"The Ultimate" by TYRONE DAVIS – 40 Album and Single Tracks from 1968 to 1976 on Dakar Records Including 22 American R&B Chart Hits (October 2005 US Brunswick 2CD Anthology of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time..."

Even in February 2021 as I pen this tome to a fantastic criminally forgotten giant of 60ts and 70ts Soul Music - finding a decent TYRONE DAVIS compilation that will do justice to his huge career is actually a bit of a task.

Like most fans, my poison has always been his stay at Dakar Records between 1968 and 1976 (a subsidiary of Brunswick) where he enjoyed plenty of chart action on both the American R&B 45 and LP charts. Edsel and Demon touched on this period back in the 90s/00s - but those digital compilations are long since deleted and have subsequently acquired rather nasty price tags. Plus, you want a dedicated 'Brunswick' anthology to guarantee that great sound Engineer Bruce Swedien used to get (Swedien famously handled biggies for Michael Jackson). 

Which brings us to this naffly titled and so-so presented American 2CD Anthology. There is barely a catalogue number in sight (I have provided a blow-by-blow account below), but "The Ultimate" comes up trumps where it matters most because it’s remastered from real tapes and man what an audio winner it is. Time to turn back the hands of time and get with the Dakar details...

US released 18 October 2005 - "The Ultimate" by TYRONE DAVIS on Brunswick BRC 33013-2 (Barcode 646953301322) is a 40-Track 2CD Anthology of Dakar Records Remasters covering 1968 to 1976 that plays out as follows: 

CD1 (65:05 minutes):

1. Is It Something You've Got (March 1969 US Single on Dakar 45-605, A-side - for B-side see Track 10 on CD1)

2. Can I Change Your Mind (June 1968 US Single on Dakar 1452, B-side of "A Woman Needs To Be Loved" - reissued November 1968 on Dakar 45-602 with the same A-side - see Track 5 on CD1)

3. Knock On Wood (from the March 1969 US LP "Can I Change Your Mind" on Dakar SD-9005, Stereo)

4. Love Bones (from the July 1970 US LP "Turn Back The Hands Of Time" on Dakar SD-9027, Stereo - also September 1970 US Single on Dakar 45-621, B-side of "Let Me Back In" - see Track 8 on CD1)

5. A Woman Needs To Be Loved (June 1968 US Single on Dakar 1452, A-side - reissued November 1968 on Dakar 45-602 with the same A-side - B-side is "Can I Change Your Mind" - see Track 2 on CD1)

6. I'll Be Right Here (June 1970 US single on Dakar 45-618, A-side)

7. I Keep Coming Back (March 1970 US single on Dakar 45-616, B-side of "Turn Back The Hands Of Time" - for A-side see Track 9 on CD1)

8. Let Me Back In (September 1970 US single on Dakar 45-621, A-side - for B-side see Track 4)

9. Turn Back The Hands Of Time (March 1970 US single on Dakar 616, A-side - for B-side see Track 7)

10. Undying Love (March 1969 US Single on Dakar 45-605, B-side of "Is It Something That You've Got" - for B-side see Track 1 on CD1)

11. One Way Ticket (To Nowhere) (June 1971 US single on Dakar 45-624, A-side)

12. Could I Forget You (March 1971 US single on Dakar 45-623, A-side)

13. Your Love Keeps Haunting Me (from the July 1972 US LP "I Had It All The Time" on Dakar DK 76901)

14. Was It Just A Feeling (from the July 1972 US LP "I Had It All The Time" on Dakar DK 76901, see also Track 9 on CD2)

15. I Had It All The Time (from the July 1972 US LP "I Had It All The Time" on Dakar DK 76901)

16. Come Get This Ring (from the July 1972 US LP "I Had It All The Time" on Dakar DK 76901)

17. How Could I Forget You (from the July 1972 US LP "I Had It All The Time" on Dakar DK 76901, see also Track 4 on CD2)

18. You Wouldn't Believe (from the July 1972 US LP "I Had It All The Time" on Dakar DK 76901)

19. You Keep Me Holding On (September 1971 US single on Dakar 45-626, A-side)

20. Was I Just A Fool (June 1972 US single on Dakar DK-4507, A-side)

CD2 (76:09 minutes): 

