Garethx

edit.

The lead vocal on the Magnificent 7 side Never Will I on Dial always sounded really white to me too. Archie Himon's name is on that as writer but after listening to his solo 45 on Dial and the Magnificent 7 records on Eastern I would have to conclude that the lead vocalist on NWI is in all likelihood not him. The version of Ooh Baby Baby is probably not him either, but it's a good stab at the tune which I've always preferred to The Miracles. The lead vocalist on The Parliaments 45s I've heard (which doesn't include the Unpredictable 45 under discussion here) does sound very much like Little Archie, so the theory that the two groups were the same or related through some personnel is highly likely.

Well said, Tony. At least three tracks better than Gutter.

Any clues as to a realistic price for this would also be appreciated.

Was this ever released on US vinyl at the time? I have a white label of the Expansion release. Great, hypnotic Chicago soul.

Hi Currently looking for a copy of the following Judy Clay 45: Scepter 12135 Haven't Got What It Takes / The Way You Look Tonight Ideally in above VG+ condition. TIA for any leads gareth

The Arcades on Triad uses the exact same backing track as the Jessie James (which are both heavily indebted to Jerry Butler's I'm The One Who Loves You as mentioned above). Both great records, but my preference has long been for JJ: I love his voice and he turns in a great performance on this. In terms of quantities of Jessie James on Shirley around I would estimate a couple of dozen copies worldwide. Always been rare, and I believe it's the last release on the Shirley label.

This record was quite a local hit on release and must have sold upwards of 10,000 copies: maybe many more. Still, a great record with a great flip. The one of Charles Brimmer's on this label that you don't see much is Memphis Woman / What's That You Got.

I don't think you're the only person who thinks this way. On a related note I've always considered the Cookie Scott Orr release with Mislead/Mislead Instrumental by Prince Shell & Orchestra on the reverse to be a far more difficult to find record than I Don't Care. The instrumental version is very atmospheric and sounds phenomenal over a good sound system. Wonder if anyone can post a soundclip?

Will this haul lead to the record being dropped from certain playlists and added to others?

Tony makes very good points about the Bobby Bland 'soul' output of the 60s. The Bland sound of this period is really BB interpreting the sounds and recording personalities of (among others) Joe Medwick and Oscar Perry. Masterly interpretations, mind, but still facsimiles of other artists' music. I'm pretty certain that however badly these writers were paid by Robey it made some degree of financial sense to have their songs recorded and released by Bobby Bland. Both artists had tracks released by Robey in their own right (although perhaps not their strongest material, which would have been reserved for Bland) and failed to break out commercially. None of this is to knock Bobby Bland: how can you? To me he is one of the 20th century's great interpreters of popular song, up there with Frank Sinatra or Elvis Presley. The Hucknall project is not surprising in any way. I won't be listening and I'm pretty confident that MH no longer has the artistic credibility to turn novice listeners on to the great music he will be referencing. Had he done so in his commercial heyday the outcome might have been slightly different. On a related note I suppose I'm relatively pleased it's Hucknall doing this rather than my personal bªte noire, Van Morrison.

Definitely a record. And while it's still to be uncovered I think those with an interest in it would be peeved if it were unmasked on this forum.

Here's hoping Howard Tate's sublime Half A Man will be on the Jerry Ragavoy disc.

Some great soul music on Ru-Jac. A personal favourite is the Gene & Eddie double sider Oh How You Hurt Me / Darling I Love You. Has anyone got a copy of the Harold Holt/Arthur Conley release of Lonely Stranger? I'd love to hear that if it's different to the Jotis release recorded at Stax.

The great Beau Williams appeared on Starsearch in the 80s. The prize was a Capitol Records recording contract. When he appeared to great acclaim Beau didn't have the heart to tell them he'd actually been signed to the label for six or seven years and had released a couple of commercially unsuccessful albums. The music biz: don't you just love it.

I wonder if Carl's take of Teardrops & Heartaches is among the tapes? An occasional Searling spin over the years and a beautiful recording.

Hi Currently looking for a copy of Wand 11218: Winfield Parker I'm Wondering / Will There Ever Be Another Love For Me TIA for any leads gareth

My apologies Tony: reading your post again it's obvious now. The French site sounds interesting: I will check it out and hopefully provide a link. On a semi-related note I would be interested in finding out about more Royal Studios soul releases not on Hi, as the Decca releases of The Rayons, Tony Ashley and Danny White are among my favourite Memphis sides of the era.

Who played this first? I've always had a soft spot for it, hearing it first on one of the Grapevine lps. One of those records where the weedy white-sounding vocal fits in really well with the overall feel and probably serves the record better than more accepted styles of soul singing.

If anyone has an Atteru release it would be really helpful if they would be kind enough to post the matrices and pressing marks in the run-out. Fascinating to find out that it was made at Royal Studios, Tony. I called it a Stax production because of the Hayes-Porter connection. I wonder what the personnel on the session was? Dated around 1965 this would have been some years before Royal had developed its patented studio sound as immortalised on the classic Hi records of the company's 'soul' period. My guess is some conglomeration of the Stax house band and some of the musicians who went on to be the American Studios band.

The Atteru release looks like it was pressed by Atlantic. That would make some degree of sense given the involvement of prominent Stax figures in the writing and production of the record. The ballad side I'm Dedicating My Life is one of my favourite Stax productions. Interesting that the sound quality on the Atteru release is better than any of the other issues. I'll have to get one...

Unless you're after approximately three hundred over-exposed titles these are fantastic times to be a soul collector. The key to it all is to be adventurous. Little-known titles are out there for relative peanuts if you're prepared to take a chance. Yes, a lot will turn out to be mediocre at best, but the thrill of finding something good, unusual and under-exposed makes up for that. Ebay is a fantastic tool unless you happen to be after a few classic oldies or current 'hot-box' items.

Just looking through some old topics and I came across this one on Carmelita and Jerry 'Pines' Pittman. It occurred to me that this man has to be one of the great 'unknown' producers. We often speak about unheralded artists, but the obscure people on the other side of the mixing desk seldom get a mention. Everything I've ever heard this guy produce has been simply phenomenal. The craft, invention and skill in the production work on the Carmelita and Sy Hightower material is truly wonderful. If ever a collection of creative people deserved a break it was these people. It's crazy that the records they were involved in are so good yet so hard to buy.

It's worth bearing in mind that the group had two releases on Radio City records of San Diego. Both feature the scorching deep ballad "You Should Have Told Me", but only the typed promo as mentioned above had the Northern side "Don't Wanna Be Your Fool". The other release (a black label I seem to recall) had a sweet ballad, "There's Going To Be A Wedding".

I had the Radio City 45 for a time in the early 90s. As mentioned it had typed credits on a very 'home made' label. I'm struggling to remember who got it off me. I do remember that I swapped it for a complete and utter duffer: Carol Chandler on Steeltown. Ouch!