINGS:

Overall ***

Presentation *****

Audio **** to *****

"...Step Inside Love..."

I have long held the opinion that Soul and R&B artists should leave The Beatles alone. There's something about the Fab's songs that doesn't suit Soul cover versions. In 66-years of being on this musical blue ball - I've honestly not heard many that work. There are exceptions of course - but most feel forced or worse - bandwagon-ish – out-of-time artists using someone else's hip tunes to reignite a fading career. 

And determined as always to prove me wrong - this is example number seven from those learned genre types by Ace Records of the UK – one of my favourite reissue labels (see list below for all entries in the Black America Sings series to Nov 2024).

So, what was cooking for Yesterday. What you get here is the swingin' hipster Jazz Vocals of Sam Fletcher from 1964 pushing on through to the likes of Philly's Billy Paul covering McCartney's Wings hit "Let 'Em In" on to a Blues interpretation by Columbia's Keb' Mo' in 2004 of Lennon's signature song "Imagine". I would admit that Sarah Vaughan's shimmering rearrangement of the Abbey Road gem "You Never Give Me Your Money" is quietly brilliant. But do I need a live version of "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" from 1978 by Natalie Cole or The Four Tops in 1966 crooning Rubber Soul's "Michelle" with syrupy strings and hushed reverential tones - not really - in fact - not never. Before we implode, to the details...

UK released Friday, 29 November 2024 - "Here, There And Everywhere: Black American Sings John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace Records CDTOP 1654 (Barcode 029667111621) is a 22-Track CD Compilation of Beatles and Solo Cover versions that plays out as follows (77:07 minutes):

1. Can't Buy Me Love - SAM FLETCHER (from the July 1964 US LP "Sings I Believe In You" on Vee Jay Records VJS-1094 in Stereo)

2. You Never Give Me Your Money - SARAH VAUGHAN (from the 1981 US LP "Songs Of The Beatles" on Atlantic SD 16037 in Stereo)

3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Live) - NATALIE COLE (August 1978 US 45-single on Capitol 4623, A-side) 

4. Michelle - FOUR TOPS (from the 1966 US LP "Four Tops On Top" on Motown MS 647 in Stereo - October 1966 UK LP on Tamla Motown STML 11037 in Stereo)

5. Taxman - JUNIOR PARKER (from the 1970 US LP "The Outside Man" on Capitol ST-564 in Stereo)

6. Step Inside Love - MADELINE BELL (December 1968 US 45-single on Philips 40582, A-side)

7. You Can't Do That - THE SUPREMES (from the 1964 US LP "A Bit Of Liverpool" on Motown MS 623 in Stereo)

8. Here, There And Everywhere - CARMEN McRAE (from the 1970 US LP "Just A Little Lovin'" on Atlantic SD 1568 in Stereo)

9. Give Peace A Chance - RANDY CRAWFORD (1982 German 45-single on Warner Brothers 92. 9804-7 , A-side)

10. She's Leaving Home - SYREETA (from the 1972 US LP "Syreeta" on MoWest MW 113L in Stereo)

11. He Loves You - MARY WELLS (from the 1965 US LP "Love Songs To The Beatles" on 20th Century Fox Records TFM 3178 in Mono)

12. Let 'Em In - BILLY PAUL (1976 US 45-single on Philadelphia International ZS8 3621, A-side)

13. Everynight - THE DRIFTERS (October 1972 UK 45-single on Bell Records BELL 1269, A-side)

14. Maybe I'm Amazed - CARLEEN ANDERSON (from the April 1998 UK LP "Blessed Burden" on Circa CIRCA 35)

15. My Love - MARGIE JOSEPH (April 1974 US 45-single on Atlantic 45-3032, A-side)

16. Isn't It A Pity - THE THREE DEGREES (a 1973 recording not used at the time - first issued 1995 in the UK on the CD compilation "The Roulette Years" on Sequel NEMCD 753)

17. My Sweet Lord - THE CHIFFONS (1975 US 45-single on Laurie LR 3620, A-side)

18. Imagine - KEB' MO' (from the 2004 CD Album "Peace...Back By Popular Demand" on Okeh CK 92687)

19. Jealous Guy - DONNY HATHAWAY (from the 1972 US LP "Live" on Atlantic SD 33-386)

20. We Can Work It Out - STEVIE WONDER (1971 US 45-single on Tamla T 54202, A-side)

21. Yesterday - MARVIN GAYE (from the October 1969 US LP "That's The Way Love Is" on Tamla TS 299 in Stereo)

22. And I Love Him - ESTHER PHILLIPS (March 1965 US 45-single on Atlantic 45-2281, A-side)

NOTES: All Tracks in STEREO except Track 11 (Mary Wells) in MONO

The chunky 20-page full-colour booklet pictures all those shadowy album covers and rare 45-single labels alongside beautiful black-and-white Promo Photos of The Supremes and Mary Wells (Pages 8 and 11) and Soul aficionado TONY ROUNCE does a bang-up job of filling in the Discography details of how Soul aped The Beatles and their solo tunes. It's lovely to look at and a pleasure to read. NICK ROBBINS - long-time Audio Engineer for Ace does the Remasters - 21 Stereo and only 1 Mono - all spiffing, uptight and outta site. To the tunes...