1. I Wake Up Crying (from the January 1974 US LP "It's All In The Game" on Dakar DK 76909 - full album version 8:47 minutes)

2. There It Is (July 1973 US single on Dakar DK-4523, A-side)

3. Where Lovers Meet (At The Dark End Of The Street) (from the January 1974 US LP "It's All In The Game" on Dakar DK 76909 - also B-side of "Happiness Is Being With You", August 1974 US 45 on Dakar DK 4536)

4. Without You In My Life (March 1973 US single on Dakar DK-4519, A-side - B-side "How Could I Forget You" is Track 17 on CD1)

5. I'm Just Your Man (from the May 1973 US LP "Without You In My Life" on Dakar DK 76904)

6. What Goes Up (Must Come Down) (April 1974 US single on Dakar DK 4532, A-side)

7. You Don't Have To Beg Me To Stay (January 1974 US single on Dakar DK 4529, B-side to "I Wish It Was Me" [A-side is Track 10, CD2] - also from the April 1975 US LP "Home Wrecker" on Dakar DK 76915)

8. I Got A Sure Thing (from the April 1975 US LP "Home Wrecker" on Dakar DK 76915)

9. If You Had A Change Of Mind (October 1972 US single on Dakar DK 4513, B-side to "Was It Just A Feeling" - A-side is Track 14 on CD1)

10. I Wish It Was Me (January 1974 US single on Dakar DK 4529, A-side [B-side is Track 7, CD2] - also from the January 1974 US LP "It's All In The Game" on Dakar DK 76909) 

11. It's All In The Game (from the January 1974 US LP "It's All In The Game" on Dakar DK 76909) 

12. Happiness Is Being With You (August 1974 US single on Dakar DK 4536, A-side - B-side is Track 3 on CD2)

13. Wrapped Up In Your Warm & Tender Love (September 1973 US single on Dakar DK-4526, A-side)

14. Homewreckers (February 1975 US single on Dakar DK 4541, A-side)

15. It Ain't Me No More (from the April 1975 US LP "Home Wrecker" on Dakar DK 76915)

16. Don't Let It Be Too Late (from the February 1976 US LP "Turning Point" on Dakar DK 76918)

17. It's So Good (To Be Home With You) (from the February 1976 US LP "Turning Point" on Dakar DK 76918 - Full Album Version 5:15 minutes)

18. Forever (from the February 1976 US LP "Turning Point" on Dakar DK 76918)

19. Ever Lovin' Girl (from the February 1976 US LP "Turning Point" on Dakar DK 76918)

20. Turning Point (from the February 1976 US LP "Turning Point" on Dakar DK 76918 - Album Version 4:25 minutes)

Compiled and Mastered by DENNIS DRAKE, the Audio is superb (as it is with all of these beautifully recorded Brunswick compilations) even if the DAVID NATHAN foldout double-sided 8-leaf inlay is good rather than great. But as fans will no doubt have worked out from my details above, this 40-track 2CD set gives you "all" 22 of his American R&B charters (in one form or another) including three deserved number ones - "Can I Change My Mind", "Turn Back The Hands Of Time" and "Turning Point". 

They might not all be strictly the single mixes, but they do sound fabulous. Also with a compilation like this, Drake has dug deep and churned up lesser-heard LP delights like the eight-and-half-minute "I Wake Up Crying" from the "It's All In The Game" album and a few choice non-album B-sides too. It makes for long glorious listen, even if the packaging is functionary in my mind when the man and his legacy deserved so much more.

Ideally someone like Ace Records or SoulMusic Records of the UK should issue a comprehensive Box Set covering all seven of his Dakar albums and plus those straggler 45s as Bonuses thereby giving us access to a marvellous stockpile. But that's for the future Remastering boffins. 

In the meantime, turn the hands of time back to 2005 and enjoy "The Ultimate" instead you home-wrecker you...

