RAHSAAN PATTERSON – AFTER HOURS (DOME CD51) Smooth Soul at its best! That’s what After Hours is. A flowing stream of smooth soul that will stay with you long after its end, a record that you will need to play again and again, in order to fulfill your musical needs! I believe that soul music has the power to ease and heal one’s life, and Rahsaan’s silky voice leaves a sign, or better it is a sign, a hope for music lovers. Patterson owns The Soulful library by heart and mixes everything he has from gospel to sensuality, from R&B to feeling into great melodies and well produced songs. The opening track "The One For Me" will give you the idea of what kind of artist Rashaan Patterson is, the Gospel styled choruses, the club atmosphere of the song, the emotion that runs all through the verses...this is 100% SOUL! After the basic beats of I Always Find Myself, you’ll find the perfect funky dancer in So Hot. I Played this cd several times in a row, and now I really do believe that this record is a sort of concept album, conceived like they used to do in the seventies, where every track had a meaning and the right to stay in its place. I do love the ballads, “Don’t Run So Fast” with great guitar works by John “Jubu” Smith, Tony Maiden & Jamie Jaz at the acoustic guitar, or the sensual “Loving You”, performed by other raising soul star Van Hunt and “The Best” with the right mixing of piano, percussions and brass. The CD ends on an higher note with the shiny eletric piano driven “You Make Life So Good”, the dreamy “Yeah Yeah Yeah” and the stylish “April’s Kiss”. Rahsaan’s Official website welcomes the visitor with the phrase “prepare to be Loved...” but I’d rather say: buy Rahsaan’s cd and prepare to love...the man and his music!

COOLY’S HOT BOX – DON’T BE AFRAID GET ON (DOME CD49) Is this the Best Album of year 2004? Well last months of the year have been overwhelming in terms of good music, but undoubtely “Don’t Be Afraid – Get On” is one of those records that takes you by the throat and reaches your heart with nothing but soul...The set opens with a powerful mover that evokes a seventies blaxploitation groove and then follows with a string of Stand-out tracks, the catchy Get On, with Christian on vocals, the driving up-tempo beat of Touch My Body, and Are We Lovers? a real soul gem, that is only waiting to be released as a single to fill the dancefloors everywhere. The record has at least two more tracks that can’t be forgotten here, the brilliant Time 2 Be In Love, with its easy to remember chorus and beautiful duet, and Atfer Life, another strong dancer. The New York duo has the precious gift to turn all the troubles of everyday living into the positive vibe of music and from the high quality of the songs, it is clear that Angela Johnson and Christian Urich have improved a lot since the thrilling debut album, through collaborations and solo projects, growing side by side with their visions of life and music. Cooley’s Hot Box second album for Dome has received a very warm welcome between soul fans all around europe and this is mainly for the great music that’s recorded there. So is this the Best Album of year 2004? Well it surely has ganied the highest spot on my personal top five!

PHILLIP MITCHELL: Just The Beginning (Grapevine - GVCD 3012) I was in Rimini last summer, and after the Saturday session, while we were just coolin’ out in front of a cappuccino, Terry Jones played on my portable cd player the demo of this compilation, tellin’ me that I should look for this grapevine cd. Since the guitar work and the groovy bass line of the opening track, a fantastic dancer, titled Just the beginning, I realized how the man was right as usual, right as rain, I should say! Although it took me quite a long time to put my hands on my copy, and this outing dates back a few months now, I really think that a review, in this case, is still needed, as every soul lover should have a copy of this cd. Phillip Mitchell had a long and successfull career as a composer, cutting songs almost every day in Alabama’s premier studios, Muscle Shoals, Quinvy or Widget for dozens of chart artists, including John Edwards, Bobby Sheen, Corey Blake, Mary Wells, Garland Green, Bobby Womack and many others. The tracklist of this compilation is unbelievable, featuring such soul anthems as I Need Your Love, Home Is Where the Heart is, If You Can’t Give Her Love, Give Her Up, Trippin’ On Your Love, How Can I Go On Without You, all previously unreleased and displaying the great skills of this talented artist. The recording sessions were done in the early seventies and they well capture that southern sound that today is almost impossible to replicate. Mitchell’s own rendition of the songs keeps a unique brightness and personality, even though it is clear in some cases that he had the performing artist style in his mind. It must be said also that most times the same rhythm section was used, and this helped to conceal Phillip’s biggest influence, the edge of the motown sound by chart success driven composer Smokey Robinson, with the southern soul voices’ interpretation. It really amazes me how Phillip Mitchell didn’t have a big success as a performing artist, but the answer to this question of mine is given right in the first lines of the interesting booklet penned by Paul Mooney: When you’re hot, you’re hot, so hot as a songwriter that his own recording career had to be sacrificed!

VARIOUS ARTISTS – DOUBLE SHOT OF SOUL (KENT)
Following the excellent “Moaning, Groaning, And Crying”, this is the second compilation by Alec Palao issued by Kent in the last couple months. Double Shot Of Soul focuses on the R&B and soul sides of the California-based company and is a further investigation in West Coast soul forgotten gems. The label is well known to Black Music devotes thanks to Brenton Wood’s hit “Gimme Little Sign” but, as usual, there is much more to dig out and virtually everything is making its debut on compact disc. Furthermore the tape research in the vaults has thrown up fine unissued material like the Bagdads “Push Me Baby”. The sound is gritty, funky and far from uptown sophistication, with horns and guitars dominating the scene. The beauties on the cover are the Foxy whose groovy “Trouble” could be easily a dancefloor smash. One of the major artist on the label was San Francisco legend Bobby Freeman, here represented by some excellent tracks (“Can You Stand The Pressure”, “Oughta Be A Law”, “Everybody’s Got A Hang Up”). Kent & The Candidates “The Neck”, the Invincibles “Nobody”, Shirley “Sugar Sugar”, Georgia Prophets, the Bagdads “Love Has Two Faces”, and The Real Thing represent the golden side of Double Shot offerings. Plus the booklet is a real wonder, full of pretty photos!

