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

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This Review Along With Nearly 200 Others Is Available in my

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

"SOUL GALORE!" 

60ts Soul, R&B, Northern Soul

Mod, New Breed, Funk, Rare Grooves

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

 

Your Guide To The Best CD Reissues and Remasters 

Thousands of E-Pages

All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Track 10 is PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Ode To Joy" - A Review of the Jason Winer 2019 Film Starring Martin Freeman, Morena Baccarin, Jake Lacy and Melissa Rauch - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Thanks New York...For This American Life... "

ODE TO JOY

A Review of the 2019 Film

The kind of film that critics hate and one that unfortunately sets itself up for the slaughter. The cataplexy medical condition is a very clever hook but you might feel it's a one-horse joke stretched the length of a movie. But - and here's the big but - 2019's "Ode to Joy" feels so much better than that. 

Writing, acting chops and Director's Jason Winer's life-affirming warmth permeates this unnervingly romantic and hopeful film, lifting it up above cliché. "Ode to Joy" is smarter than its limiting premise and often goes to a place where it’s actually profound and moving especially when dealing with internalised pain and the hang-ups most all of us have and find hard to deal with. 

Not only does it have a really brilliant script (courtesy of Max Werner) that constantly allows the actors to stretch and laugh and look foolish if needs be - it hosts four great leads in the shape of Martin Freeman and Morena Baccarin playing Charlie and Francesca, an unlikely couple trapped in their own bubbles, criss-crossing lovers with Jake Lacy with Melissa Rauch who play Charlie's younger brother Cooper and the super-factoid-obsessed Bethany. 

As couples go, this is nerd-central. And yet across the viewing hours, the set scenes are cleverly done, bringing out each character’s journey to the place they are now – compromised and needing to escape mental prisons. The reality of Charlie's uncontrollable sleep-inducing muscle-failing narcolepsy that can and always has made him a laughing stock, comes home in the little slashes everyday life throws at him. But as funny and pithy as "Ode To Joy" is in places, you also get the cruel sickle of pain and how it debilitates a person (mostly through other people's lack of understanding). Charlie can't hope for hope because even that in itself, might kill him if he faints in the wrong set of circumstances.   

The only slight glitch in all of this soul-searching comedy is an obvious one – the sheer gobsmacking beauty and sexiness of the Brazilian actress Morena Baccarin – a woman who would probably elicit a full on heart attack in any sane man who comes within ten paces of her. Baccarin and her va-va-voom Francesca look stunning in this film, and I mean in every single scene too. So it is a hard sell getting us mere mortals to believe that in the real world her character would even consider someone as fundamentally damaged as Charlie – let alone see him as a 'love interest'. 

The truly captivating Melissa Rauch is sexy too but in a different more bookworm kind of a way. But despite these considerable odds - both leading ladies are quietly sensational in this film - given real meat to work with – and they know it. Their leading men did well to keep up. Martin Freeman in particular is brilliant – fleshing out a real person from material that could have quickly seen his library-safe Charlie descend into a caricature – even a person the audience hates and pities. But he at least has a brother who has his back and a motley crew of friends at work who are glad to see he is finally taking chances despite the fear and dangers. All this and there's a touching final reel after the credits you will want to see. 

"Ode To Joy" may seem like a cornball title for a film, maybe even a tad cheesy and reaching (there will be those who loathe this for sure). But, in truth, it reached me and I'm certain it will do the same for many others too. A rather lovely and life-affirming surprise and well done to all involved...

"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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This Review Along With Nearly 195 Others Is Available in my

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

"SOUL GALORE!" 

60ts Soul, R&B, Northern Soul

Mod, New Breed, Funk, 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

All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

 

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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...

Hollidaysburg - A Review of The 2014 Film Starring Rachel Keller, Tobin Mitnick, Claire Chapelli, Tristan Erwin, Phillip Quinaz, Kate Boyer and Director A. M. Lukas - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Underling Passages In Other People's Novels..." 

HOLLIDAYSBURG 

The 2014 FILM - A Review by Mark Barry

Fresh, fun, genuinely brilliant script too - for sure "Hollidaysburg" (a town and borough in Pennsylvania) falls just a teeny bit in the last hurdle when characters either fizzle out or don't sort unfinished business.

But in a world where college romances and small town relationships, growing up, falling in love, falling out of love, longing for connection, trying to find yourself type movies are either crude or just too cynical - I thought A.M. Lukas' "Hollidaysburg" felt like a breath of fresh air. A Thanksgiving/Holidays movie with head & heart. 

