Tim Brown Talks!
A prolonged trip to Eastern Europe makes for an article that takes little or no account of September’s Manifesto and is therefore almost entirely based round rare record reviews.
So here we go, but rest easy Barnfarther, Rylatt et al – I’ll be back to normal next time!
Going back briefly to August’s Manifesto I am reminded by Soul Sam’s column of the ongoing paucity of genuine new sixties finds. No criticism is intended by that statement and it was always going to end up that way. The one area that contradicts the law of diminishing return is of course the unissued material. Adey Croasdell tends to be the prominent figure in this area courtesy of Kent excursions into the tape vaults of various companies and some of the best newies around are previously unissued tracks from the likes of Nancy Wilcox, The Opals, and the Cavaliers. Yet again I could accuse Adey of under-promoting much of the previously mentioned material and this would be true but the same thing happened to myself at Goldmine and many of the unissued tracks on other labels (primarily Motown) have failed to make headway as well. Some of this is the fault of the scene itself in all fairness and mostly that of the oldies-only crowd who hold sway at the really big events. Quite honestly, and with all respect, they (almost vehemently) want nothing other than the same 200 tunes round and round , over and over again. Ever since I first heard Johnny Sayles’ ‘I Can’t Get Enough’ 35 years ago I wanted to hear other records that sounded like it or that might be as good. For me it’s been that way ever since but it isn’t an approach favoured by the majority seemingly. At the other end of the scale is the ‘I won’t play it unless it’s super exclusive’ fraternity. Again when I was a lad the object was to make a great, obscure record popular. Having said that, I get the vaguest feeling that rarity must now remain exclusive at all costs even to the extent of limiting the amount of listeners, never mind owners! So, between these two twains many a great title flounders on the rocks. There is a saying in herpetoculture which goes ‘From the few came the many’ - it should apply to Northern Soul too but I fear its all too far gone to turn around (as the song goes).
Recently I became involved in a Sony / BMG compilation concerning soul releases on the Date label. In truth, there weren’t that many of these, most releases being pop but those that did exist show an eerily heavy preponderance of what was to become known as Northern Soul. The ‘sweethearts of soul’, Peaches & Herb (not Ian and Sam!) predominate and they did a few decent dancers although not exactly the grittiest of soulsters. Next up were the Glories comprising Frankie Gearing, Mildred Vaney and Delores Brown. All kinds of threads go through groups like the Laddins, the Steinways and Quiet Elegance connecting the trio but as such they recorded no less than eight 45’s for Date (a Columbia subsidiary). A further release (#1631) was scheduled but never put out. Interestingly this was to be ‘I Worship You Baby’ and, quite rightly, the label clearly had faith in the track after it’s initial failure on Date 1615. Recorded on the 27th January 1968 an alternate take also exists on the masters, not a great deal different but with some neat vocal touches from lead singer Frankie Gearing. A couple of years ago a Japanese CD released this particular alternate version together with all the group’s other Date recordings, it is both difficult and expensive to obtain already. Considering that I’ve placed it on a three CD box set, which will retail at a bargain price you may prefer to wait for that release.
The above box set also returned me to the Uptights ‘Shy Guy’ (Columbia). I say ‘returned’ because I included this as a compilation track once before for Sony when I did ‘Soultime Volume One’ eleven years (!) ago. You might be interested to know that the master tape version on that CD is, just like ‘I Worship You Baby’, an alternate cut. Again, not a lot in it so I left it as it was. I suppose on the box set we will dub the released 45 version. A number of groups used the name Uptights and are unconnected. It would appear that the Uptights on Columbia included the great Doris Duke who as Doris Willingham, recorded around New York in the sixties (Duke was born Doris Curry in Sandersville, Georgia) recording at least once under the Willingham name and a disc which graced UK Jay Boy ‘You Can’t Do That’. That particular 45 was on an American Jayboy and as far as I know, was the only release on the label. I have however found reference to another Doris Willingham release on Hy-Monty from 1967 and it sounds intriguiging! Can anyone confirm this? Better still, has anyone got a copy? Back to the Uptights and the flipside on Columbia ‘He Said’ is a great slowie as you might expect and far from any trite girl group fodder. Look out for it on a box set near you.
