Dayo

Do the originals sound as horrible as the boot did?

Back in the day, no-one thought it strange to travel a hundred miles plus just to hear or dance to a record that you couldn't hear anywhere else. Things have changed so much. Recordings that only the seriously comfortable can afford are just a few clicks away on YouTube etc. So, we all have instant access to almost all the great records ever made - rare as hen's teeth, or common as muck. But for me that access changes things. It's too easy. Which brings me to the real point of this thread: Are there any records that are so wonderful that you simply don't want to hear, in case they start to pale? As a really prosaic example, I adore the Spinners, It's A Shame. It's a top ten track, but whenever I hear those jangly guitars of the intro, then I turn the radio down or leave the room. Ironic, but I love the record so much that I can only hear it on very rare occasions. I'd hate to think that I'd get tired of it, or, horror of horrors, that I enjoy it less than I did the last time. That example is a hard one to avoid. Jesse Fisher's YNLAB is another one, same goes for the Linda Jones ballad That's When I'll Top Loving You. It's literally too good to play. My Heart Needs A Break is another sound I'll only play once or twice a year - just in case. So what are the records you love so much that you can't actually hear them? Do you have to ration your all-time favourites?

My memory says it was played at Wigan in 73 or 74. Might not have been announced but there was a Martha Reeves track in one of the allnighter ads and I thought I knew what it was. Polo bet me it was One Way Out. My money was on "I gotta let you go". I'll never forget his crowing when we both heard One Way Out at Wigan in the very early days. Stuck in my mind. In fact, didn't Richard play it at Va Va?

That's the one. Haven't heard it in decades, but I remember it was weak and poppy compared to the Torch monster. Weird, weird.

Never knew that! Not the one I was trying to remember though....

Nice info thanks Carl - we're defintely on the same page. One Night Affair is a wonderful piece of music and exemplifies everything that's so magical about the Philly/Sigma late sixties output. That's the reverb I mean - right there on that record. What a shame it was too common to be played out much - even in 72, it was great value at 10 or 15 pence.

Wasn't there also a British-made cover of this song? Came out around '73. I can't remember who did it, but if I remember correctly, the flip side was a quite good mid-tempo swinger.....

I would love to know if it's him doing all those lovely octave guitar licks on the Phili Int stuff. And did he play on any of the earlier stuff that G&H did on Neptune and Gamble? Was Dee Dee Sharpe WKOL recorded at Sigma? And did he play on that? And what was the secret of the incredibly atmospheric reverb they used at Sigma that made a snare drum hit sound like a 12 bore shotgun going off?

Kev - Is that the journo Tony Cummings who used to have a bizarre hatred of the "Northern Disco Scene". He of the long running feud with Dave Godin? If so, I recall, he wrote a long piece in Black Music mag about 1974 which conjectured about the singer Eddie Foster living in poor circumstances, while European white kids were getting rich exploiting his music. Anyone else remember? That would be ironic.

Kev - Is that the journo Tony Cummings who used to have a bizarre hatred of the "Northern Disco Scene". He of the long running feud with Dave Godin? If so, I recall, he wrote a long piece in Black Music mag about 1974 which conjectured about the singer Eddie Foster living in poor circumstances, while European white kids were getting rich exploiting his music. Anyone else remember? That would be ironic.

Absolutely right. Who spun it first? Pretty sure I heard it at Mecca first, but memory plays tricks. RIP Eddie

Absolutely right. Who spun it first? Pretty sure I heard it at Mecca first, but memory plays tricks. RIP Eddie

LEGEND! His guitar work has graced so many classics. I hope someone is going to interview him....

Definitely played at Mecca 1973 - wasn't it always one of the last hour spins? A great pop record.

Ah! Well that would certainly blow a hole in my argument! I must confess that I didn't check...

I started work not long after this list came out- was earning £11.50 a week before tax - so about the same. A week's money was unthinkable on a single record for me too. It was a lot for Jerry Cooke even back then. And it was about to be pressed too.... I'm pretty sure that both Martha Starr and Emanuel Lasky would have been pressed by the time that list came out. Most 45's plummeted in value directly they were pressed. And Mike Post was head and shoulders the biggest record on the scene for a few weeks. Very true. The bargain of the list, maybe? I should have bought that one one rather than the Toni Lamar!

Hey Les - so good to hear from you. Feel like I've been outed on here! Fancy you recalling that jingle too! Rosko was the voice on that in case you didn't know. Hope you're keeping well and happy. Colin

Here we go again.... RIP soul man.

Here we go again.... RIP soul man.

Just found this old list from the lovely John Farrell. Dates from late '73 at a guess. Hope you can read it ok. A small list but it's sweet torture all the same.

We could argue all day about the roots of soul and what the first soul records were, but does anyone know when the term "soul music" was coined and by whom? Has this ever been established?

Global was amazing. Looking back, what you could get there for 10 or 25 pence was astonishing, but if you were lucky enough to dive into the specials, well... on one visit to Princess Street I came back with a Jock Mitchell and a Tony Hester for £1.50 each. Both were much too slow for the scene at the time, but, well, we know what happened.

A week or two back I started a thread lamenting the fact that all the male giants of soul music seem to have passed on. I was trying to point out that being a male soul superstar can be hazardous to the health and very few have lived to a grand old age like BB King did. Bobby Womack made 3 score and 10, but too many others died young or in middle age. The discussion morphed into a general discussion of great male soul singers who are still with us - regardless of their commercial success. So let's flip the question and widen it to female soul singers. I suspect that more have survived - women live longer, don't they? My personal favourite is still here - you gotta love Gladys - and so is Aretha. Who else is still with us? Let's celebrate them while we can....