Sebastian

---- ---- Don't really know where to put this topic... so bear with me. I just recieved a package from a "Sara Sanchez" in Murcia, Spain. A cruciform "US style" 45 mailer and it was sent registered but when I opened it there was nothing inside. Does anyone of you know who this person is and have contact details? Thanks in advance.

It's featured as the second track in this mix of mine if you'd like to hear it again: https://www.mixcloud.com/shingaling/sebastians-function-mix-2010-07-15/ Sounds like a woman singing to me, so must be Angela Coulter handling the vocals. The organ sound is very prominent in the mix so perhaps the Al Johnson on this 45 was the organ player? Pure speculation on my part, but thought I'd throw it out there.

Does anyone know which one of the "Al Johnsons" this is (Alfred Johnson)?

Fantastic stuff throughout!

The demos I've had of this had the white label on the mono side and the orange label on the stereo side as per your pictures above.

Not sure if I understand the question completely, but the soundclip in the auction below features portions of both sides: https://www.ebay.com/itm/150820421280 The flipside vocal is by Otis Adams. Both sides are good.

The SMASH release exists as issue as well. The flipside has got a different vocalist, it's not Hazel Martin, so unlikely to have been meant to be released as a solo 45 by him.

The release of "out of my life" on the MARCO label is a totally different, and much later recording than the version released as a 45 on SMASH in 1968. SMASH 2194 - Out Of My Life / The Way To A Man's Heart

Here's the info from the auction: ---------------- PARIS (aka EKUNDAYO PARIS) -- Paris Has Arrived -- original 1970 U.S. album, white label demo test pressing. This is an apparently completely-unknown and unreleased 10-track LP by the late 1960's American Deep Soul singer Paris (aka Northern Soul singer and songwriter Ekundayo Paris), pressed up by Uni Records and given catalogue # 73087 but never commercially released, making it an extreme rarity for fans of late Sixties Deep Soul. Vibe here is excellent mainstream soul sound with occasional funky guitar, a bit like Marvin Gaye, with a distinct Sam Cooke-inspired flair to the vocals. Ekundayo Paris is most likely the same artist who put out two earlier Northern Soul 45's in the mid-60's: "Excuse Me Baby/Don't Lead Me on" on 4J under the name "Mr Tears (Paris)", and the monstrously-rare Northern Soul killer "Sleepless Nights/Wishing Well" credited to Paris, on the Doc label. As just Paris, he put out one single on Uni in 1970, a very good cover of Cooke's "Change Is Gonna Come" (Uni 45 #55423), produced by Dick Glasser and arranged by Gene Page (who almost certainly both worked on this full-length album). That Cooke song is included here along with 9 others; there are no song titles listed on either side of the label, only the singer's name and apparently what was intended as the album title, "Paris Has Arrived" (a bit ironic seeing as how this never saw the light of day!) Uni must have had big plans for the singer to go to the expense of recording this entire LP; if you check discographies of Uni albums, numbers 73086 and 73087 (this one) are apparently unknown; the next one commercially released was Dewey Martin & The Medicine Ball, Uni 73088. Without major success as a performer, Ekundayo Paris later went on to significant success as a songwriter, co-writing the Barry White hit "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next To Me" and others in the mid-1970's. This is a unique opportunity for Deep Soul & Northern Soul fans to own an entire unreleased album from a fascinating and still unknown Soul performer on a major U.S. label. (Unfortunately I don't have sound clips from the album available on-line so please don't ask me.) For more information on Ekundayo Paris and his 45 releases, go to the excellent Sir Shambling's Deep Soul Heaven website at: /artists/mr_tears/mr_tears.html. In generic white cover. Record: VG++, light surface marks, overall excellent, on white Uni label, U.S. pressing, stereo.

A test pressing of that LP went through eBay about a year ago. It doesn't turn up on Popsike or CollectorsFrenzy and this is the only mention of the auction that I can find: https://www.worthpoin...-demo-174065095 Was it anybody on here who got it?