And all four of the principal leads get real meat on their dialogue plates to work with - especially actors Rachel Keller and Tobin Mitnick as mismatched will-they/won't-they lovers Tori and Scott. Tori underlines other people's wisdoms in books – she secretly loves her nutty obsessive sibling-heavy family and her loaded with past-life hang-ups hometown - whilst having other days when every part of her new maturing self is screaming inside to finally leave both – or take an Uzi to the lot – whichever comes first. Tori mulls on truths swirling around her overactive worrying-about other people brain – insights that she likes but finds hard to actually follow through on.

Sided with Tori and Scott are the other awkward principal couple of the film – their friends and mixed-up lovers Claire Chapelli and Tristan Erwin as Heather and Petroff. Brainy, unshaven and permanently bonged - Petroff is sat on his couch of half-life hopelessly smitten with a girl who doesn't really notice him (and should). Pizza-loving Heather comes with her own issues too - like finding a reason to get out of bed in the morning and not think about death 24/7 beneath the duvet. Or change her grey hoodie just once in a week. Or even praise her boyfriend trying valiantly in bed to move her plank-like expression when really she just wants to say the words "...I think we should break up..." and run away from her walled-in-life and equally loon-filled family and its nutjob entourage.

Other brilliant-part notables include Phillip Quinaz as Scott's older and taller brother Phil – himself a tad lost to the world in his soiled cook's apron as he traipses around the Pumpkin Pie filled kitchen of the childhood home they're going to loose in a week (it's shortly before Thanksgiving in November and the brother's parents have sold up whether the boys like it or not) - manically trying to realise that perfect recipe their absent Dad always made work. So why won't it gel now? How do you say goodbye to things? Or Tori's never-off-the-text-stream friend Katie (played with gusto by Kate Boyer) who is like crack cocaine times five - now-now-now as she sleeps with everything and anything that moves at a party but not the one her heart really yearns for. And on it goes...

In a genre that's always been hard to get right - "Hollidaysburg" is a film way above so many others, even if it didn't quite scale genius levels with an ending that felt disappointingly hurried and underdeveloped. But for me there was more than enough five-star good stuff to keep me glued (a dense and deep script from Dan Schoffer).

I liked 2014's "Hollidaysburg" a lot and I suspect many bleary Covid-19 lockdown-wasted viewers seeking some kind of filmic solace and respite will feel exactly the same.

And a little like Rachel Keller's bewitching blue eyes when Tobin Mitnick's character sees them on her Facebook page and suddenly realises he's become more than casual but seriously invested - this rather moving little movie is a mirror of life in all its frazzled messiness - frustrating and yet profoundly beautiful in equal amounts if you give it a chance...

"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...

"There's Gonna Be A Showdown" by ARCHIE BELL & THE DRELLS - August 1969 US Album on Atlantic Records in Stereo (November 2004 UK Warner Strategic Marketing (WSM)/Rhino 'Extended Edition' CD Reissue and Remaster with Fifteen Bonus Tracks – Eleven Single Sides From 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 Plus Four Previously Unreleased) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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This Review Along With Nearly 200 Others Is Available in my

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"...Here I Go Again..."

The second Expanded Edition CD Reissue by Warners and Rhino for Archie Bell & The Drells is another reasonably priced well-presented audio winner - the first being November 2004's "Tighten Up/I Can't Stop Dancing", both of those albums from 1968 and also on Atlantic Records (see separate review).

This time remastering their August 1969 third studio album "There's Gonna Be A Showdown" in luverly Stereo - WSM have bolstered up proceedings with a generous eleven 45-single sides and a further Four Previously Unreleased. The other three cuts newly discovered in the Warner Vaults are on the "Tighten Up/I Can't Stop Dancing" twofer reissue along with other non-LP goodies. 

There is a lot of talcum powder dancing nirvana available on this rather brill little CD - very tasty indeed. So as Archie Bell, The Drells and their songwriting pals Gamble & Huff used to say, here we go again...

UK released 15 November 2004 - "There's Gonna Be A Showdown" by ARCHIE BELL & THE DRELLS on Warner Strategic Marketing (WSM)/Rhino 5046-76156-2 (Barcode 5050467615625) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Reissue and Remaster featuring the 1969 Atlantic Records Album in Stereo plus 15 Bonus Tracks (11 Single Sides and 4 Previously Unreleased) that plays out as follows (71:51 minutes):

1. I Love My Baby [Side 1]

2. Houston Texas 

3. (There's Gonna Be A) Showdown 

4. Giving Up Dancing 

5. Girl You're Too Young 

6. Mama Didn't Teach Me That Way 

7. Do The Hand Jive [Side 2]

8. My Balloon's Going Up 

9. Here I Go Again 

10. Go For What You Know 

11. Green Power 

12. Just A Little Closer 

Tracks 1 to 12 are their third studio album "There's Gonna Be A Showdown" - released August 1969 in the USA on Atlantic Records SD 8226 in Stereo (didn’t chart R&B but made No. 183 in the Rock LP charts). It received a belated UK release in September 1972 on Atlantic K 40454 with the same 12-tracks but using different artwork. 

