Garethx

Was played covered as The Transnationals. Great soul record, both sides.

It didn't i'm the imbecile! ATB gareth

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You are perfectly correct Steve but there wouldn't be much of a newies scene left if unreleased tracks were deemed unacceptable to play unless the person who had possession of the physical artifact (like a test pressing or acetate) did not own the copyright also. It's great where the original owner of the copyright and or artist can eventually get credit and remuneration for their work such as in the case of Little Ann / Dave Hamilton, but remember that if Searling had not spun the covered-up acetate of "What Shall I Do" in the first place their work would, in all probability, have been languishing on a shelf for eternity. If you found a brilliant but uncredited acetate, and after doing all the research you could, still not identify it, would you play it at a venue or would you throw it in the bin? Serious question.

I've no idea who owns it now Steve, but it's long been one of the conventions of the scene that dubs of people's exclusives are usually played with the permission of the owner. RCA clearly haven't had an interest in making this available to the general public so far. As Ady Croasdell has had an ongoing interest in issuing RCA masters through Kent perhaps he can shed some light as to whether RCA still has the master tapes, which I believe were languishing in Germany. Pete is 100% correct in stating that the 45 is a cut down version of the album version rather than the LP being extended out of the 45, if that makes any sense. To me the full version makes a lot more sense and the extra verse, trumpet solo and extended breaks make it an even better dance record.

Would you clean your car or house before trying to sell it? I think a wipe with a lint free cloth and nothing stronger than distilled water is fine. I would leave any of the more extreme methods to the purchaser. I think the need to try these methods is a compulsion for some. Fascinating experiments which are a throwback to childhood days of setting fire to model planes, decapitating your Action Man etc.

The Eddie Holman & The Larks album is a legitimate (or at least semi-legitimate) release; they turn up on ebay, gemm etc. from time to time. Why not buy that and get a carver done if you prefer not to play it from LP. I don't know who owns the first TP of the Judy Freeman now but I know several people played cuts with the owner's permission from time to time in the past: Mike as he said above, Ady C. and so on.

That is a good point Ken, but the refosoul clips don't tend to have dozens of people saying 'KTF' or making inane and inaccurate comments about Wigan Casino underneath them.

Think Benji has gone through the story of where and how it was found before on here (there are certainly threads about it). I think it was located in Germany a long time after Searling and RCA parted company: surely if he had access to it he would have been keen to get some use from it.

I agree with you Ken.

I don't think it's a hoax or modern remix: it has completely different vocal parts which would be possible to re-record but why do that and not make it commercially available? Or why not at least circulate it to more deejays? If that was the plot it's been a very elaborate one.

The version on youtube is not the real one. That sounds like something someone did at home using basic sound editing software, just cutting and pasting bits of the 45. Edit: Sorry. I was listening to the wrong youtube clip: the 'real' full version is there as you say Becchio: extra verses, trumpet solo and all. Deffo not a hoax.

The Judy Freeman they're talking about is the full version from the unissued Black Rock RCA album. It's far longer and has a different structure: very extended intro and far longer breaks plus a phenomenal vocal ending. Takes the thing to a completely different level and for me is one of the best Northern records ever. I used to love the edited single but listening to it after the extended version is very disappointing, to say the least. The full version used to be on refosoul.

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Hi Mark sound quality is similar to the original: i.e. pretty low-fi; I'd imagine it was dubbed from disc rather than transferred from master tapes. Shame with so many of the records from the All Platinum empire that the mastering and pressing often left a lot to be disired. Great album. Pretty good throughout with the highlights being absolutely superb. I would love an original copy of this.

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/more/soul-library/george-lemons-its-an-uphill-climb-to-the-bottom-goldmine Almost music. But not quite.

There are other George Lemons recordings, Phil. Goldmine padded a couple of Ron Murphy-inspired CDs in the 90s with a couple of outtakes from the "Fascinating Girl" sessions. There is a toe-curling rendition "Uphill Climb To The Bottom" which manages to make his vocal on FG seem like the work of Luciano Pavarotti. For all its shortcomings I've always had a sneaking regard for "Fascinating Girl": it certainly has a charm and personality all of its own. Add the mysterious circumstances surrounding its release and the vocalist himself and it's an intriguing record. I don't know if I would buy it at any price, but I certainly don't mind hearing it occasionally.

There should always be room for something this classy from a giant of soul music. Knocks spots off many recent discoveries and would have been a monster at any of the great venues of the past if it had been more widely available.

That's the one. My bid must have been four figures in US dollars, but it clearly wasn't enough. This record is so rare that I'm sure the winner would have bid a very large sum to acquire it.

A very rare record. When I heard this on the US issued Willie Tee compilation about seven or eight years ago I asked a lot of knowledgeable people about it and no-one had ever heard of it. Subsequent requests on forums drew similar blanks but a couple of years ago both Tony Rounce and Sean Hampsey said they had seen it listed but didn't own it. On the Bonatemp label and I'd guess dating from around between the timeframe Nola records folded and Willie Tee signed to Capitol. Bonatemp was also Willie's publishing company on his early Nola and Atlantic classics. Appeared on ebay about eighteen months ago. I bid a fair bit of money for it (four figures in sterling) but was swatted away like the fly that I am! Tremendous midtempo soul with a good b-side too: sort of Willie Tee sings "Ain't That Peculiar", which I'm sure could get spins too.

Terrible news. Although her recorded body of work was relatively small it was all fantastic. Her name should crop up whenever people discuss the truly great ladies of soul. RIP Barbara.

De-to Sounds like your striped copy is the same as the one John is auctioning. The copy in the youtube clip is a later, mid-60s re-press. Adding to the confusion is the fact that there are two label variants for the striped 'hit' release: Gordy is mis-spelled as "Gordt" on many copies. Don't know if any copies of the slower version appear with the mis-spelling as well, but I'm guessing it's possible.

Edit. I've decided to look into this properly as it's intriguing me. I may have given away the rarer variant of this!

Benji can't supply matrix details as I don't have either version on vinyl any more, but the difference is really pronounced. The earlier version is slower and guitar-led. The hit version is pacier and piano-driven. It is much more 'commercial' sounding if that makes any sense. The original version was withdrawn as JM states but is available fairly easily as a re-issued 45 on the globe-type Tamla label in about 1965, and also on Canadian REO. Think the REO version was issued a couple of years after the second version was a hit in the US. I know many people prefer the earlier, rarer version, but time is a witness to the fact that Berry Gordy got this particular artistic decision correct. To my ears the re-recorded version had far more of a chance to cross over and become the pop hit to propel the Motown sound into the popular consciousness.