ANITA BAKER - MY EVERYTHING (BLUE NOTE)
It was Anita Baker's album, the one titled "The Songstress", that first introduced me, back in 1983, to the so called Urban R&B, a sophisticated blend of sounds, both cool and refreshing that was a real trademark of black music in the mid 80s. Mrs Baker, along with Luther Vandross & Phil Perry just to name two...influenced a whole generation of black (and white) soul singers representing, with their style and attitude towards love, life and feel, the attempt and the need of the black communities to step to the middle classes. Twenty years later we found Anita skills untouched by the hand of time...as a well kept treasure...as the best kept secret... Her musical formula still works well, as her new album out now on Blue Note records testifies. Her Voice sounds strong & tender at the same time, the production, stunning as ever (Barry J Eastmond) as well as the arrangements, penned by Mrs Baker and Mr Eastmond lead the listener to a lovin journey through the classic 80's sound. Though the opening tracks, You're My Everything, In My Heart or How Does It Feel have great melody and are ready to satisfy the most discerning mid-tempo enthusiasts, my preference goes for the wonderful romance of the deep soul driven track entitled Like You Used To Do. Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds co-writing and arrangements undoubtely added a touch of class in the musical and vocal crescendo. My Everything is Anita's first album after a 10 years break devoted to her family (the sweet and mellow Men In My Life is dedicated to her Husband and two sons), a return to music in glorious triumph for the Detroit born Soul Lady. Was it worth such a long wait? Needless to say Yes!!
Fabrizio Sala

WIGAN CASINO MONSTERS (GOLDMINE SOUL SUPPLY)
Once again Tim Brown did a good job, choosing so many first time on CD tracks that were played at the infamous Station Road club. Considering the annoying repetition of many similar compilations, this “off the beaten track” offering is very welcome. The good news is that, due to the large list of candidates, a second volume is on schedule. Of course stompers abound, starting from the opening track, the International G.T.O.’s “I Love My Baby”, issued in New York in 1966 on the Rojac label. Lada Edmund Jr. “The Larue” needs no presentation as it is one of the biggest Northern Soul anthems of them all. Richard Searling’s spin “That Was Whiskey Talking” by Ronnie Forte is a fast and furious R&B while Fluffy Falana’s “My Little Cottage (By The Sea)” is a fine offering from Philadelphia that was big at Wigan in 1977. A lovely surprise is the inclusion of the Del Larks “Job Opening” part 2, more funky than the official A side, with its groovy sax break. For big rarities lovers, the Moments “Hey Boy” is a very hot record on today’s all-nighter scene. Other goodies include Len Jewell’s “All My Good Loving”, Sandy Hadley’s classy New York mover “Since I Found A Love”, the Limitations stormer “I’m Lonely I’m Troubled” (if you have a spare copy please contact me!), Shep “Fool To Fool”, Joe Douglas “Something To Brag About” and Patti Williams ender “I’m Doing The Best That I Can”. Even if you hate baggies and vests, this CD offers many good vibrations!

VARIOUS ARTISTS – DAVE GODIN’S DEEP SOUL TREASURES VOL. 4 (KENT)
VARIOUS ARTISTS – MOANING, GROANING, CRYING: A GALAXY OF SOUL AND R&B (KENT)
STAPLE SINGERS – THE ULTIMATE STAPLE SINGERS (KENT)
It is great to receive three new Kent releases at one time, especially if the quality is so good! Let’s start from the fourth volume of the acclaimed Dave Godin’s series. As usual we are dealing with 24 karat gold music, fully emotional and able to hit the right strings of your soul. Only Dave Godin has the balls to include Ruby Andrews “Just Loving You”, a masterpiece of a record, but normally not related to deep soul. I wish his open mind attitude is going to be imitated by many. Of course classics abound (Clarence Carter “Slip Away”, The Miracles “The Tracks Of My Tears”, Irma Thomas “Time Is On My Side”) but lesser known tracks like the Knight Brothers sublime “Temptation ‘Bout To Get Me” or Lawrence & Jaibi unissued version of “You Make Me Feel Good” (this song was recorded by the Dynamics on Rca) are worth of attention too. Even if you prefer dancefloor oriented soul all the Deep Soul Treasures CDs are highly recommended. The second release is dedicated to Galaxy label, the R&B subsidiary of San Francisco’s Fantasy Records which operated from the late 50’s up until 1973. This particular volume focuses on the golden era of the Galaxy catalogue, the mid to late 60’s, and also includes items from associated imprints like Goldenway, Early Bird, Soul Clock, and MIOB. Compiled by Alec Palao this is another trip through the black side of West Coast. Rodger Collins stompin’ R&B “She’s Looking Good”, the Fuller Brothers “Moaning, Groaning And Crying”, Ozz & The Sperlings “Daddy Rollin’ Stone”, the Casanova II rarity “Maybe They’re Right”, Claude Huey superb “Drifting”, Lenny Williams “I Couldn’t Find Nobody”, and Gail Anderson “My Turn Now” are all fine examples of the upbeat sound of Galaxy. Many years ago (1988!) Kent issued a great album titled “Black Music Is Our Business – A Galaxy Of Soul” and we could not expect a better updated version than this. Last but not least, the definitive Staple Singers compilation that covers 30 years of music, with many rare and unissued sides on a double CD for the price of one (not forgetting the 27 pages booklet!). It is very difficult to choose something between the 44 tracks included, but my all time favourite is the gorgeous “Trippin’ On Your Love”.