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

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This Review Along With Nearly 195 Others Is Available in my

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

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"...Make Me Yours..."

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

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

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

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

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

1. You Don't Love Me

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

3. Someone To Love Me

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

5. Hey Little Girl 

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

7. What More

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

9. Happiness Is All I Need 

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

11. No More Doggin' 

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

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

14. You Can't Hide A Heartache

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

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

17. Where She Att

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

19. Everybody Needs Somebody 

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

21. What Am I Living For 

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

23. Nothing Can Change The Love I Have For You 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Side 2: Tracks 8, 7, 6, 4, 13 and 27 

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

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

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

2. What Am I Living For 

3. Nothing Takes The Place Of You 

4. Knock On Wood 

5. Steal Away 

6. You Gonna Make Me Cry 

7. You Send Me [Side 2]

8. Midnight Hour 

9. When A Man Loves A Woman 

10. Make Me Yours 

11. Nothing Can Change The Love I Have For You 

12. Greatest Love 

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

PLUS: 

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

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

15. I'm Gonna Love You 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"The New Religion (“Come Softly To Me" in the USA)/London Swings 'Live At The Marquee Club'/This Is Jimmy James And The Vagabonds/Open Up Your Soul Plus Bonus Single Sides" by JIMMY JAMES And THE VAGABONDS (October 2020 UK Beat Goes On (BGO) Compilation – 4LPs Remastered onto 2CDs Plus 8 Bonus Tracks – Andrew Thompson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Open Up Your Soul..."

Like Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band – Jimmy James And The Vagabonds are held in many British beating hearts with a fondness that hasn’t faltered since their exciting heyday five whole decades ago. Both were top-tier live draws in the late Sixties, both multi-cultural bands bringing Soul Music to a hungry crowd – with a fair dollop of sweaty joyous R&B too. And that’s pretty much what you get here...

Four albums originally on Pye and Marble Arch Records of the UK (two each from 1966 and 1968) pumped up by eight Bonuses lopped on at the end (mostly stand-alone single-sides). This 2CD set certainly represents value for money and comes just in time to celebrate their 50th Anniversary with quality and quantity. Let's get to the Swingin' 6ts and the 'New Religion' of Soul and R&B...

UK released 23 October 2020 (delayed from September 2020) - "The New Religion/Long Swings 'Live At The Marquee Club'/This Is Jimmy James And The Vagabonds/Open Up Your Soul + Bonus Tracks" by JIMMY JAMES And THE VAGABONDS on Beat Goes On BGOCD1432 (Barcode 5017261214324) offers 'Four Albums On Two Discs' Remastered plus Bonus Tracks and plays out as follows: 

Disc 1 (76:47 minutes):

1. Ain't Love Good, Ain't Love Proud [Side 1]

2. This Heart Of Mine 

3. Do It Right 

4. I Gotta Dance To Keep From Cryin' 

5. I'm Just A Fool For You Girl 

6. Honest I Do 

7. Hi Diddley Dee Dum Dum (It's A Good Feelin')

8. People Get Ready [Side 2]

9. The Entertainer 

10. Come To Me Softly

11. Little Boy Blue 

12. It's Growing 

13. Amen 

14, Ain't No Big Thing 

Tracks 1 to 14 are their debut album "The New Religion" - released December 1966 in the UK on Piccadilly NPL 38027 in Mono and July 1967 in the USA on Atco 33-222 in Mono. 

The US LP used different artwork and dropped the song "Honest I Do" from Side 1 making a 13-track LP. It was reissued March 1968 in Stereo on US Atlantic SD 33-222 but this time titled after their latest single - "Come Softly To Me". That second variant also had a different track run (only 12 songs) - to sequence it use:

Side 1: Tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 

Side 2: Tracks 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 14

15. Ain't Too Proud To Beg 

16. I Can't Turn You Loose 

17. Amen 

18. If I Had A Hammer 

19. You Don't Know Like I Know 

20. That Driving Beat 

21. Don't Know What I'm Gonna Do 

22. Sock It To 'Em J.B. 

Tracks 15 to 22 are Side 1 only of the LP "London Swings 'Live At The Marquee Club'" - released November 1966 in the UK on Pye NPL 18156 in Mono. The live album was shared with The Alan Bown Set who had seven tracks on Side 2 (no US equivalent of this album)