The first four left me cold and it's not until you get to the 'dig this' Junior Parker take on the Revolver opener "Taxman" do things start to impress. Funky, slinky and very cool - it's the first real highlight here. The Madeline Bell version of "Step Inside Love" is awful but Northern Soul hounds might dig the Motown shuffle of "You Can't Do That" - The Supremes catching the 1964 zeitgeist. Carmen McRae tries hard to imbibe Soul emotion into her cover of the Revolver melody that gives this compilation its name - "Here, There And Everywhere" - but as it progresses it feels cheesy – album filler for a 1970 LP no one is interested in. One of the most gorgeous covers of Beatles songs was a live version of "Imagine" by Randy Crawford from 1980 - so it doesn't surprise me to see her featured amongst the list - but this time tackling the John Lennon solo anthem "Give Peace A Chance". At last, you get genuine emotion and a melody vs. spoken word interpretation that stays on the right side of history.

There must be a special kind of Hell for Syreeta's version of the Sgt. Pepper's ballad gem "She's Leaving Home" where just as you think she's got the emotion down and it's gonna work - in sails Stevie Wonder with the most intrusive synth vocoder vocals you've ever heard - trying out a new instrument that kills all tenderness in the song. As if that's bad, the Mary Well's jazz take on "She Loves You" would test the patience of a saint. Infusing Martin Luther King and his I Have A Dream speech into his cheesy Philly cover of the Wings song "Let 'Em In" probably turned on punters and the charts in 1977 for Billy Paul – but man has it dated badly – even to the point where its feels exploitative. At least The Drifters do an interesting and melodious version of the McCartney solo song "Every Night" – lush orchestration taking it to someplace new whilst retaining that lovely hook the song had in the first place. 

Carleen Anderson of The Young Disciples tackles one of the early McCartney ballads in 1998 with the aid of Mick Talbot from The Style Council - "Maybe I'm Amazed" – a stunning love song for Linda McCartney. And Carleen does a great job – her guttural vocals suiting the quiet passion in the song. Margie Joesph equals that pouring-out with her cover of another McCartney love song that moved so many in the early Seventies - "My Love" - cleverly arranged. One of the best songs on the "All Things Must" triple-album from December 1970 - George Harrison's "Isn't It A Pity" had been played during the 'Let It Be' sessions but passed over by the other fabs. It's always been a magnificent song with its building epic quality. The Three Degrees ladies give it a slow Philly-Soul work-over - a 1973 Roulette Records recording that had remained in the vaults until Sequel Records of the UK put it out on a 1995 retrospective CD compilation. Their version is good but it only makes you hanker for the magestic original. 

The Chiffons fey flute rendering of Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" is only a few shades of cringe. Beautifully recorded – the Keb' Mo' steel guitar and strings interpretation of the John Lennon peace-anthem "Imagine" is genuinely lovely – how could it be anything else. The Mary Wells stripped-back Jazz-clicking version of "She Loves You" is re-named "He Loves You" but it is another example of awful. The Donny Hathaway version of Lennon's "Jealous Guy" hasnever been one of my faves and the final three-in-a-row from Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Esther Phillips only put more nails in the coffin for me. 

I love Ace compilations - I must have more than a hundred of them and rarely cringe at the listen no matter what genre they're temptin' me with. But despite the great audio and typically exemplary booklet - November 2024's "Here, There And Everywhere..." is not for me. I would advise a listen first before you let nostalgia dictate that bank balance...

Titles in the Ace Records Black America Sings CD Compilation Series

(In Release Date Order - September 2010 to November 2024)

1. "How Many Roads: Black America Sings Bob Dylan"

UK released September 2010 on Ace Records CDCHD 1278 (Barcode 029667042420)

2. "Come Together: Black America Sings Lennon & McCartney" 

UK released May 2011 on Ace Records CDCHD 1300 (Barcode 029667045322)

3. "Hard To Handle: Black America Sings Otis Redding"

UK released September 2012 on Ace Records CDCHD 1352 (Barcode 029667052627)

4. "Let The Music Play: Black America Sings Bacharach & David"

UK released March 2014 on Ace Records CDCHD 1398 (Barcode 029667059121)

5. "Bring It On Home: Black America Sings Sam Cooke"

UK released October 2014 on Ace Records CDCHD 1420 (Barcode 029667062725)

6. "Let It Be: Black America Sings Lennon, McCartney & Harrison" 

UK released September 2016 on Ace Records CDCHD 1483 (Barcode 029667077026)

7. "Here, There And Everywhere: Black America Sings John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison"

UK released November 2024 on Ace Records CDTOP 1654 (Barcode 029667111621)

"Something's Up! Film, TV & Studio Work 1964-1967" by JOHN BARRY (September 2024 UK Ace Records CD Compilation of Nick Robbins Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/John-Barry-Somethings-Studio-1964-1967/dp/B0DD453226?crid=2SD1UBUXVCDLP&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Albjts1XuQtkx3TjgKthIw.ThjrV-39W9yg0gNbLRL1kgDkqFvRbR3hV0IDBW6aOuA&dib_tag=se&keywords=029667111027&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1727867345&sprefix=029667111027%2Caps%2C86&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=5fe7feaa78ac8126262dd1c49e16764c&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

"…The Man With The Sun In His Hair…"

Being something of a JB trouser-stroking aficionado, lifelong bended-knee bellend and all-round worshiper of all things Baz-like - I had such high hopes for this British CD  compilation of his primo Sixties output. 

But while 85% of "Something's Up! Film, TV & Studio Work 1964-1967" is fabtastic in that so-60Ts way (complete with truly terrific audio) – it just falls short of the magic you'd expect from someone – well – as magical as Soundtrack Composer and all-round suave coolsville champ John Barry.