VARIOUS ARTISTS - RARE SOUL HEAVEN (GOLDMINE SOUL SUPPLY) Northern Soul compilation are getting as scarce as those elusive original 45’s our collections are proud of. Not too long ago Kent and Goldmine issued a couple of CD every month but in recent years things changed. Most of the popular sides are already available on the market so labels have to dig deeper to pull out “new” stuff. Even if a soul diet is a hard treatment for our ears, at least the average quality is very high. Tim Brown has probably the hugest Rare Soul collection in the world so is the right person to assemble fresh material. In this occasion we are dealing with some of the biggest and rarest Northern Soul cuts around. In the booklet the price of each original 45 is indicated and the CD could easily have been called “For Millionaires Only Vol. 5”. Two sides, Betty Turner’s “The Winds Kept Laughing”, an early midtempo offer currently very popular between collectors and dancers, and the C.O.D.s’ “frantic “She’s Fire”, “arguably the rarest Northern Soul record in the world with only one release copy know”, epitomised the content of this excellent compilation. If you appreciated “Have A Good Time Vol. 1”, we are in the same kind of territory: rare 60’s soul of the kind you can listen to at the 100 Club, where newies and undervalued tracks are as strong as ever. Other favourites include the Blendels’ guitar leaden “You Need Love, Ruby’s Stafford biggie “Feminine Ingenuity”, discovered in the mid-eighties by Martin Koppel, the Galahads’ “I’ve Got To Find A Way”, one for vocal groups fan, the Soul Partners’ instrumental “Just Fun”, and Eddie Whitehead’s “Just Your Fool”, a soulful record aptly chosen to end the CD. If you are not a millionaire (to buy the whole 21 records included here you need a mere £32,750!!!), buy this CD and reach soul heaven.

VARIOUS – THE RENFRO SOUL STORY (PRICELESS LOS ANGELES NORTHERN SOUL) (KENT) At last this long awaited CD is in our hands and the result is very good, starting from the excellent package, one of the best of the entire Kent catalogue (on the front cover a photograph of Anthony Renfro, the man behind this legendary Northern Soul label). I have always appreciated the West Coast sound, a blend of Southern roughness and Northern sophistication. In this case we are dealing with first division Uptown Soul, mainly uptempo and dancefloor oriented. Northern oldies - Morris Chestnut’s “Too Darn Soulful” and the Sequins’ “A Case Of Love”, to name but a few - stay together with super rarities like Bobby Wisdom’s superb “Handwriting On The Wall” (midtempo magic!) and the Stunners’ manic “Without You”, one for athletic dancers only. My favourite of the lot is Viola Edwards’s “Love Me Baby”, a classy crossover issued in 1975. Check out the groovy rap talk-over intro, that introduce the record before the rhythm starts and we are in heaven. Other good 70’s groovers come thanks to Luke Day, described by Anthony Renfro as a lady killer, and the Tender Loving Care’s poppy “My World Is Falling” (the Tender Loving Care were three beautiful girl sisters). On the 60’s side, Carl Henderson’s “That Girl” is an old school stomper, enriched by Carl’s great voice (here is included also The Sequins’ response version, aptly titled “That Boy”). The Attractions’ “Why Shouldn’t A Man Cry” will be loved by vocal groups suckers like me while Sam Cox’s “Life Is Love” epitomised the 60’s R&B-soul that should be played at venues. If you want to relax, play Helen Moore’s “Get Away Blues”, a fine ballad in a Big City soul vein. Kent will be issuing a second CD of Renfro ballads and other recordings including Carl Henderson’s “Sharing You”. We definitely want more of this kind!!!

VARIOUS ARTISTS “YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT!” (WARNER MUSIC) The name of Richard Searling is always a guarantee of quality and this new offer from the vaults of Atlantic, Atco, Cotillion, Reprise and Warner Bros. makes no exception. It is a great pleasure to listen to Mary Wells and Ben E. King on a perfect sounding laser disc, having collected these records on original vinyl since many years. Nowadays Modern Soul seems to be in vogue and, if tracks like these are getting a wider recognition, our scene is alive and kicking. Most of the records involved are on CD for the first time and were recorded in the 70’s, with the exception of the sublime Archie Bell & The Drells’ album only “When You Left Heartache Began” (1968), Aretha Franklin’s jazzy “Don’t Let Me Lose This Dream” (1967) and The Dynells’ “Let Me Prove That I Love You” (1968). A big surprise comes thanks to Jean Battles’ “I’ve Got Come In”. This record was unearthed by LA based collector Nancy Yahiro and proposed during a radio show in the UK a couple of years ago. If you need more credits, the song was penned by the immense Sam Dees and recorded in Birmingham, Alabama in April 1971. Other highlights are Gerald Sims’ finger snapper “You’ll Never Be Sorry”, the Classic Sullivans’ in-demander “Paint Yourself In The Corner”, Major Lance’s UK re-edition of “Without A Doubt” (even better than the original OKeh side!), Prince Phillip Mitchell’s underrated “One On One”, and the Tower Of Power’s builder “So Very Hard To Go”, one that would easily make “Richard Searling’s desert island disc”. This is definitely one of the best Modern Soul oriented compilation available on the market.