23. I Feel Alight

24. I Don't Wanna Cry 

25. I Can't Get Back Home To My Baby

26. Never Like This Before 

27. No Good To Cry 

28. You Showed Me The Way 

Tracks 23 to 28 are some of the LP "This Is Jimmy James And The Vagabonds" - released early 1968 in the UK on Marble Arch MAL 823 in Mono (no US equivalent). Three tracks have been removed here because they are duplicated with the first pressing of "The New Religion" LP. If you want to sequence the 10-track UK Marble Arch LP "This Is Jimmy James..." use the following Tracks on Disc 1: 

Side 1: Tracks 10, 23, 24, 25 and 1

Side 2: Tracks 26, 27, 28, 11 and 7 

Disc 2 (52:13 minutes):

1. Wear It On Your Face 

2. Red Red Wine 

3. Four Walls 

4. Courage Ain't Strenght

5. Who Could Be Loving You 

6. Cry Like A Baby 

7. Good Day Sunshine 

8. Open Up Your Soul 

9. I Believe 

10. Everybody Loves A Winner 

11. If You're Gonna Love Me 

Tracks 1 to 11 are the album "Open Up Your Soul" - released October 1968 in the UK on Pye Records NSPL 18231 in Stereo (No US equivalent) 

BONUS TRACKS: 

12. Don't Know What I'm Gonna Do - October 1966 UK 45-single on Piccadilly 7N 35349, Non-Album B-side to "Ain't Love Good, Ain't Love Proud

13. I Wanna Be Your Everything - February 1966 UK 45-single on Piccadilly 7N 35298, Non-Album B-side to "I Feel Alright"

14. Hungry For Love - January 1967 UK 45-single on Piccadilly 7N 35360, Non-Album B-side to "I Can't Get Back Home To My Baby"

15. Bumper To Bumper - June 1967 FRENCH 4-Track  "No Good To Cry" E.P. on Pye PVN24193, Exclusive Track, Second On Side 1

16. Close The Door 

17. Why - Tracks 16 and 17 are the Non-Album A&B-sides of an April 1969 JIMMY JAMES solo 45-single on Pye 7N 17719

18. Better By Far 

19. Give Us A Light - Tracks 18 and 19 are the Non-Album A&B-sides of a February 1970 JIMMY JAMES solo 45-single on Pye 7N 17886

The card slipcase that accompanies all those BGO releases lends the double-jewel case 2CD set inside an air of event, whilst Blues and Soul, Mojo and Record Collector contributor CHARLES WARRING gives us his usual thorough appraisal in the chunky 24-page booklet. All the artwork is here as are the liner notes blurbs that accompanied the original British LPs. James' only US release - the first LP which was renamed "Come Softly To Me" on second issue is pictured too. And the great newly Remastered Audio is care of long-standing BGO Engineer ANDREW THOMPSON - tapes licensed from Sanctuary. All good and full of beans...    

Jamaican (Michael) Jimmy James already had a career dating back to 1962, 1963 and 1964 with Reggae releases on 45 in the UK (and even a release on Columbia in July of 1965 as JJ and The Vagabonds) - before he finally won over Blighty hearts with his first 7" single as Jimmy James And The Vagabonds on Piccadilly Records - "I Feel Alright" b/w "I Wanna Be Your Everything". Warring tracks the man's near 60-year career (he is now 80) and the (shall we say) healthy competition James had with his main British rival - Geno Washington - both ploughing the same musical turf in London clubs with six-piece bands behind their distinctive vocals. To the music...

