Nathan

Does anyone have any info on this record? (Catalogue number, flip?) I can't find any mention of this record anywhere, apart from a link to a dead Ebay listing, and a low res photo here Was this a real record, or did somebody just create their own boot 45 after the track was issued on Kent's Arock & Sylvia Soul Story? (uncredited at the time, now credited to "Freddy Solomon" but clearly Houston on auditory evidence)

Sorry, yes, the flip nice too! "Now the loneliness" is definitely the stronger of the two though. I don't think it's the same vocalist, but that was a nice listen! And yes definitely an English production, but the vocalist could have been some other nationality, recording in the UK.

Thanks Chris! What a lovely song, and so many hooks....I'm surprised this wasn't released, or even covered by someone else (I can imagine either a Jackie Trent-type singer or a Francoise Hardy-type singer doing well with this...not that the actual vocalist here doesn't do a great job of course)

Thanks for the info! Yes, it doesn't really shed much extra light does it, haha. Is the flip in the same style? I don't think Italian, because Italian girl singers tend to have quite brash vocal style, in contrast with the smooth relaxed style here. A bit of a leftfield suggestion, but what if the vocalist is South African? Although it's definitely not her, I can imagine Dana Valery might enunciate in a similar way if she was singing this song.

Did you ever have any luck IDing this track, Chris?

Has anyone ever compiled a list of Stax/Volt artists who sung backup on recordings by other artists at the label (eg the Charmels, Jeanne & The Darlings)? (Sung specifically... of course most in-house sessions would have had some incarnation of Booker T & The MGs and or Mar-Keys playing on them!)

I'm pretty sure the rights are controlled by Secret Stash, who own the Flaming Arrow catalogue. They're not the most responsive of licensors... I can't speak for everyone, but the success of a comp on Kent is no indication as to whether a similar set will do well if issued by another label. Given their history and quality, Ace/Kent (deservedly) have an automatic audience for anything they put out. If another label doesn't have the profile or clout of Ace/Kent; anything they release is only going to sell a fraction of what Kent would if they issued the same title.

It sounds like a Charles Blackwell production, maybe??

Mostly Legit, they do some PD too.

Given the reputation you've (deservedly) built up over the years, I think punters would be happy to pay extra for something coming from Kent/Ace (and probably the same for Bear Family). I was more trying to gauge whether people overall would would be happy to pay extra for borderline products generally/from other labels. Given that Mickey Finn's the only one who replied to my question, I've still no idea.

12 replies, and only one of them actually relating to the questions I asked...

As the market for CDs dwindles, there are fewer and fewer as-yet-uanthologized-on-CD Soul artists whose potential CD retrospectives would be probable big sellers. Given this fact, are you happy to pay a higher price for more niche releases, a la Ace's Limited Edition titles? If so, what do you think is a reasonable "premium" price to pay for a single CD? what about a double-CD set?

*bumpity bump* Already bought a copy online and got burned with the "Near Mint" disc sounding horrendous. If I don't end up getting any assistance, everyone loses the right to moan about the track not sounding pristine on CD...

Hi, Does anyone have a cleanish copy of the Inspirations' "Love Can be So Wonderful" that they could dub for use in a CD compilation? Gusto - who own the rights to the song - don't have a master tape in their vault. Already tried the "buy a near mint copy online" - badly burnt with a copy that sounds awful! Thanks in the CD sleeve and free copy in return! Nathan

It would make sense, given that "Florian"'s "Think About Me" and Felice's "Good Luck/New Love" are both composed by Steve Cook and Chuck Tate (composers of Morris Chestnut's "Too Darn Soulful") ...and speaking of songwriters, BMI lists her as having composed two numbers (as "Floran Taylor"): "My Darling", written with Maxwell Davis and Jules Bihari (I'm assuming this is likely the remaining unissued Felice Taylor Kent/Modern recording?) "Honey" written with Johnny Steve and Chuck.

No-one knows who owns it. I contacted John Abbey last year about licensing it (for a different project), and he said he doesn't control it and couldn't recall exactly where the track came from originally (he thought it may have been Otis himself). I also mailed a letter to the registered address for Otis's own Publishing company, but had it returned to sender.

Hi, I'm trying to get in contact with the estate of Freddie Scott - Jon Tiven gave me an email for Freddie's wife, but it's not active and it would seem from an online search that she passed away in 2014. Is anyone else in touch with any of Freddie's remaining relatives? Thanks in advance for any assistance!

Hi, Does anyone have a clean copy of the Renaults' "Just Like Mine" that they could dub for use in a CD compilaiton? Gusto - who own the rights to the song - don't have a master tape in their vault. Thanks in the CD sleeve and free copy in return! Nathan

Sad to hear - thanks for the info.

Hi, Can anyone tell me if Tony Drake is still around? I sent him a DM here 6 months ago, but it remains unread.... Thanks!

Hi, Would anyone have an email address for John A Jackson, (author of A House On Fire: The Rise and Fall of Philadelphia Soul)? Thanks!

Hi, Does anyone have contact details for any of the members of Little Ann's Canadian band Fat Chance? Or details of their full names (which could help me track them down!) Thanks!

I think - to answer the original question posed; soul releases on CD ARE drying up, but it's probably due to the majority of artists who are obvious candidates for a CD release (in terms of being well known enough to be a safe bet) have already been done before. That said, there's still quite a few un-comped soul artists I can think of that are worthy of a CD release - though a fair few would be difficult for labels wanting to do them due to potentially challenging licensing.

Have to respectfully disagree - as I mentioned, bootlegs prevent legit reissues, meaning the artists will never see any money. These bootleg labels also don't pay publishing, so the songwriters see nothing either (as much as I hate PD labels, at least they pay mechanicals). Punters shouldn't be worried about the budgets of dodgies who are releasing illegal product, but rather the labels who are working hard to put together legitimate reissues Hence the invention of imaginary labels from "Poland" to release titles under.... If this is the case....would it not be a valid concern? that's what we want to hear!

Not always that simple... for example, it can be hard to locate a label releasing bootleg titles when they don't have a a website; or put Polish text on their releases as a red herring when - though the CDs are pressed in the Czech Republic - the operation is actually run from the US under a different name. Hypothetically speaking . You might think it's all well and good to purchase these CDs of dubious origin; but if you do, you're just fuelling the market for further bootleg products. And remember, every time one of these is released, it means that Kent etc will now probably never touch that artist or title as the bootleg title would have dried up a significant portion of the market. So you'll never get to hear these songs in Master Tape-quality sound (unless it's on a CD these labels have copied from a previous legitimate release ), you'll never get to hear any associated unreleased tracks that exist. And the artist who made the recordings and the songwriters who composed them get nothing. (while your purchase lines the pockets of the shady people profiting off the talent and work of these artists and songwriters)