Soul16

Musically, it was largely a Tardis job - but of course it was sold as such.

The Chateau Impney in Droitwich.

I attended a Northern Soul night at the weekend, musically it was acceptable, but In an adjacent room, I was somewhat dismayed to find what can only be described as a small 'indoor market' selling a plethora of Northern Soul related items: Various items of clothing, drinks coasters, mouse mats, bootlegs DVDs, bootleg vinyl, bootleg CDs of Kent LPs, more bootleg CDs, cloth patches, coffee mugs, gaudy looking slip mats and numerous other types of tacky 'KTF' and Wigan Casino goodies/crap. Thankfully, I did notice that punters weren't exactly queuing up... I guess that sometime soon, somebody will have the brass neck to openly sell illegal copies of Elaine Constantine's film. but we owe it to her and ourselves to resist buying them. I know that what I found was not the norm, that most soul nights are not like what I have just described above and most promoters/venues would not knowingly accept the selling of such trash. I haven't dared look, but I would imagine that eBay is awash with the stuff anyway. Maybe I'm just getting grumpy in my old age.

The Slits - I heard it through the grapevine Thankfully, I didn't know it existed until last week, wish I still didn't.

I'm pretty sure that The Tempests lyric is "give up you silly fool", not 'given you seen them'. Have another listen and I think you will agree.

Having just seen the Northern Soul dancers with Pharrell Williams at the end of 'The Brits', the timing for the release of this film couldn't be better - exposure to the general public of the whole NS thing is growing at quite a pace (whether we like it or not). The chances of the film being a commercial success must be pretty good right now.

As a youth in the 1970's I used to really love listening to the The Capreez - 'It's good to be home again' and Dena Barnes - 'Who am I'

Easily the best 1980's footage I've ever seen. Brilliant

On the Northern side of things, The two Kent CDs below would be my recommendations, nice booklets, interesting sleeve notes and great sound quality. All Killer, No Filler IMHO https://www.amazon.co.uk/Northern-Monsters-Various-Artists/dp/B000NJL67E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387444241&sr=8-1&keywords=northern+monsters https://www.amazon.co.uk/Once-Upon-Time-Wigan-Vol-1/dp/B000189WTG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1387444312&sr=8-3&keywords=once+upon+wigan

I couldn't agree more Mark, it is indeed a production fault, making the Four Tops track very difficult for a stylus to remain firmly in place.

The groove waves around all over the shop on the Four Tops cut, so your turntable levelling, tone arm and cartridge set up needs to be spot-on. Maybe it is set up perfectly though and you've been unlucky yet again

Mal, I changed my email address a few years back so that could be why I didn't reply - I've just got your message via youtube though. Please see my post above too. Cheers.

Just seen this thread. The rooie16 youtube account is mine. I've probably still got the original 30 minute tape somewhere and will have a look for it as soon as I get chance. The video shows a lot of faces very clearly, I don't want cause any upset and there is at least one person that I need to contact before uploading the full version to youtube. If I find the video and I'm given the go ahead, I will upload it and place it here too. If anyone has any objections or thoughts, please pm me. Andrew

That's an easy one for me to answer, the drumming on this is outstanding - just listen! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hlv8JqzHs0&feature=player_detailpage

I've just played my copy of the Four Tops, it plays through with no problems. I'm no expert on this track, but the mix clearly has an unfinished quality about it, especially given that the instrumental section is missing a saxophone/piano riff. Regarding the way the record looks, it is definitely at odds with the other thirteen tracks in the set, in that the groove appears to be cut deeper and has far more lateral movement across the vinyl, more in keeping with records from the 1960's. The other cuts appear much tighter and finer with a wider run-out area.

I've just spoken to Universal to enquire about an order I placed on Saturday because I would have expected an 'Order Despatched' confirmation email by now. The person on the other end of the phone said that all orders for this item (with Universal only I assume) have now been put "on hold" due to duplicate record issues. The order I currently had was cancelled on the phone. I was informed that I will receive an email update when the issue has been resolved and they begin shipping this item again. We'll see what happens.

Yeah, it went within about five minutes of me posting. I am waiting for a box from Universal, ordered it on Saturday for a mate. Hoping there will be a Marvin Gaye in there too. It's all a bit weird really, a music scene based around rare records and here, before our very eyes, we are witnessing the birth of a brand new rarity...

As I type this, I've noticed that there is a brand new unopened set on Ebay for £40 including UK postage. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/The-Motown-7s-Box-Rare-And-Unreleased-Various-Artists-NEW-7-VINYL-SET-/151174939396?pt=UK_Records&hash=item2332ba8304 Note: This a not a recommendation, just an observation in case anybody fancies a gamble.

Could be, I've had another listen on a pair of 'high-end' headphones and I swear I could hear her breathing...

It certainly is starting to turn sour, anybody that has bought multiple sets to keep unopened, mint and unplayed may now have a double dilemma on their hands. If they have been bought with a view to being sold on in the future, they may prove easier to sell having been confirmed as a full and playable set. I notice that a reviewer on Amazon has passed comment on the missing record issue too. The Marvin Gaye 45s must be out there somewhere...

It's not you, on my system, the bass line sounds tighter and more defined in the mix. You can hear individual bass notes being played. It hasn't robbed the recording of it's original feel though.

A tiny little part of my brain is starting to become obsessed with questions, statistics, facts and figures that could be derived from this set of records... A limited edition of 2000 numbered boxes have been produced. I'm sure I've read a quote by Richard Searling, saying that there will 2200 made - Does this mean that there are 200 promo boxes out there and will the records have white labels with big red A's on both sides? How many Soul Source members have bought it? Will they play them? Will they download the mp3 copies? Where did they buy the set from? What number set do they have? Where in the world have they gone? Will the monetary value of the set increase? Is a low number more desirable? Will the sets with missing/duplicate records reveal a pattern? A numbering system is a great marketing tool, it also demonstrates a truly limited run. To be honest, I'm surprised that there are still any left for sale at all, given what is up for grabs. It will be interesting to see what happens when they start appearing for re-sale on Ebay. I'm keeping mine though, that is without question.

I would open it, if you slit the wrapper carefully with a sharp knife along one edge it can be slipped back on and it will look almost as good as it did before you opened it. Better to be sure now than to go on wondering for weeks on end...

My set was going to remain unopened until Christmas, but given that a couple of you have had duplicates/missing records I decided to open it. Thankfully all items are present and correct. It's nice to be able to download mp3 copies too, but more importantly, the quality of the vinyl is excellent - thick and firm - it feels good in the hand Very pleased with it.

That sounds OK then, it would have been too much to expect them to be like an old Tamla Motown 45 I guess. My main concern was that they would be no better than some recent 45 releases. The Frankie and Johnny 45 that came out a few years back springs to mind, maybe I was just unlucky, but my copy of that record was very flimsy and badly warped.