The studio debut album tried for two moods – Side 1 the dancer – Side 2 the mellow smoocher. Though in truth both were peopled by grinding Otis Redding type Soul with lashings of Curtis Mayfield via his Impressions songs to smooth out the rough edges ("People Get Ready" and "Amen"). In between he tapped The Dells for "Hi Diddley Di... " and Barrett Strong of Motown fame for the Northern Soul popular "This Heart Of Mine". The one original on Side 2 was his piano and strings "Come Softly To Me" – a shuffling dreamy ballad that had become a No. 44 R&B hit over there in early 1968 – hence their renaming of the band’s American debut LP on Atco after the song. 

Whilst "The New Religion" LP sets up things nicely, you get a real inkling of what they were like in their natural habitat – live on Side 1 of he shared "London Swings... " Album – actually issued a month before the studio set but sequenced here as LP No. 2. There is more Otis Redding, more Curtis Mayfield, more Motown in The Temptations opener - but there is also Isaac Hayes via "You Don't Know Like I Know" – the 1966 Sam & Dave classic. The feel of the whole in-yer-face live show is manic brought to a cauldron fever by "Sock It To 'Em J.B." – a suitable end. 

I actually sequenced the British LP "This Is Jimmy James And The Vagabonds” from Disc 1 – I used to have it on a bettered Marble Arch LP – and it plays so much better than I remember with its six new tunes sat alongside those oldies but goldies. I have sequenced the numbers up above for info purposes. And although there are moments on the "Open Up Your Soul" album like their cover of the Dan Penn/Spooner Oldham Box Tops hit "Cry Like A Baby" and the William Bell song "Everyone Loves A Winner” – I never really like the Beatles cover or even the catchy "Red Red Wine”. However, I must confess I did not know the B-sides in the Bonus Tracks and "I Wanna Be Your Everything" is very cool. As are those Jimmy James solo 45s that I recall you never saw that much in the shop’s box of Soul 45s. 

For sure it is of the time and at times it can feel like Geno did – a glorified covers band that happened to be around at just the right time. But like the Washington platters (also subject to a BGO multiple CD offering in late 2020) - I remember these James LPs with affection and I’m fairly sure that this superb 2CD motherlode from Beat Goes On will make many fans very happy dancing bunnies indeed...

"Strange Brew: Weird & Wonderful Covers From The Warner & Atlantic Vaults" by VARIOUS ARTISTS (Part of 'The In Sound' Series) – featuring Mary Wells, Johnny Harris, Herbie Mann, King Curtis & The Kingpins, Clarence Carter, Ella Fitzgerald, Arif Mardin, Ananda Shankar, Brother Jack McDuff, Shirley Scott, Carmen McRae, Marion Williams and more – Guests Include Nicky Hopkins, Barry Beckett, Eddie Hinton, Members of The Crusaders, Miroslav Vitous of Weather Report, The Dixie Hummingbirds and more (September 2004 UK Warner Jazz/Warner Strategic Marketing CD Compilation of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...A Walk On The Wild Side..."

What's that inside of you? A "Strange Brew"...

I'm a sucker for a Rhino CD compilation and this little weirdo is right up my far out alley. Part of their 'The In Sound' Series (see list of 9 titles below) - "Strange Brew"...is a very cool if not entirely successful trawl through the murky depths of dodgy cover versions. 

Mostly centring around deep LP cuts from 1969 and 1970 on Atlantic, Atco, Reprise and Warner Brothers Records – you get like-minded musical bedfellows seeking out that 'yeah man, let's get down with the kids hipster-choice' moment by doing the songs of contemporary Rock acts like Bob Dylan, The Stones, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Tony Joe White and so on - in a Jazz-Soulful way. 

Sat beside those were old hands like singer Ella Fitzgerald doing Eddie Floyd or flautist Herbie Man tackling Sam and Dave - and so on. The idea was of course to make terminally unhip Jazz accessible to a younger audience by tapping into those songs that allowed a body to reinterpret – create a groove - maybe even bag a commercial hit along the way. To this end - "Strange Brew"... offers 22 eclectic choices of rarely heard music from WEA combined with quality remastered audio and a pleasingly chockers playing time - a hair's nadge short of 80-minutes. It isn't all 24-Carat Gold as I say, but with guest names like Nicky Hopkins, Barry Beckett, Eddie Hinton, Members of The Crusaders, Miroslav Vitous of Weather Report and The Dixie Hummingbirds sat alongside the Sitar of Ananda Shankar and the Brian Auger arranged keyboard grooviness of Johnny Harris – I'm in like a Prog-Stoned Flynn baby (and that Flynn likes to be in). 

