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Eddie
Bo "From This Day On" Seven B
Amongst Mr Bo's many finest moments, a killer soul dancer of
the highest calibre with Eddie singing his heart out for all
he's worth declaring his undying love over a devastating arrangement.
The intro may be familiar to some of you being used a year or
two ago by Shadow and Cut Chemist in their 'Brain freeze' mix.
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Betty
Harris "I Don't Wanna Hear It" Sansu
A great RnB dancer and club favourite, now which of her records
to include was a tricky choice but as I cover a fair few ballads
later on I thought I would include this stomper as a contrast.
The Sansu label is one of my personal faves for picking up great
mid-priced soul and RnB - look out for Wallace Johnson, and
John Williams. Larry Grogans Funky 16 Corners website contains
some great documentation of Sansu sides: www.funky16corners.net |
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Tommy
Payton "Mountain Of Soul" Staff
Sounding like it was recorded in Tommy's kitchen, a full on
crazy rhythm sets this one apart, that and Tommy screaming like
a madman about finding his mountain of soul. I was playing this
for the funky flipside (part II) until I re-discovered the 'soul'
side. God bless Tommy for putting that awesome break on both
parts. The passion and the urgency put into these two sides
scream out of the speakers at you, I don't know if the band
ever got to record again (?) but if they didn't then at least
they know they put all their heart and soul into this. |
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Rose
Hargrove "Knocked Down Kicked Around" Hell's
Hmmm, one of those 45's that looks like it may be a rare one,
but alas it's a bargain that should be found for less than
twenty notes. With an amazing deep soul ballad on the flip,
this kicks off sounding like it’s going to go into a
full on organ groover but quickly moves into a gritty RnB
soul screamer. Getting attention from your top Mod dj's so
get in while it's still a cheapie. Are there any other songs
about wife beating out there? |
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Lloyd
W. Williams "I Need You Now" ABC
Like most people familiar with this 45 i was playing the flipside
"Be Mine Tonight" and while, yeah killer funk track
and all, if you have it, then you gotta flip it over to hear
this which is undoubtedly the better of the 2 sides. Fantastic
slowie full of heart wrenching emotion and grit. I forget what
label this came out on locally before ABC picked it up? Regular
appearences on eBay should make this quite easy to find but
be warned it can go for big money at times. |
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Johnson,
Hawkins, Tatum & Durr "Your Love Keeps Drawing Me
closer" Capsoul
Amazing double sider from 1968 on the lovely Ohio Capsoul
label, anyone who has been reading the Check Your Soul features
on this site may know this 45 for the awesome deep soul flipside
featured by Dante recently that has also been getting the
odd spin from myself here and there. The side I prefer to
play out is this up-tempo sweet soulful dancer that is so
criminally overlooked and should be in a lot more play lists. |
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The
Symphonics "No More" Brunswick
A cool mid sixties soul dancer that is most certainly worth seeking out, but be warned it seems to be quite a toughie.
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James
Bynum "Up And Down" Integra
Nice double sider from Allentown PA that's not going to change
your world but it should get you up on your feet and on the
floor, this side is a gritty sixties northern dancer while the
flip is a bit of an RnB groover that should be well known to
some but is a bit of an obscurity around these parts. |
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The
Producers "Love Is Amazing" Huff Puff
Gamble and Huff doing their own thing, flip is a instrumental
northern classic but it's this side that’s working it
for me. One listen and you are hooked to its sweet soul vocals
that simply melt your troubles away. Why do I seldom hear this
played out? I am told this is destined to go big but then that
was by the guy who sold it to me ;) It's a refreshing change
to hear a song celebrating the joys of love for a change. |
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The
Turks "The Bad Brought The Good" DJO
Took me a couple of listens to get this one sorted in my head
but now I am hooked, not sure exactly if this is sixties or
seventies and it's got quite a bizarre arrangement but definitely
works on it's own level. Anyway this one is going to be on my turntables
for some time to come I am afraid. A telling tale of a guy who's
head was in the air thinking he was so fine and better than
everyone else till he met the right girl to make him see the
errors of his way. A good moralistic tale and super soulful
too! |
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The
Groovers "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" A&M
A soul staple just got a whole lot better, a handful of these
are flying around at the moment so you must try to pick one
up before they disappear. Did it make issue, anyone know? This
umptempo monster stomps all over the Temptations original. So
nice! |
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Gene
Chandler "There Was A Time" Brunswick
Gene Chandler cut some of the most outstanding soul records
of the sixties and seventies but what was he up to when he covered
this James Brown funk classic. Approaching it at 200 miles per
hour he takes the laid back funk pace and sticks a rocket up
its arse. To be honest I had forgotten I had this 45 until recently
and while I don't think I will be playing it out I figure it
will be of interest to some of the funk readers out there. Well
worth searching out and probably the second best version after
the Godfathers original. |
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Betty
Lavett "You killed The Love" Lu-Pine
An early deep soul ballad out of Detroit, perhaps her finest
moment and widely considered a soul classic, hear her sing her
heart out on this one. As is often the case with me I was playing
the RnB stomper on the flipside until one of Betty's friends
mentioned to me that this was his favourite cut of hers, prompting
me to check it out again. One for those late night soul sessions. |
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The
Lamp Sisters "Sweet Daddy Soul" Duke
Someone had been listening to Aretha here, the lovely Lamp Sisters
go funky on us with this first class soul screamer, and plenty
of ooooh-weee's to keep you happy. Picked this one up in a hurry
one day without even playing it based on the title and knowing
the artists to be pretty reliable, luckily it lived up to its
promise. Another soul 45 that would slip quite comfortably into
the tittyshaker column.