For starters there is the price and content. Fans will look down through the 25-song track list in September 2024 and know they have many of these obvious choices (a few are B-side rarities but they aren't very good, some Stereo US versions when they were only Mono in Blighty and so on) – and as The Real John Barry 3CD set by Columbia is just £6 or less for nearly 60 tunes (see separate review) – where does Ace get off wanting £14 or more for 1CD?

But - there is that Corking Audio and Ace's usual top-notch booklet with liner notes that go deep - instead of a major label skim (none of The Real triples have liner notes but they do have Top Notch Remastered Audio and basic track details beneath each see-through plastic tray). There are also tracks from two very popular 'remakes' compilations - the 1966 set "Great Movie Sounds Of John Barry" and the 1967 UK LP "John Barry Conducts His Great Movie Hits" - both in Stereo - which will please diehards no end.

Even so - it's a four-star offering from Ace when it could have been a five-star double-apéritif in a Soho boozer with an immaculate King Rat schmoozing hotel chambermaids over by the plastic Pineapple Bucket. But - let's give credit where its due - to the Shaken Martinis and Space Capsules with Dr. Kiss-Kiss Bang-Bang giving it a bit of Quiller and Goldfinger up your séance on a wet afternoon (if you catch my patchouli drift)…

UK released Friday, 27 September 2024 - "Something's Up! Film, TV & Studio Work 1964-1967" by JOHN BARRY on Ace CDTOP 1649 (Barcode 029667111027) is a 25-Track CD Compilation of Remasters that plays out as follows (66:31 minutes):

1. The Syndicate (October 1965 UK 45-single on CBS 201822, A-side)

2. Oublie Ca (July 1964 UK 45-single on United Artists UP 1060, Mono B-side of "Séance On A Wet Afternoon" (Track 3 is the A-side) - for a Stereo Version of "Séance On A Wet Afternoon" from the LP - see Track 24)

3. Séance On A Wet Afternoon (see Track 2 for details)

4. Troubadour (October 1964 UK 45-single on United Artists UP 1068, Mono B-side of "Goldfinger" - for a Stereo Version of "Goldfinger" from the Soundtrack LP - see Track 7)

5. Chicken Delhi Cold (from the 1964 US STEREO LP "Man In The Middle - Original Soundtrack Album" on 20th Century Fox TFS 4128 - Note: the UK variant of the Soundtrack LP on Stateside SL 10087 was only ever issued in MONO)

6. Barbra's Theme (April 1965 UK MONO 45-single on CBS 201747, B-side of "A Man Alone" - for the A-side see Track 10)

7. Goldfinger (Remake of the 1964 classic - from the 1966 UK STEREO LP "Great Movie Sounds of John Barry" on CBS SBPG 62402)

8. The Chase (March 1966 US 45-single on Columbia 4-43544, A-side)

9. Theme From King Rat (from the 1965 US STEREO LP "King Rat - Original Soundtrack Recording" on Mainstream S/6061)

10. A Man Alone (see details on Track 6)

11. The Knack (Remake of the 1965 classic - from the 1966 UK STEREO LP "Great Movie Sounds of John Barry" on CBS SBPG 62402 - for more from 'The Knack' Soundtrack Mono LP - see Track 17 "Something's Up!")

12. Thunderball (Remake of the 1965 classic - from the 1967 UK STEREO LP "John Barry Conducts His Great Movie Hits" on CBS SS 63068)

13. Mister Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Remake of the 1965 classic - from the 1966 UK STEREO LP "Great Movie Sounds of John Barry" on CBS SBPG 62402)

14. Four In The Morning (from the 1966 UK MONO LP "Four In The Morning" on Ember NR 5029)

15. The Danny Scipio Theme (October 1966 UK 45-single on CBS 202390, B-side of "Vendetta" - for the A-side see Track 19)

16. Theme From "The Quiller Memorandum" - Wednesday's Child (November 1966 UK 45-single on CBS 202451, A-side)

17. Something's Up! (from the 1965 US MONO LP "The Knack...And How To Get It" on United Artists UAL 5129 - see also Track 11 for a Remake of "The Knack" song)

18. The Girl With The Sun In Her Hair (from the 1967 UK STEREO LP "John Barry Conducts His Great Movie Hits" on CBS SS 63068 - written for a Sunsilk Hair Shampoo advert - it was also the UK STEREO 45-single B-side of "You Only Live Twice" in June 1967 on CBS 2825 - see Track 21 for the A-side)

19. Vendetta (see Track 15 for details)

20. The Whisperers (from the 1967 UK STEREO LP "John Barry Conducts His Great Movie Hits" on CBS SS 63068)

21. You Only Live Twice (see Track 18 for details)

22. Space March (Capsule In Space) (Original on the "You Only Live Twice" Soundtrack LP - This Version from the 1967 UK STEREO LP "John Barry Conducts His Great Movie Hits" on CBS SS 63068)

23. Dutchman (from the 1967 UK STEREO LP "John Barry Conducts His Great Movie Hits" on CBS SS 63068)

24. Séance On A Wet Afternoon (from the 1966 UK STEREO LP "Great Movie Sounds of John Barry" on CBS SBPG 62402)

25. Born Free - Main Title (1966 US 45-single on MGM K 13591, A-side)

NOTES: 

