Fantastic record, very big on my “corridor” at the University in Manchester …..
At the time, I was smitten with The Smiths’ first John Peel Session and, in particular, the elemental first outing of “Reel Around The Fountain” with less piano and more bass than the inferior version that made it onto the first Smiths LP proper.
But, despite the allure of Morrissey’s quiff, this record was always there.
Pounding bass that sounds like the blueprint for much of the epoch defining Trax and DJ International material that made up the canon of classic Chicago House two or three years later.
Wonderful vocals and chorus and the sort of clunky drum machine and synth that stretched the technology of the day to its limits. It’s all too easy today and, consequently, so much harder to separate the wheat from the chaff ….
NME track of the year 1984!
Top of the Pops version then the extended 12″ mix.
One of the greatest voices in the history of soul music – namechecked as “that wicked Wilson Pickett” in Arthur Conley’s epoch defining “Sweet Soul Music”.
This track was written by Bobby Womack.
Massively influential in the early days of Paul Weller.
There is no better time than Valentine’s Day to post this …..
Unbelievable live recording with a guitar line to kill for. The studio version follows for trainspotting completists like myself and then a wonderful guitar tutorial ….
I’ve always found Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On?” LP to be a tad on the woolly side. Lovely stuff, but effectively 35 minutes of rather gorgeous handwringing.
However, following the events of recent nights, I’ve started to appreciate the merits of headscratching.
What’s going on?
Great live version then the original cut from the LP.
There can be few finer things in life than “cruising” the 2 miles to the local railway station at 6:50am in my X Reg Renault Clio and stumbling upon a lost pop classic on the dodgy CD player.
Apart, that is, from perhaps cruising the same journey in a brand spanking new, open top sports car or, alternatively, stumbling upon the same track while lying on a beach in Barbados.
No matter; no caveats needed here.
I had a double take when I spotted who recorded this song. I’ve always liked Frankie Valli’s stuff but this is an absolute Northern Soul classic. Originally released on Chameleon, the only LP that the Four Seasons ever recorded for Motown and released in 1972. The LP seems to have sunk without trace in the USA and this track with it. However, “The Night” was released in the UK three years later and made number 7 in the “hit parade” (as I believe the young folk of today now call the charts).
Fantastic driving bass and minor key chorus – in a different world this would be a stone cold classic. Really turn this up!
Listening to the genius of George Perkins (here), I just needed to keep the Deep Soul vibe going and there is really know better way to do this than to post the stunning Etta James original of “I’d Rather Go Blind” released on Chess Records in 1968.
Unbelievable to think that this was actually the B Side of “Tell Mama” (which is a fantastic song in its own right).
A whole bunch of people have subsequently recorded this from Rod Stewart to Paul Weller to Beyonce. Not quite sure why they bothered.
I am a huge fan of Southern Soul/Deep Soul coming out of the USA in the 1960s and 1970s. The slower, reflective, counterpart to the more urgent, dancefloor targeted Northern Soul.
I have already posted one of the crowning glories of Deep Soul recorded by Stanley Winston here.
Kent Records is the home of Deep Soul and the best series of CDs are the legendary volumes of ”Dave Godin’s Deep Soul Treasures“.
John Peel played this stuff to death and there are dozens of obscure records that sold very few copies which can change your world.
George Perkins appears once on the Dave Godin series but this track is from a more obscure CD compilation “Soul Jewels“.
Aching vocals, perfect guitar work and classic deep soul horns.
It’s summer (2 months early). My eldest daughter is posting De La Soul videos instead of revising (get back to work young lady!) and I have nearly two weeks off. What better way to get into the Easter bank holiday mood than one of the all time great records from the “sound of Philadelphia”. “I’ll be Around” just transcends right and wrong, genres and cliques. One of the greatest records of all time! (Next post will be a sublime cover version from the early 90s – maybe even better).
Okay, so the last Public Enemy post was just a simple way of providing a cheap segue into this stunning piece of soul from “the hardest working man in show business”. James Brown will appear many times on this blog, but I wanted to start with him in his most reflective mood. An extended meditation on the evils of heroin, really gets not better than this. Parts 1 and 2 for your delectation and assessment.
Folk in the UK will almost certainly have first heard this record on the wonderful radio programme of the late, great John Peel. In reality most people in the UK or the USA will never have heard this moving lament for the plight of black Americans in the 1960s. A classic of civil rights period.
Tricky to find on CD, this is where I finally tracked it down!
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