Much to shake a joss stick at, so let's prepare the beany cushions and pick those wild mushrooms (if you know where I'm coming from man)...

UK released 20 September 2004 - "Strange Brew: Weird & Wonderful Covers From The Warner & Atlantic Vaults" on Warner Jazz/Warner Strategic Marketing 5046743432 (Barcode 5050467434325) is a 22-Track CD Compilation in 'The In Sound' Series that plays out as follows (79:21 minutes):

1. Satisfaction - MARY WELLS (Rolling Stones cover from her December 1966 US LP "The Two Sides Of Mary Wells" on Atco SD 33-199 in Stereo)

2. Hold On I'm Comin' (Edit, 4:08 minutes) - HERBIE MANN (Sam & Dave cover from his May 1969 US LP "Memphis Underground" on Atco SD-1922 in Stereo - features Bassist Miroslav Vitous later with Weather Report)

3. Knock On Wood - ELLA FITZGERALD (Eddie Floyd cover on her September 1969 US LP "Ella" on Reprise RS 6354 in Stereo - Pianist Nicky Hopkins guests)

4.  You Showed Me - PHIL MOORE, Jr. (Turtles cover from his September 1969 US LP "Right On" on Atlantic SD 1530 - features Wilton Felder and "Stix" Hooper of The Crusaders with Keyboardist Clarence McDonald and Guitarist Steve Khan)

5. My Girl Sloopy - KILLER JOE (McCoys cover from his June 1965 US LP "International Discotheque" on Atlantic SD-8108 in Stereo, LP credited to The Killer Joe Orchestra, real name Joe Pira)   

6. Wicked Messenger - MARION WILLIAMS (Bob Dylan cover from her 1971 US LP "Standing Here Wondering Which Way To Go" on Atlantic SD 8289 - featuring David Spinnoza on Guitar, Paul Griffin on Keyboards and The Dixie Hummingbirds on Backing Vocals)

7. Whole Lotta Love - KING CURTIS And THE KINGPINS (Led Zeppelin cover, September 1970 US 45-Single on Atlantic 45-6779, A-side, 2:42 minute instrumental) 

8. I Heard It Through The Grapevine - ELLA FITZGERALD (Marvin Gaye cover from her 1971 US LP "Things Ain't What They Used To Be (And You Better Believe It)" on Reprise RS 6432) 

9. Willie & Laura Mae Jones - CLARENCE CARTER (Tony Joe White cover, from his fourth studio album "Patches" issued October 1970 in the USA on Atlantic SD-8267)

10. Strange Brew - ARIF MARDIN (Cream cover, from his July 1969 US LP "Glass Onion" on Atlantic SD 8222, features Barry Beckett on Keyboards and Eddie Hinton on Lead Guitar, Harmonica and Vocals) 

11. I Thought I Knew You Well - CARMEN McRAE (Tony Joe White cover, from her 1970 US LP "Just A Little Lovin'" on Atlantic SD 1568)

12. Blowin' In The Wind - BROTHER JACK McDUFF (Bob Dylan cover, from his 1967 US LP "Tobacco Road" on Atlantic SD 1472 in Stereo) 

13. Jumpin' Jack Flash - ANANDA SHANKAR (Rolling Stones cover, from his 1970 US LP "Ananda Shankar" on Reprise RS 6398) 

14. Sympathy For The Devil - ARIF MARDIN (Rolling Stones cover, from his July 1969 US LP "Glass Onion" on Atlantic SD 8222, features Barry Beckett on Keyboards and Eddie Hinton on Lead Guitar, Harmonica and Vocals)  