NON-ALBUM SINGLES (US catalogue numbers)

13. Get It From The Bottom 

14. I Wish 

Tracks 13 and 14 were the A&B-sides of Atlantic 45-2744, July 1970 

15. A World Without Music   

Track 15 was the A-side of Atlantic 45-2693, December 1969 - its US B-side was "Here I Go Again" (Track 9)

16. Don't Let The Music Slip Away 

Track 16 was the A-side of Atlantic 45-2721, April 1970 - its B-side was the LP cut "Houston Texas" (Track 2)

17. Wrap It Up 

18. Deal With Him 

Tracks 17 and 18 were the A&B-sides of Atlantic 45-2768, October 1970 

19. I Just Want To Fall In Love 

20. Love At First Sight 

Tracks 19 and 20 were the A&B-sides of Atlantic 45-2793, May 1971 

21. Archie's In Love

22. Let The World Know You Got Soul 

Tracks 21 and 22 were the A&B-sides of Atlantic 45-2829, August 1971

23. I Can't Face You Baby 

Track 23 was the A-side of Atlantic 45-2855, January 1972 - the B-side was the LP cut "Green Power" (Track 11) 

PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED SELECTIONS

24. One Night Affair (Gamble & Huff song, 2:36 minutes) 

25. Smile (2:40 minutes)

26. Slow Down Baby (Gamble & Huff song, 2:43 minutes)

27. Patches (General Johnson & Ron Dunbar song, 3:54 minutes)

Compiled by RICK CONRAD - the 16-page booklet is a pleasingly chunky affair with new liner notes from CHARLES WARING, long-time contributor to the Blues & Soul, Mojo and Record Collector magazines as well as the principal penman for Beat Goes On and their vast array of BGO Soul, Funk and Jazz CD reissues. There are two page-sized Atlantic Records promo photos for the smiling toothsome four-piece as well as repros of those American Atlantic 45s. There is even a Note on the large amount of Bonuses and the newly discovered outtakes - two of which are Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff originals - and a further 2004 interview with Archie Bell commenting on his group's place in Soul Music history.  And the DAN HERSCH/BILL INGLOT Remasters from real tapes kick ass - so many cool Stereo moments. To the tunes...

As the liner notes explain – Archie Bell & The Drells to the American public seemed to be a great SINGLES band – and no more. The "Showdown..." LP was not a success by any means on release in the summer of 1969. It didn’t make the Top 100 US R&B LP charts at all and scraped No. 163 in the adult LP charts where it lasted a paltry 3 weeks. But re-listening to it now, you have to wonder why? Perhaps a glut of so many great Soul records in 1969 – who knows? 

Hindsight, however, has been kinder – especially for those looking to limber up their limbs. Time to talk about the song the album is most famously associated with. Sporting a deadly Motown backbeat and irresistible dancefloor shuffle, "Here I Go Again" had belatedly become a huge hit on the British Northern Soul circuit. Issuing the 1969 cut in Blighty in August 1972, Atlantic K 10210 eventually entered the UK Pop charts in early October 1972 and thereafter rose up to an impressive No.11. A further surprise came when the LP's title song "(There's Gonna Be A) Showdown" was smartly paired with the popular Drells 60ts anthem "Tighten Up" on Atlantic K 10263 in January 1973 - only to see that British 45 rise to No. 36.Both A-sides from the album "Showdown..." and their equally tasty flips would become the Houston foursome's British chart debuts. 

Recorded at various sessions between October 1968 and May 1969 – a huge eleven of the twelve tracks on the LP made it onto singles – the exception being Archie's own "Mama Didn't Teach Me That Way" (the booklet provides their catalogue numbers beneath each track entry should you want to know what went where). The songwriter shadows of Gamble & Huff as well as Thom Bell loom large on quality tracks like "Do The Hand Jive" and the bopper "I Love My Baby" - while Archie placed a further tasty titbit in the shape of the Side 2 finisher "Just A Little Closer". 

The non-LP US 45s appeared quickly after the relative failure of the August LP – starting at December 1969 with the excellent Atlantic 2693 that unwisely put "A World Without Music" on the A-side with the winner that is "Here I Go Again" relegated to the flipside. The singles kept on coming through 1970 and into 1971 – getting funk and sexy on cuts like The Temptations-sounding "Wrap It Up". And even if the no-dancing warning in "A World Without Music" wouldn't be my cup of tea in 2021, "One Night Affair" in the unreleased foursome is a discovery G&H fans will chew up. 

"...I been in a daze, gotta find another girl that can be trusted... " Archie warns in the so Northern Soul dancer "My Balloon's Going Up". So many great tunes like that bringing me back to a misspent youth. Think with your heart, this is one you can trust...