Tracks 1 to 4, 6, 10, 14, 15 and 19 in MONO: all others in STEREO

The 20-page booklet curated and penned by affectionate uber-fan BOB STANLEY is a thing of beauty and packed with details ('Mister Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' was the nickname given to Bond in Japan and Italy so Barry was commissioned to pen a song with this dubious moniker by the market-conscious Producers - JB of course delivered with a wry smile). All the entries have mini photos abutting text for their varying UK and US 45s and LPs - for instance there's a full page spread for 'The Quiller Memorandum' on Page 15 and the photograph for the Soundtrack to 'Four In The Morning' features the correct British sleeve art (on Ember Records) because the US variant is different. Page 12 gives the Mono and Stereo artworks for 'The Knack' soundtrack because they differ - Rita Tushingham on the Mono copy and the snapping Fingers entwined with Legs photo on the Stereo - attention to detail in other words. JB himself is pictured across Pages 2 and 3 examining film reels while there is a full-page spread given to 'A Man Alone' - a picture sleeve on Page 10 you just don't see every day of the carboot-sale week. 

But best of all is Remasters by NICK ROBBINS - Ace's vastly experienced Audio Engineer and he canes it on all counts. There cannot be any Barry fans who do not adore "Space March..." where the American capsule is swallowed up by another 'foreign' craft orbiting Earth in "You Only Live Twice" or the menace inherent in the "King Rat" theme - both sounding spiffo here. Personally I would have loved the bouncing super-60Ts "Here Comes Nancy Now!" track from 'The Knack' soundtrack rather than the so-so "Something's Up" choice - but that's just me. And the rare B-sides will please hardcore collectors. To the listen...

With a signature Brass and Drums business - "The Syndicate" piano-pounds out of your speakers like the baby brother of 007 shuffling around a Bahama's beach. Crystal clear audio for "Oublie Ca" but I find it silly and dismissible. The overly-fast pace of "Seance On A Wet Afternoon" seems out of kilter too with its title while the Flute and Spanish Acoustic Guitar of the B-side "Troubadour" hints at greatness in his melodies. The plucked harp-strings and plinking tubular bells of "Chicken Delhi Cold" is another strange choice - pleasant enough - but hardly thrilling. 

At last, and six songs in, we get "Barbra's Theme" - another obscure flute-driven B-side (to "A Man Alone")  when his signature slink starts to truly manifest itself. But good as "Barbra's Theme" is, 'tis no match for the gorgeous "Goldfinger" - all 4:22 minutes of it in sophisticated Super Stereo. "The Chase" sounds like its title - secret agents on the run - bad men close behind - a shuffling high-hat giving it edginess until an Acoustic Guitar and Harmonic take it romping home. Fans will adore the brilliant "Theme From King Rat" that virtually oozes prison-camp sweat, menace and even sadness as the titular 'getter' walks clean and untouched amongst the hurt and dirt because he 'knows people' that others consider sworn enemies. 

The familiar piano-plinking makes "A Man Alone" feel like a very British Spy theme - gorgeous audio as the tambourine shakes. But sophistication and playfulness soon return with "The Knack" resplendent here in 2:52 minutes of Stereo glory (yeah baby). Big and brassy comes a thundering in with "Thunderball" - the strings and flutes lifting it up into total classic mode (dig those tasteful piano fills). More brass blasting with "Mister Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" - naughty Bond sashaying across a hotel lobby as the ladies flutter their eyebrows and whatever little else they're wearing. Melancholy and darkness pervades the lonesome "Four In The Morning" taking the listen down a needed notch with style. "The Danny Scipio Theme" could have been any 60Ts TV Spy theme music - our hero up against the odds but still somehow coming out on top with a rubber band and roll of sticky tape as his only weapons. 

A clever downturn in the pace comes with the quiet but effective "Wednesday's Child" from 'The Quiller Memorandum' (an Adam Hall novel adaptation) - the saw warbling Flexatone being the instrument of unusual choice. Very clever sequencing throws "Something's Up" on as a follow-through - organ and ladies voices brought to a crescendo. But this is whomped by blonde nubiles washing their hair in Sunsilk Shampoo as "The Girl With The Sun In Her Hair" plays them (surely there's a waterfall in there Mr. Bond). What a gorgeous and evocative piece of JB magic this is. A reformed Mafioso begins working for the Vatican's anti-Mafia unit - "Vendetta" offering us a so 1966 BBC Spy Show them song (Stelio Candellli was the actor playing Danny Scipio). But good as that is, I'd forgotten how gorgeous the sad and powerful music to "The Whisperers" is - a Bryan Forbes movie about Oldham in 1967. But again all is whacked into touch with the most glorious Bond Theme ever - "You Only Live Twice"  - here in its instrumental magic - all exploding dug-out Japanese volcanoes and Little Nellie suitcases. And I love love (did I say love) "Space March (Capsule In Space)" in all its creeping magnificence - surely the primo example of Barry's genius in setting a film alight whilst making it exotic at one and the same time. And on it goes...

"Something's Up! Film, TV & Studio Work 1964-1967 could be longer (at least ten more minutes) and could include music that tingles rather than just being rare. But as it's John Barry - and as it's his wonder-years - you can only call this Ace Records CD compilation another world-saving gadget success. Goodbye Mr. Bond! Not so fast Blofeld! Recommended like a night out with Moneypenny..

