I've just listened to the radio broadcast with Ian Lavine, and in my own opinion, Ian has once again failed miserably to capture the esscence of what is Northern Soul. I listened to his tracks, and was left cold. And as Toad stated, they do all sound the same. If you had heard any of the tracks without knowing their origin, you could easily identify Ian's production in the sound........
On the other hand.......I've just gone on you tube and played the Frank Popp tunes there..... Wow! Imediately my feet were tapping and the sound is pure northern. I realise that the gentleman is white, but who cares, he knows what 60's northern sounds like, and he can recreate it. I know I'll get slagged off by the purists, but northern is all about dancing. Frank Popp makes me wanna dance, Ian Lavine makes me cringe.
Phil.