15. People Are Strange - LEA DeLARIA (Doors cover, from her 2003 CD compilation "Double Standards" on Warner Brothers with Seamus Blake on Saxophone)

16. My Girl - RAHSAAN ROLAND KIRK (Miracles cover (with Smokey Robinson), from his 1972 US LP "Blacknuss" on Atlantic SD 1601)

17. Respect - THE FREEDOM SOUNDS featuring WAYNE HENDERSON (Aretha Franklin cover, from their 1967 US LP "People Get Ready" on Atlantic SD 1492) 

18. I Want You - CARMEN McRAE (Tony Joe White cover, from her 1970 US LP "Just A Little Lovin'" on Atlantic SD 1568)

19. I Want You Back - SHIRLEY SCOTT (Jackson 5 cover, from her 1970 US LP "Something" on her 1970 US LP "Something" on Atlantic SD 1561 featuring Eric Gale and Billy Butler on Guitars)

20. Walk On The Wild Side - HERBIE MANN (Lou Reed cover, from his 1979 US LP "Yellow Fever" on Atlantic SD 19252)

21. I Shall Be Released - MARION WILLIAMS (Bob Dylan cover, from her 1969 US LP "The New Message" on Atlantic SD 8228 in Stereo)

22. Paint It Black - JOHNNY HARRIS (Rolling Stones cover, from his 1970 UK LP "Movements" on Warner Brothers WS 3002)  

Compiled by FLORENCE HALFON and featuring liner notes from CHAS CHANDLER - each song gets a small paragraph of explanation in the packed 8-page booklet - the text alongside album covers by people like Marion Williams, The Freedom Singers and Arif Mardin that you don't really see every day of the week. As you can see from the detailed list above, 1969 to 1972 is featured heavily with the odd foray into the earlier part of the 60ts - while comedian Lea DeLaria gets one of her 'wicked' covers featured from a CD album as late as 2003 on Warners (her fab take on The Doors and their witty "People Are Strange"). 

Transfers are care of experienced Audio Engineer GIOVANNI SCATOLA and all of it sounds storming - period Stereo recordings done in quality studios with Arrangers and Producers who knew what was what. Scatola did the Remasters for both of the 2008 2CD Deluxe Editions of Elton's John's early albums from 1970 - "Elton John" and "Tumbleweed Connection" - both of which had truly exemplary audio too. Time to feel those movements, to the eclectic music... 

You may feel you've spent your precious few bob on the wrong compilation when you get an earful of the first three insipid interpretations - all three Mary Wells, Herbie Mann and Ella Fitzgerald covers being the kind of elevator music you'd rather avoid. But then you get where I start this CD - Track 4 and Phil Moore's Clavinet and Melodica instrumental version of "You Showed Me", a Top 10 hit for The Turtles revisited by England's The Lightning Seeds in 1997. It's vibes and funky clavinet backbeat set up the 'Melodica' - every teenager’s musical toy - and suddenly you have a take that actually feels cool and even sort of innovative in a way. Changing back to the mid-60ts, you get a Watusi Cha Cha Cha from Killer Joe sashaying across your speakers as he urges Sloopy to hang on. It's fun and full of cleverly organised Trombone breaks designed to keep the dancefloor full. 

Next up is a genuine discovery to us predominantly Rock-types - the Eartha Kitt vs. William Shatner vocal delivery of Marion Williams. Her Gospel High voice and exaggerated mannerisms of delivery take the "John Wesley Harding" Dylan LP track "Wicked Messenger" into a fantastically cool place. Then it’s cleverly onto the 'heavy heavy' guitar-riffage of the Zeppelin II monster "Whole Lotta Love" given a Rock 'n' Sax update by King Curtis. Although I would have to admit right here and now that as good as it is, Curtis' version will not replace the C.C.S. cover from 1970 on their self-titled debut album (on RAK Records) that was used as the Theme Music to "Top Of The Pops" every Thursday night in England as we sat glued to the gogglebox for our musical fix. 