"This Is Goldwax 1964-1968" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Features Mono US 45-Singles and CD Compilation Rarities by James Carr, Spencer Wiggins, Percy Milem, Louis Williams, 'Wee' Willie Walker, Gene 'Bowlegs' Miller, Phillip & The Faithfuls, Barbara Perry, O.V. Wright, The Merits, Timmy Thomas, Dorothy Williams, Jeanne Newman, George Jackson & Don Greer and more (August 2024 UK Ace Records/Kent Soul CD Compilation with Nick Robbins Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/This-Goldwax-1964-1968-Various-Artists/dp/B0D9QR8L25?crid=1TQ1EJ5Z5LY3A&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.hipKwIN_4iYPjKcLLSMR9A.cZBv9KgIL_XlAm60mvNKLRSXdmvubgzJmM9OJ8Ja4To&dib_tag=se&keywords=029667111225&qid=1726590159&sprefix=029667111225%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=f2b9c8a1323bb2eb7b0fd0bbf586af54&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

"…Hiding In Shadows Where We Don't Belong…"

RATING: 

Overall: ****

Presentation: *** to ****

Sound: *** to *****

A joyful release this for end of August 2024 – the USA's Goldwax label being the home of huge faves amongst Mod and Northern Soul nutters – intensity purveyors like James Carr, Spencer Wiggins, O.V. Wright, George Jackson – all of whom Ace has covered in extensive solo CD compilations across the last three decades.

What you get here in this overview of the Goldwax Label is twenty-eight Mono cuts of varying salivation (most are US 45s), and at seventy-minutes-plus, it's a generous dollop of known vs. unknown Sixties R&B. Another clever trick is to pepper the listen with unissued tracks you probably missed on CD compilations of old (see list). Once more unto the bowlegged heartache…

UK released Friday, 30 August 2024 - "This Is Goldwax 1964-1968" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace Records/Kent Soul CDTOP 530 (Barcode 029667111225) is a 28-Track CD Compilation of Remasters that plays out as follows (70:43 minutes):

1. The Dark End Of The Street – JAMES CARR (December 1966 US 45 on Goldwax 317, A-side – a Dan Penn and Chips Moman song)

2. Up Tight Good Woman – SPENCER WIGGINS (April 1967 US 45 on Goldwax 321, A-side – a Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham song)

3. To Me It's Storming – GEORGE & GREER (a James Carr and Spencer Wiggins duet under pseudonyms – an Original Unissued Recording first UK issued 27 April 2009 on "Goldwax Northern Soul" on Ace/Kent Dance CDKEND 313 (Barcode 029667231329)

4. Call On Me – PERCY MILEM (December 1966 US 45 on Goldwax 315, B-side of "Crying Baby Baby Baby" – a George Jackson song)

5. I'm Living Good – THE OVATIONS featuring LOUIS WILLIAMS (August 1965 US 45 on Goldwax GW-117, A-side – a Dan Penn and Oldham song)

6. I Don't Want To Take A Chance - 'WEE' WILLIE WALKER (Original Unissued 1966 Recording, a George Jackson song, first UK released 2 February 2004 on "The Goldwax Story Volume 2" on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 225 (Barcode 029667222525)

7. Toddlin' – GENE 'Bowlegs' MILLER (December 1964 US 56 on Goldwax 117, B-side of "Bow-Legged")

8. Freedom Train – JAMES CARR (October 1968 US 45 on Goldwax 338, A-side)

9. I'm A Poor Man's Son – SPENCER WIGGINS (February 1968 US 45 on Goldwax 333, B-side of "That's How Much I Love You" – was issued 1970 in the UK as the A-side to Pama PM 794 – his second and last 45 there)

10. Ticket To Ride - 'WEE' WILLIE WALKER (August 1967 US 45 on Goldwax 329, A-side – a Beatles cover version)

11. What'cha Gonna Do – PHILLIP And THE FAITHFULS (featuring Phillip Reynolds and Timmy Thomas (of "Why Can't We Live Together" fame) – an Original Unissued Recording first UK released 27 April 2009 on "Goldwax Northern Soul" on Ace/Kent Dance CDKEND 313 (Barcode 029667231329) – was also issued March 2010 in the UK as a 45-single on Kent Select CITY 014, A-side)

12. Say You Need It – BARBARA PERRY (January 1967 US 45 on Goldwax 318, A-side)

13. When You Look In The Mirror – EDDIE JEFFERSON (December 1966 US 45 on Goldwax 316, A-side)

14. That's How Strong My Love Is – O.V. WRIGHT (June 1964 US 45 on Goldwax 106, B-side of "There Goes My Used To Be")

15. Love Attack – GEORGE and GREER (George Jackson and Dan Greer – original 1960s recording first issued 26 January 2015 on the UK CD compilation "At Goldwax" on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 428 – Barcode 029667242820)

16. Once In A While (Is Better Than Never At All) – SPENCER WIGGINS (November 1968 US 45 on Goldwax 337, A-side)

17. A Man Needs A Woman – JAMES CARR (December 1967 US 45 on Goldwax 332, A-side – Obie McClinton song – see Track 18)

18. They Say – THE OVATIONS (October 1966 US 45 on Goldwax 314, B-side of "Me And My Imagination" – an Obie McClinton song)

19. A Lucky Loser - 'WEE' WILLIE WALKER (November 1968 US 45 on Checker 1211, A-side – Allen Jones and Homer Banks song)

20. Arabian Jerk – THE MERITS (February 1965 US 45 on Bandstand USA 1002, A-side)

21. Have Some Boogaloo – TIMMY THOMAS (March 1967 US 45 on Goldwax 320, A-side)

22. The Well's Gone Dry – DOROTHY WILLIAMS (June 1965 US 45 on Goldwax 115, B-side of "Country Style")

23. Spoonful – THE PLAYBOY FIVE (October 1964 US 45 on Bandstand USA 1001, A-side – Willie Dixon song, Howlin Wolf cover)

