Garethx

Very interesting points.

Hi Nick. I think this is one of those 45s that don't often turn up in pristine condition. I bought the cleanest one I ever found and it had a slight edge chip. Eventuallly sold it to Rob Messer, I think. One of a number of NYC singles where it's hard to find mint copies. Another one which springs to mind is the great Chuck Henley on Coach. Most copies that were pressed seem to have been in the public domain from the time of pressing, meaning that there wasn't a find of mint storestock in quantity by the John Andersons of this world. You may have to settle for a copy in lesser condition to actually own one, It was pretty rare when first played (by Guy H I think) and has only turned up in dribs and drabs since. Probably currently undervalued IMHO: a serious soul record that has never really fulfilled its potential. soul on! garethx

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I'll tell you what Steve: I don't think that Sharon Paige and The Blue Notes 45 on Source is in any way cheap or common.

It should be borne in mind that the type of record under discussion here is not merely any latin-soul or latin influenced record. Much New York City soul of the early 60s exhibited a pronounced latin influence, but this is usually from Cuban, Puerto-Rican and other Afro-Caribbean influences. The Mariachi sound is specifically Mexican and is evident in some of the Duke Peacock records and in things like the Roosevelt & 7Cs on Rondo and some other Texan soul and R&B records. To be honest The Majestics doesn't really have too much of it although they were an Angeleno group: i.e. Mexicans living in Los Angeles. Johnny Caswell is a good example although I'm at a loss to categorise which market this particular record was aimed at, and can only really come down on the side of camp pop for the discotheque using a Mexican influence as homage to contempraneously hip films such as The Magnificent 7. Basically I think it was light hearted in intent: John Madara will know for sure.

I don't think there are any legitimate issues of this recording. Originally recorded for Goldwax at Fame studios. Goldwax folded and a few of the tracks in the can were issued on two singles by Fame in 1970-71. This track was not issued and remained unreleased until a Japanese compliation on Vivid Sound. I think it was the contention of the people handling Fame recordings (studio owner Rick Hall and latterly his son) that there was no legal basis for the Japanese issue as this particular track was owned by Fame. All subsequent releases on 45rpm originating in Britain are unauthorised. I'm sure Ady C or Tony Rounce can shed more light on this as I'm sure they would have loved to make this part of the Goldwax series of re-issues on Kent. But it seems it's not part of the Goldwax catalogue and hasn't been since the demise of the first Goldwax label in around 1970.

A lot of the Duke/Peacock/Sure Shot records exhibit this kind of flavour. A really good one is Bobby Williams "When You Play You Gotta Pay" on Sure Shot. Although he was a Detroit artist this sounds as though it may have been recorded in Houston and the brass is very Mariachi. Guitars are played to sound like mandolins etc.

Also, it's not surprising The Majestics sounds Mexican as they were, um, Mexicans.

Bud Harper "Wherever You Were" on Peacock has great Tex-Mex brass.

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The Arthur Conley above gets my vote as my favourite ever Stax production: a simply awe-inspiring record. I also love the American Studios recording "Put Our Love Together" (the flip of Funky Street) by Arthur, who IMO is criminally underrated in soul circles. It would be nice if someone could post a soundfile of Put Our Love... as it's a truly beautiful piece of soul music. Whenever I'm asked to play records I always like to include tunes by giants of soul music. Two particular faves at the moment are Clarence Carter's "I Can't Leave Your Love Alone" and Sam & Dave's "Everybody's Got To Believe In Somebody", both on Atlantic. Pure soul records made in magical circumstances where everyone involved was extremely talented and at the very top of their collective game.

I'd like to see Willie Johnson live.

The flip of this is one of the best female deep records ever, full stop. The version of Gone With The Wind is pretty good, but not as good as Rita & The Tiaras. Given that it rarely turns up for sale I think the price this went for is fair enough.

It was definitely I Need You, Chris. It went for about £400 on August 22.