The Diplomats “Greatest Recordings” (Kent CDKEND 232) Contemporaneously to their appearance on stage at the acclaimed Cleethorpes 6T’s Weekender, Kent releases a superb best of compilation dedicated to this legendary male soul group. The Diplomats were a trio from Washington, D.C., whose origins goes back to the 50’s, when vocal groups were on fashion between teenagers. The original line-up consisted of Sam Culley, Ervin Waters, Bill Collier. Concentrating on the CD, the opening track is an unissued gem titled “Perfect Love”. The 100 Club punters already know this song as it was played on acetate over the past year by Ady Croasdell. Another well known number on the UK’s Northern Soul scene is the early sound “Cards On The Table”, an uptown slice of soul penned by Van McCoy and not a million miles away from The Drifters’ classic “Up On The Roof” (Big City Soul par excellence!). In 1964 The Diplomats hit the lower reaches of Billboard’s R&B chart with “Here’s A Heart”, a fine ballad once again credited to Van McCoy. The next year two excellent singles were released by Wand, the ballad “So Far Away” - not forgetting the flip “There’s Still A Tomorrow” that is not available on this CD - and the mid-60s soul classic “Love Ain’t What It Used To Be”. In 1988 a great unissued track registered during those sessions was found in the vaults, the brassy “Jerking Time”, dedicated to one of the new dance crazy of the era. One of my favourite sound is the manic uptempo Northern Soul classic “Honest To Goodness” licensed by Minit in 1966. Chicago maestros Sonny Sanders and Carl Davis went to New York looking for talents and were impressed by the Diplomats so a record deal was arranged. Three months later “Honest To Goodness/Don’t Bug Me” were issued by LA-based subsidiary Minit. The group didn’t appear to record in 1967 but were active writing and producing at the Fatback label for artists Mary Davis and protégés the Puzzles (Sam Culley sang the lead on the frantic “My Sweet Baby” when the Puzzles’ lead vocalist couldn’t get the feel of the song). Other topics of their career are the stomping “Soul Teacher”, credited to Sam, Erv and Tom as, after Bill’s departure from the band, they didn’t feel happy using the old name, the uptempo item “I Can Give You Love”, and a couple of Crossover slow harmony masterpieces, “I’m So Glad That I Found You” (the flip of “I Can Give You Love”) and “Accept Me”, all issued in 1968 by Dynamo. Before the band disbanded there was one final Diplomats single, the soulful slowie “Sure As The Stars Shine”, issued by the obscure 3rd World label. In 1973, with George Kerr handling the productions, the Diplomats became the Skull Snaps. Newcomer George Bragg joined Culley and Waters for their recordings on Lloyd Price's GSF label. GSF issued four singles and a the much sought-after album “The Skull Snaps”, a masterful blend of hard funk, sweet soul, and strident group grooving, but this is another story. Dedicated to the luckiest of you who were in Cleethorpes this year!

James Carr - The Rest of James Carr: My Soul Is Satisfied (Kent 231) In response to the big demand of fans, Ace Records has assembled a superb anthology of one of the greatest pure vocalists that deep Southern soul ever produced, often mentioned in the same breath as Otis Redding, Percy Sledge, and Aretha Franklin. For those who appreciated the previous releases dedicated to James Carr, this new CD, that covers his entire recording career from 1967 to 2000, is a must. Every single studio recording of James Carr is now available on UK Ace or Kent. Tony Rounce, the man behind this project, have put together material from James’ Goldwax sessions (some previously unissued), both sides of James’ sole Atlantic 45, his three River City recordings from the mid 1970’s, a selection of excellent later recordings for SoulTrax, and the three gospel sides James cut in the early 1990s with the Jubilee Hummingbirds. Stupendous deep soul tracks like “Pouring Water On A Drowning Man”, “What The World Needs Now”, “She’s Better Than You”, “Hold On”, and “I’ll Put It To You are mixed together with first division uptempo Southern Soul (“I Can’t Help Myself”, “A Losing Game”, “Row, Row Your Boat”). Despite the rough ride from James’ fans, “Let Me Be Right (I Don’t Want To Be Wrong)” could work very well in a discerning Modern room: it is a soulful midtempo gem, enriched by James’ warm voice. The flip of that River City 45, “Bring Him Back”, even if a little bit too disco, is quite good too. The 1990s SoulTrax sides are excellent as well: favourites include “A Woman’s Got The Power”, “Hungry For Love”, and the re-edition of the classic “The Dark End Of The Street”. Even if it is a long time since we are waiting for Northern Soul related compilation, My Soul Is Satisfied stands with the best releases of the London based label.