24. I Don't Know What You've Got (But It's Got Me) – PERCY MILEM (August 1967 US 45 on Goldwax 326, A-side)

25. A Man Is A Mean Thing – BARBARA PERRY (Originally unissued recording first released February 2008 on the UK CD compilation "New Breed R&B with Added Popcorn: Early 60s R&B Dancers Right in Today's Groove" on Ace/Kent Dance CDKEND 291 – Barcode 029667229128)

26. Will I Ever Be Free – JEB STEWART (1965 US 45 on Bingo 1001, A-side)

27. She's Better Than You – OBOE with THE KEYS (1964 US 45 on Goldwax 104, B-side of "Too Slow" – an Obie McClinton song)

28. He Called Me Baby – JEANNE NEWMAN (October 1967 US 45 on Goldwax 331, A-side)

The 16-page booklet has typically packed liner notes from the hugely knowledgeable DEAN RUDLAND – but it foregoes Ace's usual song-by-song paragraphs for one long block of text instead – and I think that's a mistake. The former method allows you to locate the in-depth info quickly (Tracks are numbered, pictures correspond) – this way you must wade through the blocks of text (Rudland discusses the songs (roughly) in appearance order) making it hard to find the song info you want. Apart from four lovely full-page promo photos of O.V. Wright, Willie Walker, Timmy Thomas and Barbara Perry (rear page) – the rest of the text is peppered with small US 45-single repro labels but it somehow feels like a lot less than we are usually used to. Audio comes by way of NICK ROBBINS – a Remaster Engineer Ace have been using for probably more than three decades. This guy knows his way around a tape box and it shows. All the MONO stabs at moochers and dancers sound punchy and alive. To the tunes…

The underlying current/theme is that much of the listen was Produced by the dynamic duo of Quinton Claunch and Rudolph Russell with many of the tunes provided by Obie McClinton. Moochers sit beside Dancers and it opens with the balls-to-the-wall Southern Soul classic "The Dark End Of The Street" by James Carr – one the Memphis label’s truly great moments. The second funerial organ-grinder that comes-at-ya is Spencer Wiggins looking for a mighty good lady with two loving arms to keep him safe - "Uptight Good Woman" shuffling out of your speakers like James Brown leaving the stage in stop-start pain. Things soon liven however with a genius inclusion – the fabulous shuffle-New-Breed-dancer "To Me It's Storming" by  George and Greer. The first of six unreleased tracks that appeared on previous CD compilations - it's a cracker and hard to believe it was canned back in the day. 

Very Otis Redding meets Wilson Pickett – the pace increases with the kicking Midnight Hour vibe of "Call On Me" – Percy Milem giving it some 1966 shimmy while the girls go mm-hm in the background. You might be a betting man, but you are going to lose money when you swear to all and sundry that as Louis Williams sings with his group The Ovations – that it is Sam Cooke. The similarity is staggering – his gorgeous tone and phrasing – even the RCA beat to Sam’s Soul-Pop outings – you must look again at the back inlay to see it says Louis Williams and not Sam Cooke (Williams crops again on Track 18). Another CD compilation unreleased winner comes in the smooth "I Don't Want To Take A Chance" - but for me it's whomped by the fantastic and infectious Brass Instrumental "Toddlin'" from Gene Miller of 'Bowlegs' fame – his shuffler having a very Mar-Keys "Last Night" party joy about it.

Things start to reflect the politics raging all about them – the frantic "Freedom Train" by James Carr channelling his inner Otis Redding – his vocals straining with real emotion – getting it together – taking it to the man – taking it no more. Unfortunately for me Tracks 9 and 10 see things slide – a lame Spencer Wiggins dancer followed by a funked-up cover of The Beatles classic "Ticket To Ride" by Willie Walker. Northern Soul fans have long lusted after the great shuffler vibe in "What'cha Gonna Do" by Phillip and The Faithfuls featuring Phillip Reynolds and a pre-1973 "Why Can't We Live Together" fame Timmy Thomas. To satisfy demand, Ace Records of the UK even gave it a 45-release on their Kent Select label in March 2010 with The Additions doing "Until The End Of Time" on the flip-side. Gorgeous production values on the loving-bopper "Say You Need It" – Barbara Perry ably supported by baby-baby backing singers. Things go back to mooch with the brass-and-guitar-flicking shuffler "When You Look In The Mirror" – Eddie Jefferson getting his aching moment.

Fans of hug-your-baby Soul will know O.V. Wright getting all deep on "That's How Strong My Love Is" – his great pipes elevating an often-repeated pacer into Redding-like greatness. Demo quality comes at you with George & Greer doing "Love Attack" but the lame lyrics do its vocal passion no favours. Far better is the Spencer Wiggins wailer where our Spence passes by her house and sees that her used-ta-be is gone - so The Wig suggests from a payphone that "Once Is A While (Is Better Than Never At All)". The slow set continues with a classic - "A Man Needs A Woman" - James Carr telling us that windows need paint and highways need two lanes and a man needs… Finally, things pick up pace with The Ovations fronted by the mighty pipes of Louis Williams giving it some Motown meets Sam Cooke bop in their "They Say". Blues meets with Soul in an Albert King-stylee for the excellent "A Lucky Loser" – Willie Walker not in the least bit wee as gets stuck in. But again a drop with the gimmicky "Arabian Jerk" – fast forward button. 