I made reference earlier to the problem of finding ‘new’ records for a scene with a forty-year track record in digging deep. Occasional changes in taste and style can help, who would have thought that in the eighties they would start playing older records than had been played in the seventies for instance? As I’ve mentioned before I’m all in favour of the current vogue for ‘funky’ Northern Soul although there is little sign of it filtrating through to the ‘Just Loving You’ crowd as yet. Back in ‘75/’76 there was a similar move, which, in those innocent days, was acceptable to almost everyone hence’ Cut Your Motor Off’ and ‘Do What You Feel’ becoming monsters. Levine even tipped the Blenders Ltd ‘When Ya Get Through With It, Put It Back’ (Greyslack) which is funk, the whole funk and nothing but the funk even today. Somehow the current vibe is slightly different than the mid-seventies brand and I know exactly what it is without being able to totally explain it. Rhythmic consistency has always been a trademark of any Northern Soul and it exists in the new wave too. Black vocals are certainly essential and I’ll quietly applaud that element. I’ve given examples before now but a trawl through my shelves has come up with some superb examples, which are amongst my favourite records of the moment.
The first of these is SUGAR BOY AND SHADES OF BLACK ‘Free Man’ on Shades with a good lead, mournful group and a tremendous tricky rhythm cleverly augmented with extra percussion at times. I love the way the male chorus comes in and then the whole thing breaks and strips down to basic level. I suppose I could cover this one up and with a new swathe of modern re-issues decimating the field there is something to be said in favour of such an action. Then again basically I don’t agree with covering records up – they are either intrinsically rare or not.
My total favourite at the moment is BILLY BYRD on Scream with ‘Lost In The Crowd’. There will be an odd copy or so around the UK a’la Joseph Webster, Mixed Feelings etc but it is essentially rare and boy, is it good! If I tell you that it mixes perfectly into Angela Davis’ ‘My Love Is So Strong’ you will see where it is coming from. Actually it is a little bit slower than that particular track but has some similar ingredients. Billy Byrd (whoever he was) is certainly a lost talent with gritty vocals a la Herman Hitson (who was from Atlanta as is this disc) superb horns and a sparse-but-effective female chorus. Quite outstanding. Flip it over and ‘Silly Kind of Love’ is just as good with more of a high-hat rhythm and possibly an even better performance from the singer. In some ways this has even more potential if we can forget a lyrically inane chorus line but it doesn’t intrude too much and lets face it that horrible guitar break didn’t stop King Moses did it? There is another record on the same label that could do big things as well even if the soulful content is rather less. An old Mecca ‘last hour’ jobbie rescued by me from Ian Levine’s first sell off about thirty years ago at fifty pence is EBONYISTIC ‘Ain’t It Good To You’ and best described as a modern stomper being almost an instrumental. There are lyrics and a song but not to any great extent and this is just one hell of a funky jam – but not too funky which is where we are currently coming from I suppose.
Next up is the fabulous JAMIE ROSS ‘First Thing Smokin’ on QCA out of Cincinnati or Porkopolis as it is never called (but is supposed to be). A 1978 release firmly in the Tyrone Davis bag and could probably do with another 2rpm to be perfect but that currently doesn’t detract one or two major ‘turntable fiddlers’. The unusual song title refers to a great line whereby the singer exhorts his lady to get out of his life and catch the ‘First Thing Smokin’ i.e. car, bus, train, plane or whatever. Good as that side is the flipside is an even better record but not as far as the dance floors are concerned. An even more idiosyncratic title here in the shape of ‘The Moccasin Wobble’ and the song refers to a dream whereby a presumably nubile young lady performs a dance by the name of the Moccasin Wobble. The rhythm is a tricky one a la ‘Mr Big Stuff’ or ‘Short Stopping’ but it is one hell of a soul record coming at you with a wry and cheeky smile on its face. In part it reminds me a little of ZZ and Co’s great ‘Getting Ready For The Get Down’ although I’m probably conferring too much dancability on the disc with that reference.
Just time for a quick glance back at CD territory as the second volume of ‘The Birmingham Sound’ – The Soul of Neal Hemphill (Rabbit Factory) drops through the letterbox. It came with a big thumbs up from Derek Howe of Beatin Rhythm, normally a stamp of approval I take notice of but an initial play has left me just a little underwhelmed I must admit. Nonetheless there are two previous unreleased versions of Ralph Jackson’s ‘Set Me Free’ on view. Sammy Frazier’s is very similar but with a lighter vocal approach and then there is a demo version from Ralph himself which is rather basic as you might expect.
Til Next Time
Tim Brown