A copy sold on ebay about six weeks ago relatively cheaply: listed as a funk 45. A great record which is truly difficult to acquire.

I think the revival of this as a spin on the NS scene started on the Sunday nights at the Cleethorpes weekender. A perfect spin in such a context. I for one am heartened that a 'rare soul' scene can shake off the myopia which sometimes surrounds it and acknowlege a fantastic record that shares many roots with other records played. Let's face it Rod, had this been unreleased and been played off acetate by Dave Withers in 1982 it would have been bigger than It's Too Late, Suspicion or Angel Doll. The problem for me arises when such a record is taken out of the correct context in which to play it: take it out of a packed Sunday night at a large weekender and play it to a sparsly-populated local club because "it fills floors" and much of the magic and point in playing it is lost and the whole thing begins to smack of a degree of desperation. I understand that McFadden & Whitehead's Ain't No Stopping Us Now is starting to make a similar journey from iconic mainstream soul classic (which should be played once in a blue moon) to local soul night staple. While ANSUN is also a fantastic piece of soul music I am similarly uncomfortable with the idea that we may have to hear it a little too much for comfort in the foreseeable future.

Yes indeed Simon. I bought a copy from Ian Clark when this was a big sound. It was a whopping £15! I was still at school at the time and I think it was the first record that smashed the ten-quid barrier for me. One of those records that sounds great in a club, but which sadly underperforms at home. The mild-mannered showband-type backing and transparently weedy vocals seemed genuinely awful once compared to the Bobby Patterson version which I picked up (far cheaper) a few months later. I kept The Entertainers version for a good few years, though, and only sold it once the second release (different logo etc. as stated above) began to appear. I was fortunate enough to swap it for a lovely mint copy of Jaibi on Kapp, so the story has a happy ending.

Where does Wilson Pickett"s "Let Me Be Your Boy" (Correctone, Cub, etc.) fit into all this. Along with the Ruby 45 Pete mentions I've always viewed this as some sort of homage to the Jamaican rhythms of the time.

Well done for snagging one. I suppose I was trying to say if anyone could turn up another one it would be him.

According to the Anglo website Mr K is selling more of the remnants of his personal collection in the coming months. I wouldn't think it beyond the bounds of possibility that he has another June Jackson...

Charles Drain was certainly up to £40 at one point, at least in London. I agree that it was a plentiful cut-out for many years, but then seemed to vanish. Plus it is a pretty good album all-round. As was pointed out on another thread, ebay seems to have led to a depression of old soul album prices with the exception of a few notable examples were supply always seems to lag behind demand. Gloria Barnes was cited as an example and its a good one too. The levelling out of prices is great for collectors, but tough on those looking to sell. Chris's list above (and those in the previous parts of this topic) includes some fantastic soul music. "True Love" by Townsend, Townsend & Rogers and "Sail Away" by Jerry Butler on the albums above are tremendous pieces of soul music: certainly worth owning by anyone on this board. The smaller dealers who can't afford to carry large inventory will probably end up not stocking these types of "non-rare" album any more. A shame in some ways as there used to be a network of collectors who swapped tapes etc. and spread knowlege of this type of soul record which seems to be disappearing. What young collectors there are seem to be drawn to the 45 only, which is only half the story of (particularly 70s) soul. Maybe we should have a media day of great album-only tracks, perhaps with written reviews. It might be enlightening.

The alternate version has a different flip. Think the artist's name has something to do with a university marching band from distant memory.

If those Terry Callier lps are originals (slick sleeves as opposed to one piece) they are certainly worth money, particularly if in decent condition. The 100 Proof lp is always collectable, similarly Charles Drain. Maybe £40 each?

It's on Revue, and should be pretty cheap. There are often copies on ebay, gemm, musicstack etc. It does exist on another label under a different artist name, but I can't remember what that is. It's a red label from Chicago. Ian Wright has one.