On the homeward stretch we get a cha-cha organ-dancer - "Have Some Boogaloo" by Timmy Thomas has our giddy-soul shouting encouragements and jokes throughout the hipshaker – cool tune. But much better is Dorothy Williams telling her man he can't get rain from a cloudless sky in her nerk-jerking dancer "The Well's Gone Dry" – itself followed by a rather cool organ-shuffler where The Playboy Five do an early instrumental cover version of the Chess Records Howlin Wolf classic "Spoonful". Things slow when Percy Milem bemoans the lady who parties all the time while he moans in the shadows - but the man is obsessed – he'd leave her if he could in "I Don't Know What You've Got (But It's Got Me)". 

Back to boppers that tick - "A Man Is A Mean Thing" by Barbara Perry was one of eight Previously Unreleased cuts on the 2008 Ace/Kent Dance CD compilation "New Breed R&B with Added Popcorn: Early 60s R&B Dancers Right in Today's Groove" – itself one of seven comps in the hugely popular New Breed Series. Barbara provides a cool one and I'm sure some DJ will dig this gem with its great Guitar and Sax solos as the band goes all Ike Turner on the shimmy. The last three feel tagged on – Jeanne Newman being the cream of the trio – a sort of female Tony Joe White groove with fab production – "He Called Me Baby" is definitely a tune that's turning up on a cool period-conscious TV episode near you someday real soon.

Not quite 5-stars but with enough to satisfy my Soul-cravings – and as ever – another classy release from Ace Records of the UK. Recommended...

PS: There is also a UK 2LP VINYL variant issued 6 September 2024 as "This Is Goldwax 1964-1968" on Ace/Kent Soul KENT2 530 (Barcode 029667027319). It contains all 28-songs of the CD compilation (7 tracks per side) and is a Limited Edition.

"Atlanta: Hotbed Of 70s Soul" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Featuring Sixteen Previously Unreleased Tracks from the vaults of GRC, Aware and Hotlanta Records and other Michael Thevis Related Labels - Featuring Songs by Sam Dees, Joe Hinton, Kenneth Wright, Louvain Demps, Dee Ervin, King Hannibal and more (March 2024 UK Ace/Kent Soul CD Compilation with Nick Robbins Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Atlanta-Hotbed-Soul-Various-Artists/dp/B0CVS838KQ?crid=3E3EBJV37RDET&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.tXsscEnXTbbzj-o0pRb6OQ.xOdwXmy25XCJ6428c60q_g9N4T-VwUzmEjQZgV29jeE&dib_tag=se&keywords=029667109826&qid=1713357440&sprefix=029667109826%2Caps%2C71&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=6d5cfee0f6023ff3a582616ff99c6caf&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

This Review Along With 336 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  

Just Click Below To Purchase for £6.95 (2024 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=B00MTCDTWS&asins=B00MTCDTWS&linkId=f95dca2244c8856012cccc3c6c25fff6&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>

RATINGS:

*** Material

**** Audio Remasters

***** Presentation

"…Grant Me One More Day…"

Ace Records of the UK via their Kent-Soul label imprint have been on a crusade for a decade-plus now to repatriate the city of Atlanta in our hearts as a (as they would put it) criminally unacknowledged hotpot of US Soul. 

None no more so than the labels around entrepreneur Michael Thevis who owned and went to jail for GRC Records (General Recording Company). Giving a platform to quality singers and Southern-Soul songwriters like Sam Dees, Jimmy Lewis, Joe Hinton, Kenneth Wright, Joe Graham, Louvain Demps, Dee Ervin and James Shaw aka King Hannibal (to name but a few) – this 30 March 2024 CD compilation offers up a whopping Sixteen Previously Unreleased - sat comfortably alongside Eight other hard-to-find Soul Rarities. 

I would however counter Ace's claims that this is Primo Material – there's a feeling throughout the listen that these OK-renditions remained in the cans for reasons. Sure there are great discoveries and worthy inclusions (Miss Louistine, Shirlean Fant and Lorraine Johnson) and the Audio is far better than it had any divine right to be - but there are too many of the opposite to justify claims of Holy Grails. To the Love Making and the Love Stopping…here are the Hotlanta details...

UK released Friday, 29 March 2024 - "Atlanta: Hotbed Of 70s Soul" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 518 (Barcode 029667109826) is a 24-Track CD Compilation of Remasters that plays out as follows (79:15 minutes):

1. Con Me – MISS LOUISTINE (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – a David Camon and Sam Dees song)

2. Paper Man – ALPACA PHASE III (2023 UK 45-Single, Deep Soul 16, A-side – a 1974 Recording by Sam Dees, Wes Lewis, and Ken Walker)

3. Is There Someone Else – DEEP VELVET (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – a Mose Davis song)

4. The Soul Of Black Folks – KENNETH WRIGHT (Previously Unreleased, 2024 - a Kenneth Wright song)

5. Grant Me One More Day – JOE HINTON (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – a Louvain Demps and Joe Hinton song)

6. Keep On Walking – THE STEPPERS (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – a JJ Barnes, James Davis and Herbert Ross song)

7. Time Is Winding Up – DOROTHY NORWOOD (from the 2011 UK 2LP set "Superfunk's Mission Impossible: Hard To Find And Unreleased Funk Masters (Volume 7)" on Ace/BGP Records BGP2 234 - CD Version is BGP Records CDBGPD 234 – a Kenneth Mims, Dorothy Norwood and Lois Snead song)