VARIOUS ARTISTS “Soul Satisfaction 4: Mouth Watering Motown & B-Side Beauties (Motown/Universal)” The Soul Satisfaction series by the great Jo Wallace has come to the 4th episode and it is today shining at its best!! Jo has dived into the Motown stable archives to take the dust off some brilliant songs, no matter if they reached huge and deserved success or were totally ignored. The immortal Motown Sound gets displayed here from the roots of the early sixties to the mature grooves of the seventies. This time I believe that Jo has put Quality over any other principle, and that's the reason why we have a damn good quality record! A 24 tracks list that is pure joy for your ears with the Funk Brothers displaying their joyful exuberance for the listeners' entartainment. Naturally enough any Motown compilation can contain some gems but when you come to some of the best and most-danced-to club sounds plus some hidden gems, that's a different story, I guess. Sherry Taylor & Singing Sammy Ward 's Oh Lover and La Brenda Ben with The Chaperone - a Classic Mod sound - kick off the compilation two real powerful R&B songs featuring call & response vocals and stories of broken the first and disturbed love the latter. To put it in simple words, expect a record of driving beats, great vocals & voices and finger snapping ballads... an Istant Soul Tonic prescripted by our Doc Wallace! You will be surprised once more by the innovative genius of Stevie Wonder, a great musician playing with such a soul and freshness! Music Talks and the superb Love A Go-Go are amongst my faves of the whole cd. Anyway there's so much good music here that the titles and the performers need no review! The Isleys show how smooth a song can be, with their Seek And you Shall Find as well as Marvin Gaye with a track - So Long - that was recorded in 1966 and stayed in the archives of Motown till 1969/70 when was released on the album That's The Way Love Is. Having this track busting out from your car stereo is like heaven dripping down on you! A Special mention deserve the two Four Tops tracks, Then and Can't Seem To Get You Out My Mind.... that's where the secret of soul music lies...well hidden under the thunder-voice of Levi Stubbs. If You think I have just pointed out my faves and this is all Soul Satisfaction 4 can offer you...you're wrong! There's plenty more to come interesting and fascinating as only Diana & The Supremes can be...There's a real Stormer, a true gem from Martha Reeves and The Vandellas, Titled Show Me The Way, originally published as a B side for the Honey Chile single, Chuck Jackson with a nice seventies heartfelt uptempo, Gladys knight & Pips falling in Love with a Stranger, the seventh single of former Temptations David Ruffin...shaking with maracas and praying his woman to come back, Bottom & Co. Gonna Find a True Love and the magic atmospheric ballad of Dynamic Superiors, One Nighter. I really believe that if you are a Soul Lover you can't miss this cd...miss it and you'll regret it!

AL GREEN “I CAN'T STOP” (BLUE NOTE) I have always dreamt of travelling through time and just being there, being present when things were happening during the mid sixties/mid seventies soul era. Well, sometimes music turns back the hands of time for you, and you just have to check the post on a lazy working day to discover that Al Green is back! Back with his smiling face, with his voice, with his tender, sweet, expressive falsetto! And along with him, Willie Mitchell comes, "The Champion", outstanding musician, producer and arranger of Green's best records, not to forget one of the most important Lps in the history of 60's dance music, "That Driving Beat" on Hi Records. Here they both are, with a brand new exciting Album on Blue Note Records that, quoting Tom Evered from the Cd booklet: “Is classic Memphis soul music, made by the masters.”. Is there anything else to say? Oh yes indeed! To be honest this record moves from Modern Soul To Blues, from R&B to Deep Soul in a timeless, fascinating, uplifting travel to Soulville. Al & Willie sat one day at the piano, just to see "if they still had the chemistry” (sure they still have it!) helped by some of the finest Hi musicians and backing vocals singers, Leroy & Mabon Hodges, Donna & Sandra Rhodes and Charlie Chalmers. I guess that with such a line up you should just sit there and wait for the alchemy of the Hi Studios start working again led by the Magic Mitchell touch! The result is here for you to enjoy and dance! “I Can’t Stop”, “You” & “Million To One” have all the ingredients to become dancefloor favourites, the sublime “Not Tonight” is a true gem of pure tortured soul! Last word goes for the classy cover and the great pictures inside the booklet. I think we all needed this record...so please don't miss this sublime "anthology" of “circa” ’70 black music!

VARIOUS ARTISTS “MASTERPIECES OF MODERN SOUL” (KENT CDKEND 222) With a title that sounds a little bit too pretentious and misleading (to be honest, at least 70% of the stuff included might be “categorised” as Crossover), this new Kent outing is one of the best of the entire 2003. My good soul mate Mick said “this is the 100 Club view of Modern Soul” and for sure here we are a million miles away from Terry Jones’s “Soul Village” CD on Expansion. If this can help, many of the tracks included could be played in a “strictly” Northern room without sounding out of place. Focusing on music, condensed in a small silver disc there are plenty of excellent (and in-demand) tracks: Debra Johnson “To Get Love You’ve Got To Bring Love”, a previously unissued midtempo gem from a tape that Dave Godin lent to Ace, Millie Jackson version of the Ace Spectrum overplayed “Don’t Send Nobody Else”, the Houston Outlaws “Ain’t No Telling”, a London Sceneville classic and a big favourite of mine, the Mayberry Movement “Two Wrongs Don’t Make A Right”, a monumental strings laden side for the first time on CD, Sam Nesbit ballad “Chase Those Clouds Away, Idris Muhammad jazzy “I’m A Believer”, Garland Green super soulful “Come Through Me”, and Denise Lasalle “Here I Am Again”. For good measure, some fine 80’s tracks, like Mary Love Comer “Come Out Of The Sandbox”, the Pretenders catchy “I Call It Love”, and Gil Billingley “I’m Just Me”, are included. To add value to the whole project, the front cover picture is so brilliant it deserves a bigger size (a double LP soon?). I wish this is just the first chapter of a long series of CD’s of this kind: come on Ady, keep soulin’!