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Judson
Moore "Push And Pull" Capri
The hip now sound that's on most turntables at the moment, this
soul dancer is destined for classic status very quickly, being
snapped up by all and sundry. I had been looking for this for
about a year and a half only to find it at the back of a local
dealers crates hidden away! Watch the price start to rise on
this one! |
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Sebastian
Williams "Get Your point Over" Ovide
A few people are calling this funk for some reason, not sure
why they think that, I suppose it could be classed as being
on the fringe of modern soul, which has one foot in the same
wide ocean that funk sometimes crashes into? To me it's just
a great up-tempo sing-your-heart-out soul anthem. Bigged up
by Snowboy a few years back in Big Daddy magazine and still
sounding as fresh as it did then. Great for this summer heat.
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Barbara
Acklin "Be By My Side" Brunswick
Well it's actually the flip "Am I The Same Girl" that
is considered the classic and I am not about to argue that,
"Am I the same girl" uses the same backing as the
Young Holt favourite "Soulful Strut", I actually always
think it's "Young And Holtful" which is infinitely
superior but I am quite wrong. "Be By My Side" is
another Aretha sound-a-like track which used to be commonly
played at the bigger mod nights back in the late 80's early
90's and was always my favourite dancer from that time, today
nearly 15 years later it's still sounding as hot as ever. This
is a must have 45 as one or the other if not both sides are
going to destroy you on hearing them. |
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Jackie
Wilson "The Who Who Song" Brunswick
One of the undisputed kings of soul, Jackie was Brunswick's
leading artist in the late fifties and sixties as well as being
the first black artist on the label, this track was sadly not
the commercial success that "I Get The Sweetest Feeling"
and "Higher and Higher" were, but believe me when
I insist that this IS his greatest record ever cut, it has got
everything in there, strings, solid rhythm section and Jackie’s
sweet and soaring voice lifting you so high. Whenever I play
this to someone for the first time things tend to get mighty
serious for a moment and you know the next day's going to involve
frantic searching. Ok so it's not his greatest record, I accept
that, but it is rather nice. Damn KFC - Another 45 ruined! |
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Priscilla
Price "Rockerfella Jones" GMC
What on earth gospel bandleader Leo Price was doing when he
wrote this for a teenage Priscilla I do not know, I recently
took this out of my box to show it to a friend and just as I
pulled the vinyl from the sleeve the power in the venue blew!
Powerful stuff indeed. Leo and Priscilla barely remember anything
about this 45, Leo thinks it is possibly a gospel cut whilst
Priscilla had not heard it since she recorded it in her teens,
asking me to burn her a copy onto CD. I would have sent the
45 if it wasn't the killer it is. So who else has a copy then,
c'mon there must be more out there? I could do with a spare. |
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Mary
Davis "Danger (Playboy At Work)" Conclave
You hear a record played on Mr Finewine’s show, write
it down and search like crazy for it for a year only to find
it is absolutely impossible to turn up, then you naturally let
it slip from your mind only to be confronted with 2 copies within
months of each other, what do you do? Well, naturally buy both
and eat like a beggar for a while. The flipside to this 45 is
so beautiful, 'Taps Blow For My Baby' I never realised people
were collecting this side until recently and how right these
people are. So nice. |
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Tommy
Neal "Going To A Happening" Vault
Sadly not on the yellow label but still a nice copy to own,
with one of the best openings to be found in northern soul this
one has long been a floor-filler of the highest order and for
good reasons. Heavy heavy soul stomper that never gets played
any more cause its either A: not rare enough or B: too fucking
good for em. |
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Darrow
Fletcher "What Good Am I With Out You" Jacklyn
This northern classic is guaranteed floor filler in most good
soul clubs where the emphasis is not on obscurity over quality,
everyone loves this song if they are going to be honest, including
myself, I place it in my all time top ten soul records. Darrow
sings his young foolish heart out here even offering marriage.
How happy does this make you feel? |
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Etta
James And Sugar Pie DeSanto "Do I Make Myself Clear"
Chess
What on earths going on with that Public Image Ltd bass on
the intro? A recent addition to my soul box that's been on
the wish list for too long. Two of the greatest female voices
in RnB/Soul on one 45 and what a storming cut it makes. Annoyingly
it has one of those odd little centre holes which does spoil
my enjoyment slightly. Sugar Pie was the protégé
of Johnny Otis before going on to perform with the Godfather
himself - James Brown, she was renowned for stealing the show.
Etta James needs no introduction, another of Johnny Otis'
singers she went on to become one of the undisputed queens
of soul. Explosive stuff! |
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Rhetta Hughes "You're Doing
It With Her - When It Should Be Me" Telragrammaton Records
Was it Black Sabbath that
recorded on this label? Needless to say whatever hard rock act
it was could not be further apart in sound to this, being touted
by many as a funk 45 (?) this fantastic soul stormer from '68
is at the top of my playlist after finally tracking a copy down.
I first heard it on a mix cd of Jared's from the sound Library
(NYC) earlier in the year when the funky Miss Shingaling came
over to show us all what slackers we are. This just get's better
and better. |