Back to schlock where Ella Fitzgerald does a dreadfully cheesy cover of Marvin's glorious "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" - that poor man's version thankfully saved by the gruff and gravel Clarence Carter turning Tony Joe White's "Willie And Laura Mae Jones" into a Country-Soul masterclass. Speaking of "...another man's colour..." - Tony Joe's song also addresses racial issues in a subtle humanitarian way without every getting preachy. Clarence Carter made a damn good song choice there and not surprisingly, Tony Joe White's endlessly adaptable, sexy and inherently funky tunes are featured twice more on this compilation - both by Carmen McRae and her lovely renditions of "I Thought I Knew You Well" and "I Want You". 

Speaking of highlights - there are two genuine monsters featured - the Ananda Shankar Sitar-dripping cover of The Stones classic "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and Johnny Harris taking on "Paint It Black". When I worked in Reckless Records in Soho's Berwick Street throughout the 90s and 00s - the "Ananda Shankar" and "Movements" albums were the very epitome of collectability - DJs going crazy trying to find the Indian-cool vibe of Ananda Shankar or the David Axelrod Strings vs. the Brian Auger Organ feel of Johnny Harris. I can vividly remember bootleg copies of both albums showing up in West End shops such was the demand for them when the originals were pushing fifty quid at times. All this and the hero-worshipped Eddie Hinton playing Lead Guitar on the Arif Mardin cover of "Sympathy For The Devil" before going into some weird vocal growls towards the end. And on it goes...

For sure when I play the 1979 Herbie Mann Disco/Funk cover of Lou Reed's sexy and beautifully clever "Walk On The Wild Side" - I can't actually decide whether it's abomination incarnate of a genuine masterpiece or interpretive genius (I'd opt for the first frankly). 

So like myself, when you come to sequence this CD - you may only play 10 or maybe 12 tracks and skip the rest. But costing less than a pound online from some auction-sites (it's cheap in other words) - I'd say take on chance on the gurgling cauldron that is "Strange Brew..." because there is more 'In' Sound than out...

"The In Sound" CD Series

From The Atlantic & Warner Vaults 

UK CD Compilations from 2001 to 2004 - A List 

        

1. Eastern & Hip: Eastern Jazz Grooves From The Atlantic & Warner Vaults

4 March 2002 UK CD on Warner Jazz/Warner Strategic Marketing 9548-39530-2 (Barcode 9548395302)

2. Glass Onion: Songs of The Beatles From The Atlantic & Warner Jazz Vaults

28 Feb 2003 UK CD on Warner Jazz 5050466149626 (Barcode 5050466149626)

3. Modal And Jazz Waltz: Modal Jazz And 3/4 Time From The Atlantic Vaults

January 2002 UK CD on Warner Jazz/Warner Strategic Marketing 9548395292 (Barcode 095483952922) 

4. More Psychedelic Jazz And Soul From The Atlantic & Warner Vaults

9 August 2004 UK CD on Warner Jazz/Warner Strategic Marketing 5046736382 (Barcode 5050467363823)

5. Psychedelic Jazz And Soul From The Atlantic & Warner Vaults 

12 November 2001 UK CD on Warner Jazz/Warner Strategic Marketing 9548391142 (Barcode 095483911424)

6. Soul Bossa Nova: From The Vaults Of Atlantic & Warner Bros.

14 October 2002 UK CD on Warner Jazz/Warner Strategic Marketing 5050466048127 (Barcode 5050466048127)

7. Stoned Soul Picnic: Illicit Grooves From The Atlantic & Warner Vaults 

13 October 2003 UK CD on Warner Jazz/Warner Strategic Marketing 5050466-8018-2-1 (Barcode 5050466801821)

8. Strange Brew: Weird & Wonderful Covers From The Warner & Atlantic Vaults

20 September 2004 UK CD on Warner Jazz/Warner Strategic Marketing 5046743432 (Barcode 5050467434325)

9. The Word From The Pulpit: Spiritual Grooves From The Vaults Of Atlantic & Warner Bros. 1963-1974

18 October 2002 UK CD on Warner Jazz/Warner Strategic Marketing 5050466040725 (Barcode 5050466040725)