VARIOUS ARTISTS “HAVE A GOOD TIME VOL. 1” (GOLDMINE SOUL SUPPLY GSCD161) Northern Soul is not dead! Yes, we are glad to know it’s still possible to assemble an excellent 60s rare soul compilation. While Kent seems to be interested in other things, Goldmine left us totally disappointed (Allnighter 4 is the weakest of the whole series). Tim Brown taste in music is very good as demonstrated by this brand new selection of rarities, for the first time on CD. This time good stuff abounds: Ted Wilson’s uptempo “I Can’t take No More”, a £2,000+ West Coast rarity, Jimmy Raye’s “Philly Dog Around The World”, Ty Karim’s fingersnappin’ “You Just Don’t Know”, Mary Saxton’s powerful “Losing Control”, Jack Montgomery’s “Baby, Baby Take A Chance On Me”, Frank Foster’s frantic instrumental “Harlem Rumble”, The Fabulous Apollos “Determination”, The Dramatics “All Because Of You”, Big Daddy Rogers “I’m A Big Man”, and the list could go on. This is the sound of year 2003 so wear your dance shoes, Northern Soul fever is hittin’ again! Please continue this way. 10/10

VERNON GARRETT “I MADE MY OWN WORLD” (KENT, CDKEND 224) R&B, Soul and Funk are the trade mark of this anthology dedicated to one of West Coast forgotten heroes, Mr. Vernon Garrett. The first track is the Northern Soul classic “If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time”, present here as an alternative version. If you like them fast and furious this is your cup of tea. Staying on the same mood, check out “Running Out”, an Ashford & Simpson mover, and “Shine It On”, both very dancefloor oriented. The rest is interesting too, with some tracks recorded live in 1964 in Oakland, California. All and all another piece of black music history to be proud of.

VARIOUS ARTISTS “FATBACK’S SOUL SHOP” (KENT, CDKENM 218) The Fatback label was created in 1967 by Bill Curtis, about the same time as the shop that is pictured on the stunning front cover of this mid-price CD. Known as the Home Of Fatback it was Bill Curtis' business centre for his bands, a booking agency for local talent, an academy of music, a place to organise parties and functions and much more. Named after Bill's unusual style of drumming, it became the label name when Bill ventured into the record business and he also adopted it for his band name. Fatback’s offer goes from Northern Soul stompers (the instrumental “The Cat Walk”) to frantic dancers (The Puzzles “My Sweet baby”) and funky sides (Johnny King & The Fatback Band’s “Peace, Love Not War”). The average quality is very high (a favourite of mine is The Four Puzzles “Especially For You”) and some previously unissued tracks complete a very interesting CD.

IN PERFECT HARMONY - SWEET SOUL GROUPS 1968-77 (KENT SOUL 119) If you love sweet harmony and falsetto this new Kent CD is your cup of tea. Compiled with love and devotion by Tony Rounce, In Perfect Harmony contains 24 tracks recorded between the late 60s and early 70s, during the Golden era of Soul music. Subtle production and silk arrangements epitomise one of the many sub-genre of American black music that was born in the 60s thanks to Curtis Mayfield's Impressions. Nowadays some of these tracks are very collectable in Doo Wop circles too so take a look at your records collection. Stand out tunes are The Pretenders "Hearts Were Made To Love", The New Holidays "Maybe So Maybe No", a stunning melodic beat ballad, and The Silent Majority "Frightened Girl". Once again what should be appreciated is that Kent is trying to push all the different sides of Soul music and the quality is always very high.

THE DIAL RECORDS SOUTHERN SOUL STORY (KENT SOUL 223) Good news for our pockets, a new format for Kent's standard (double CD) at the price of a single! Focusing on music only, this time we have in our hands a selection of southern soul music recorded for Buddy Killen's Dial label of Nashville, Tennesee between 1962 and 1975. Joe Tex is the biggest name featured alongside Bobby Marchan, Clarence Reid (here you can find the original version of "I Refuse To Give Up", later leased to Wand), Paul Kelly, Frederick Knight, King Floyd, Annette Snell, and Jean Knight. For Northern Soul collectors select track number 4, Joe Tex indemander "I Wanna Be Free", a hot R&B experience that recently gained a lot of plays in the scene. The rest, of course, goes from deep soul ballads to Rhythm & Soul and funk.

DONNIE – THE COLORED SECTION (GIANT STEP/MOTOWN) Two years ago an english guy gave me a cd-r with some new soul tunes, including a demo from an american singer…The singer was Donnie the song was a real treasure, "The One". Since then I started tracking down all Donnie’s steps in the recording studio. And now that his first album “The Colored Section” has been re-released by Motown Label, well, it was such a great occasion that I couldn’t really miss!

Donnie sings

By this time you may have already read half a dozen reviews of Donnie, comparing him to the monsters of seventies soul, Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway & Marvin Gaye, I personally think the best thing is to put apart the singers of the past and appreciate his full sensibility and great talents. Although some songs had been already published in some Eps, all tracks underwent some rework here and most of them to a better effect . The Album intro has a great gospel feel leading the listener smoothly to what can be considered a strong modern soul classic. Donnie’s voice & style of songwriting spread class from every note. There’s so much fuss today about neo soul & R&B, and modern black voices… surely what always makes the difference and tells the true value of an artist is his personality and the quality of the songs, two things that Donnie holds naturally…if you don’t see what I mean please take a listen to my fave track at present - "Turn Around" – a real smooth floater! If instead you usually use the repeat button of the cd-player for those tracks that you especially like, well then it will take you a whole month to go through the 14 tracks of this album. "Cloud 9", "Do You Know", "Turn Around", "You Got a Friend", "Heaven Sent", "Our New National Anthem" are all such good songs that could all easily be hit singles. The only song that personally doesn’t drive me crazy is "Rocketship", but after being on my stereo for two years as “The One”, I still prefer that older version, more dancefloor oriented. The thinking man behind the lyrics deserves a final word…Donnie brings soul music back to “the music that has a meaning”, even when talking about love, he’s driven by a powerful force, and this is for me one of his greatest gifts. We'll surely hear more from Donnie in the future, but meanwhile, If you love soul music don’t miss this record! this is surely a must!