I know, I didn't read it that way either. I didn't refer to any unethical practices in my post. At least I didn't mean to. Yes, I'm guilty of shall we say "enthusiastic" dscriptions... But I am enthusiastic about records and music in general and like yourself, I like talking and writing about records. Sometimes people need to be told that a record is rare or hard to find or, more importantly, if it's good and worth spending time listening to the soundclip. People have a very short attention span these days and you have to grab their attention right away and make it as easy as possible for them to make up their mind. I'm always baffled when people in this day and age put really good, really obscure records on eBay without soundclips, without any description of the music and without advertising the auctions on forums, mailing lists etc. It just doesn't make sense to me.

Well, *I* don't think it is unethical. I can't help what the auctions end at. I hope that all records go as high as possible. As you say, this is a business. Records are luxury goods. I put things up for auction with $14.99 as starting price. What happens after that is up to the bidders.

Don't want this to turn into a political thread, but "acting as a succesful businessman" is frowned upon by a lot of people. In many of these threads I get the feeling that you should only be a "good enough business man" and not take advantage of people (even though no one has been taken advantage of). There could be a deep discussion about this.

Only about 12 hours to go on these auctions now: https://www.ebay.com/sch/pushkings/m.html Thanks for looking!

I really like Lou Rawls version of this tune.

Second track is Hour Glass (early Allman Brothers):

There's now about 2 days left on these auctions: https://www.ebay.com/sch/pushkings/m.html

Hello! I've listed a bunch of records on eBay. There are label/sleeve scans and soundclips to everything. Check them out at: https://www.ebay.com/sch/pushkings/m.html SOUL / LATIN / FUNK / R&B / JAZZ 45s & LPs: Goody Oswaldo, Jimmy Ricks, Tony Troutman, Bo Nilsson ("Gorillan Gar In"!), Andrew McPherson, Philip James, Roger & The Gypsies, Chico Hamilton, Fela Kuti, Pic & Bill, Gregory Porter (12"), Lee Moses, Johnny Zamot, 1619 Bad Ass Band, Bobby Valentin, Eddie Palmieri, Harvey Scales, Marcia Maria, Juggy, Charly Antolini, Hank Jacobs ("Elijah..."), Lonnie Sattin, Oscar Weathers, Stony Island Band, Quartet Tres Bien, Sharon Jones, Josephine Taylor, Willie Hudson & Tall Paul Hankins, Louie Ramirez, Juggy, Mike Hernandez, Twistin Kings etc. Thanks for looking! Take care. /Sebastian

The Ace/Kent RSD releases are ofcourse - like everything they do - of fantastic quality. That pretty much goes without saying. But in general, the well-put-together soul releases put out on RSD are comparatively few compared to the vast majority that comes from major labels and pop/rock labels. There's been some totally mindboggling releases during the recent RSD. How about these five 45s from SIRE for example: #1. The Ramones - Bliztkrieg Bop #2. The Flamin' Groovies - Shake Some Action #3. Richard Hell & The Voidoids - Blank Generation #4. Dead Boys - Sonic Reducer #5. Patti Smith - Piss Factory ALL TRACKS on these 45s are fantastic classics and some of my all time faves, but the RSD 45s above are totally unnecessary and forgettable releases as you can buy all of them on their original Sire 45 releases cheaper than what the RSD releases retail for. That also goes for many of the major labels that do straight reissues of standard LPs from their catalogue in limited editions on RSD. That's what I meant when I wrote that most labels don't risk putting out a limited edition RSD release of something that has got the potential to become a huge seller. Most labels just clean out their closets and reissue a bunch of stuff that they already have made enough money from or release stuff that is of interest to such a small specialist market that 500 or 1000 copies is enough. This is ofcourse NOT valid for some of the high quality specialist labels, like Kent/Ace etc.

Ofcourse!

Perhaps Expansion should have done like most other record companies do on Record Store Day? Release a limited edition record (or expensive box-set item) in 500 or 1000 copies of something that most likely would never ever sell more than that even if it was on general release. Most of the RSD release are forgettable or "interesting" at best. Putting out a "hit record" (well, everything is relative...) like the Gregory Porter tune as a limited RSD "exclusive" is baffling to me. Why not put it out on general release and sell thousands of copies instead? With a tune like that buyers don't need a special incentive to pull money out of their pockets.

"Without My Baby". At +2/+3 or so.

It's played slightly speeded up in the podcast though. But it gives it an extra punch so why not?

That tune by Eugene Gamble is fantastic.