8. Love Making – JEAN BATTLE (April 1972 US 45-single, Red Lite RL 119, A-side – May 1972 UK 45-single, Mojo 2027 010, A-side – a Sam Dees song)

9. Extra-Extra – MISS LOUISTINE (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – a Sam Dees song)

10. I'm Tired Of Dreaming – DEEP VELVET (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – Joe Hinton and Marlin McNichols song)

11. Depend On Me – JOE HINTON (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – a Louvain Demps and Joe Hinton)

12. Me And Jen – KENNETH WRIGHT (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – a Kenneth Wright song)

13. What Am I To Do – JOE GRAHAM (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – a Joe Graham song)

14. Sure Could Do With Some You – SHIRLEAN FANT (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – a Brad Baker, Shirlean Fant and Ed Williams song)

15. Someone To Run To – ALPACA PHASE III (Originally an Alternate Version first issued January 2015 on the Sam Dees UK CD Compilation "It's Over: 70s Songwriter Demos & Masters", Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 426)

16. Can I Hold You To It – LORRAINE JOHNSON (May 1973 US 45-single, Atlantic 45-2967, A-side – Sam Dees, Albert Gardner, Jesse Lewis, and Clinton Moon song)

17. When Will I Stop Loving You – LORRAINE JOHNSON (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – an Albert Gardner and Jesse Lewis song)

18. I Need Me Some More Of You – DEE ERVIN (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – Di Fosco Ervin and Dee Dee McNeil song)

19. Shouldn't I Be Given The Right To Be Wrong – JOE HINTON (1974 US 45-single, Hotlanta HL 306, B-side of "Hanna's Love")

20. Fight Fire With Fire – KING HANNIBAL (Originally issued on the July 2022 UK LP "Atlanta Soul Artistry 1965-1975" on Ace/Kent Soul KENT 523 – a James Shaw and Delia Gartell song – Shaw is King Hannibal)

21. Talk's Cheap – THE SURPRISE SISTERS (from the 2011 UK 2LP set "Superfunk's Mission Impossible: Hard To Find And Unreleased Funk Masters (Volume 7)" on Ace/BGP Records BGP2 234 - CD is BGP Records CDBGPD 234 – a Sam Dees song)

22. Loneliness Hurts Just A Little Bit – JOE GRAHAM (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – a Joe Graham song)

23.There'll Always Be Forever – LOMITA JOHNSON (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – a Di Fosco Ervin and Dee Dee McNeill song)

24. My Peaceful Forest – DEE CLARK (Previously Unreleased, 2024 – a Herb Ryals song)

NOTES: 
All Tracks STEREO except Tracks 8, 10, 12, 17, 19 and 20 in MONO

ADY CROASDELL does the honours once more for Ace in this latest Kent Soul CD compilation breaking down the liner notes info into Artists sections rather than a strict track-by-track. His vast and enthusiastic knowledge is key – swathes of facts and names and Promo photos for Deep Velvet, Miss Louistine, Joe Hinton, Lorraine Johnson, King Hannibal, and Dee Clark bringing up the rear (the last page of 20). The front cover of the booklet is The Steppers in all their 70ts regalia. The Audio is uniformly great even on some of the Demo-ish sounding Mono cuts (NICK ROBBINS for Ace once again displaying his transfer skills) but I wish I could be more enthusiastic about the actual playlist. It feels like 3-star material with 4-star Audio in a 5-star presentation. To the Soul Music…

"Atlanta: Hotbed Of 70s Soul" opens very strongly with a gorgeous Stylistics type Sitar Soul Ballad in Stereo from Miss Louistine – her "Con Me" promising a feast of similar discoveries. "Paper Man" too from Alpaca Phase III – only just issued in 2023 as a 45-single with a Sam Dees cut on the B-side – you can hear why its 3:37-minute warmth and great vocal would appeal. But then the CD starts to taper off into what feels like tunes that are good without ever having that magic. 

Things pick up with the Jesus-righteous Dorothy Norwood getting funky about the world falling apart in her excellent "Time Is Winding Up" (even the congregation is being attacked) while a genuinely uplifting sexy moment arrives with Jean Battle and her only UK 45-single – the decidedly racy and bedroom-saucy needs of a motivated lady in her "Love Making". Just the right side of Jean Knight and "Mr. Big Stuff" attitude – Jean had a great voice and with its Brass vs. Piano Funky groove and its my-man-is-a-top-man-in-loving lyrics, you can hear why this Red Lite Records US 45-obscurity from 1972 is garnishing interest. Unfortunately it is ruined by the manic Disco vibe of Extra-Extra by Miss Louistine – might have been a hit back in the day had it been released – but here in 2024 it just sounds painful.

Deep Velvet score for a second time with the excellent "I'm Tired Of Dreaming" – written by Joe Hinton and Marlin McNichols – it was mistakenly credited to just Joe Hinton on the July 2022 UK LP "Atlanta Soul Artistry 1965-1975" - but Kent Soul now credit it properly to Deep Velvet. Unfortunately the Kenneth Wright track "Me And Jen" has good ideas going on, but a DIY recording and his over-echoed refrains feel like bad Sly Stone doing a demo he won't make public any time soon. The Country-Soul Drifters-light smooch of "What Am To Do" by Joe Graham might have had a chance in the charts of the day, but his flat delivery on some lines explains why it was canned. And on it goes…

I love Sam Dees songs (his influence is everywhere on this disc) – but I found I was trying too hard to like "Atlanta: Hotbed Of 70s Soul" without getting a return. 

Fans will have to own it, but for the uninitiated, I would suggest a listen first…