FULL FLAVA – COLOUR OF MY SOUL (DOME CD037) Full Flava is the name of a musical project associated with two talented songwriters, musicians, and producers based in Birmingham: Rob Derbyshire and Solomon Mulling.

Carleen Anderson

When “Chinese Whispers” was released last year, I was greatly impressed by the elegant production and by the refined taste in choosing the guest vocalists. I can see all these features also in the new album “Colour of my Soul” (it is released on Dome as well) which is just terrific! The underlying idea in this new release was to feature the best R&B female voices, and to give them the creativity, the elegance, and the production skills of these two genuine masters of Contemporary Soul. The outcome is simply remarkable! Carleen Anderson - former Young Disciples and Brand New Heavies vocalist, and who is now a solo artist of great renown – stands out among the others for her amazing and unique voice as well as for her rendering of two of the most interesting tracks of the album: “Stories” (Blues&Soul magazine “Single of the Week”), and “You are”. Beverly Brown is electrifying in “Love holds no limit” (what a great song!), whereas Donna Gardier (they are both Dome artists) is so sweetly delightful in performing the title track. The whole album reaches the lofty heights of Soul music, and it would be therefore quite unfair to overlook the other great artists: Romina Johnson, Hazel Fernandez, Alison Limerick (in “Perfect Love” she is simply … perfect!), and Ce Ce Peniston (“For my Baby” is likely to become a classic!). The 25 year old Donna Odain deserves special mention. She is a delightful singer and co-writer of “Make it Right”, and her debut is surely the beginning of a bright future! Tee, who is actually Full Flava’s third member, takes back chorus in most of the album tracks. “Colour of my Soul” with its strong melodies and its unique stylistic creativity is likely to become one of the most interesting albums of the year.
Fabrizio Sala

JEFFREE – LOVE DON’T COME NO STRONGER (EXPANSION) At present we have only an advance press release (with no sleeve notes) of this 12 tracks tribute to the talent of Jeffree a.k.a. Jeff Perry. The CD should be out very soon on Expansion so keep your eyes open. Jeff Perry is one of the great soul “unknowns” of the 70s of the kind fanatics like us are looking for. Just to give you an idea, he can be proud of a collaboration with Jackie Wilson (the current in-demander “Because Of You” was co-written by him). After the fabulous debut of “Love don’t come no stronger”, a song we chose to open our recent “Modern Soul Livin’ For The weekend” compilation, and a bunch of other interesting 45s (“Unforgettable Person”, “Call On Me”), in 1979 MCA issued his first and only LP “Jeffree”. With gems like “Mr. Fix-It”, a tribute to the sophisticated style of Marvin Gaye, this small masterpiece is worth looking for. As in the past creativity was spreading everywhere, many excellent tracks were left in the vaults and we must thank Expansion for digging them out: the best one, “Love Loan”, is already available on a 7” and is an excellent strings laden dancer that will shake many dancefloors. The rest of the CD is very good too. Once again, well done Ralph!

INCOGNITO - WHO NEEDS LOVE (DOME CD039) Musical common sense says that most of the things in soul music have been said, and done during the sixties, the seventies and even the eighties, but I’ll tell you more, if you listen mainly to the great music written and performed in the seventies, you’ll really convince yourself that this is true! But then you find on the shelves of your local record shop an album like “Who Needs Love” by Incognito and realize that even today, there’s still someone that thinks and lives soul music with great conscience, artistic substance and love. Since the first album, Incognito has established itself as a legacy where soulful musicians could meet and express freely. This 13 tracks album is no exception. What impressed me since the first play is the sensibility of most of the songs: from the opening acid jazzed "Who Needs Love", the album steps forward with “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head”. a midtempo soul ballad, where Joy Rose takes the lead vocals talking of a love that’s missing with true smooth freshness, real magic! “People At The Top”, track number 3, is, in my opinion, one of the best of the whole album, driven by a percussions work that reminds me Curtis Mayfield, along with its full arrangements of piano & funk guitars’ riffs. Singer Kelli Sae gives here a remarkable performance but I must say her singing is oustanding in all the songs where she takes the lead, feeling at ease with slow numbers, like “Don’t Be A Fool”, as well as with the classy mover “Where Love Shines” or the straight jazz tingled “Blue (I’m still here with you)” that features ex Style Council Paul Weller at acoustic guitar and Fender Rhodes piano. Bluey Maunick knows that the singers can make all the difference and determine the success of a record, that’s why he has surrounded himself with talentuous singers and performers, just listen to the powerful rendition of the storming uptempo “Morning Sun” by Joy Rose! Last words of this review go for Dome Records that had the great merit to take over the distribution of this album for UK after it had been published in Japan almost two years ago. Paul and Santosh Robinson have proved to understand and love their work with music! A quality not so common in today’s music industry…well done!

WILLIE HUTCH - TRY IT YOU'LL LIKE IT (EXPANSION CD EXCL 5) Willie Hutch can be recognized today as an Icon of black american soul music, his career covering over 40 years! No wonder that when compiling a best of cd-album of such an artist, you must take a position, trace a line to better show and express your views of his work, of his value in music. Well, at Expansion records quality and taste are always placed in first position, so they’ve decided to rely on three exceptional compilers, Mr Ralph Tee, Richard Searling and dj/dealer Roger Williams. This compilation is based on their choices over a definite period of Willie’s career, the RCA/Motown one, undoubtely his most prolific, but also other “must have” tracks got included, and this in my opinion gives such a personal shape to the compilation, that pleases the listener, you wouldn’t have the temptation to skip a track, I promise you! I personally think Willie Hutch gave so many wonderful tunes when at Motown, the classy “I Like Everything About You” from his “Color Her Sunshine” LP, the supersoulful “Ain’t That Mellow Mellow”, or the Philly influenced “Talk To Me” that has recently gained its deserved place in today soul scene, but other remarkable songs are included here, “Easy Does It”, a superb midtempo, the title track “Try It, You’ll like it” or the fantastic “I Wanna Be Where You Are” also performed by Leon Ware. As far as quality and taste are the main goals of this album, a true gem couldn’t be missed! So we must give credit to the Expansion team for discovering and including in this album a Willie Hutch song, “I'm Gonna Give You Respect”, recorded both by Marvin Gaye and G.C. Cameron, previously unreleased but remixed here with Willie's original lyric “I Give Her Respect”. If released as a 7 inches, this could possibly be, the next Expansion single to gain popularity on the soul scene, after Sam Moore’s “Plenty Good Lovin’” and Jeff Perry’s “Love Loan”. Willie’s performance here is outstanding, 100% pure soul! A song that is worth the cost of the cd alone, making it a must buy for both a devoted Willie Hutch connoisseur, and a never-heard-of-Willie Hutch type of listener! I do not hide that I have always looked at Expansion records with great admiration for their policy and production, well, considering this cd and the forthcoming releases, that soon will be reviewed here, I can tell you that yes! good things are in store for us soul lovers!

LA’s SILVER SOUL: LEE SILVER’S SYMPHONIC PRODUCTIONS” (KENT CDKEND 221) What a surprise, this is for sure one of the best CD issued this year! Trust in the back cover presentation: “Stunningly good but rare West Coast 60s and 70s harmonic soul; from an unheralded producer whose time has come at last”. Since the fabulous opening track, an unissued beat ballad by the Themes titled “Do Yourself A Favor”, we are dealing with first class soul music. Lee Silver was a very busy L.A. producer in the 60s and 70s and three years ago decided to put out, on his own Tru-Gems label, a CD called “Northern Soul Rare Gems”, assembled with his vintage soul releases. The CD was passed on to soul guru Ady Croasdell, who arranged a deal for a new release on the legendary UK Kent logo. From the start to the end, all tracks included are worth a mention: big sounds come from the Pentagons early mover “Gonna Wait For You”, the Primes “How Does It Grab You”, an old school stomper, the 21st Century “Coming Right Back”, the Themes “Bent Out Of Shape”, Minnie Jones classic “Shadow Of A Memory”, and Nathan Williams indemander “What Price”. Add great sleeve notes and label scans of rare records and you have a piece of gold in your hands. This is the kind of stuff we expect from Kent!!!

VARIOUS – POUNDS OF SOUL (CDKEND 217) It looks like these are bad times for Northern Soul (call it Rare Soul, if this makes you feel better) fans: not long ago you had at least a couple of good CD to pick up every month but now things are different. Goldmine is in a deep crisis while Kent seems to be more interested in Southern and Deep sounds. Of course the well is going dry but who can deny there are still so many gems waiting for a first appearance on silver disc. Said that, this new compilation is a concentrate of high quality funky soul and ballads from the Kent/Modern vaults; Vernon Garrett, The Sims Twins, ZZ Hill, Johnny Copeland, Jackie Day, are well known names in discerning soul circles. Stand out tracks are Betty Bibbs’s unissued “Pounds Of Soul”, Jeb Stuart’s “I Just Love Your Work”, Vernon Garrett’s “Keep On Forgiving You” from his rare LP “Going To My Baby’s Place”, and The Sims Twins’s “Bring It Home Where You Belong”. OK, forget uptempo dancefloor movers but if you dig West Coast Soul (North meets South, isn’t it?)you won’t be disappointed.

VARIOUS – THE COLLECTOR’S CHOICE N° 2 (Right Combination) This excellent compilation is realised by the Right Combination Soul Society as fund-raiser for the expenses of the next Rimini Soul Weekender (July 18-19 2003). The track list is unbeatable and puts together many rarities from the 60s and the 70s, to cover the whole soul spectrum. Compiled by Californian (almost Italian now!) collector and dealer Nancy Yahiro and Simone Ceccarelli, is filled with first time on CD gems. From the early doo-wop efforts of the Phonetics, the Metallics, the Inconquerables, and The Imperials through the Impressions style of Ronnie & Manhattans and the Webs, this is what you are looking for, dear vocal groups fan. What is a soul compilation without what we call “midtempo magic”? Check out Monique’s “No Body’s Baby” (superb stuff!). A little bit of instrumentals? “September Rain” (unknown’s acetate), on the 60s side, and the Third Demention’s “Important Things”, on the 70s side, should satisfy even the more demanding listeners. More relaxed crossover tunes are delivered by Bobbie Dee, El Anthony, and Freddie Terrell (“Why Not Me” is the flip of his classic “You Had It Mate”). The last part of the CD is totally devoted to 70s and Modern Soul (Dean Courtney’s “You’re All I’ve Got” is a revelation!). What more can I say, don’t miss to support a right cause and add a cracker to your collection. Info:www.rightcombination.too.it e-mail: rightcombination@lycos.it