Joesoap

Always loved it and always thought it's obvious they were mucking about and having a laugh when they recorded it - possibly 'workshopping' a song by improvising lyrics to go with a groove. The singer sounds drunk (or something) and you can hear she's cracking up as she's singing it. The mood they captured is very infectious and still puts a smile on my face!

The solid centre variant is listed / pictured on Discogs. I used to have this on Keymen (got nicked years ago) and picked it up on Jay Boy in a local record shop a couple of years ago. I don't have the two to compare but the Jay Boy one has inferior sound quality to what I remembered - like it's been cut off a record possibly.

C B Allen (mentioned above) is Christopher B Allen who also wrote Little Jimmy Gandy 'I'm Not Like the Others' (Roulette). Also done by the Lovelites (unissued came out on a CD I believe, then a Grapevine 2K 7"). Also done by a group called North, South, East and West on 20th Century. Another connection between these three and the other artists mentioned on this thread -Pat & Pam, The Eight Minutes, Cindy and the Playmates is that they were all child / teenage artists. Looks like whoever was behind these releases was trying to come up with the next Jackson 5 or 5 Stairsteps and trying this material with different groups of kids!

...Also this! https://casetext.com/case/coplin-v-state

Did a quick Google and found this. From Billboard Sept 30 1967. Perhaps sheds light how Coplin got hold of the tapes? (Apols if this has been posted before - some of the links on this thread seem to be dead / expired)

It was around before that on a US 12" originally. Played extensively on the modern scene around 1990 or so . Got a bit sick of hearing it tbh! Seem to remember you could pick up the original 12" from dealers quite easily, like a new import, for a certain period around that time. But may be misremembering that bit..

..or 'keep your teeth' given some the... ahem...substances consumed over the years. I never say 'northern soul' personally unless I'm taking to someone who knows what I'm talking about. If some div at work or something asks me what music I'm into, I often say, 'I'm not really into music' rather than get into it all.....

Was joking mate! Yes, they are.

Bought it when it came out on Expansion in early 2000s. Think I could get my money back off them on the basis that it was publicised as 'previously unreleased'?

I had a vague memory from when the LP of these sessions (and the 'Plenty Good Lovin'' 7") came out about 20 years ago reading that the project was shelved by Atlantic. I just Googled and found the below (link + relevant extract). So it looks like they sent out the demos and had the issues ready to go when things went sour.. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2002/09/04/resurrected-soul-32-years-late-a-sam-moore-masterpiece/e36ec5db-eb51-407c-9cbc-0ff960f14637/

Almost said George Sharp - I had it on a 'Rare Detroit' cassette I got off him back in the 80s. (And funnily enough, I bought a record off him the other week).

Don't remember hearing it out that much in those days though. Ian Clark had it. Long time ago but can't remember anyone else playing it....

Suggests the people who bid up items on these auctions are only after 'top 500' type sounds and value that over rarity. I'm guessing Norma Jenkins is lesser-known because its scarcity means it hasn't been hammered to death over the years!

I know exactly what you mean - multiple copies of the same record that sit there unsold for months on end. Good example (of many) Dee Dee Sharp 'What kind of Lady. There's permanently about 25 -30 copies of that on Discogs, starting at £100+ for VG+ or better. Fabulous record but guys, you're obviously not gonna shift it at that price!

Holds 125. The 7" box isn't listed right now but I expect they'll be back. The seller is https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/**soulboy**

These are good. £20 on Ebay.

Surprised this hasn't had any comments. Tut Sutton brilliant of course but Paul Thompson 'Having a little talk' brand new to me and wow!

Fantastic release. Mine arrived this morning. Thanks!

It's wanted by disco collectors for the other side - 'Bye Baby'. The 12" was about £50 a year or so ago and then all of a sudden, it was listed a and sold on Discogs a few times in quick succession for about £150 -£200 earlier this year. Looked a bit suspicious to me at the time...Currently three copies sitting on there.

I can remember overhearing this EXACT same debate from fellow passengers in a train carriage on the way to an alldayer in about 1985!

I've got an issue copy of that (apols for the wonky photo).

By the look of it, it's definitely not from the 60s and from last 20 years or so. However not on Discogs that I can find and nothing seems to come up apart from this listing when you Google. So seems undocumented /obscure. Carver?

Definitely pre-internet. Fun has gone out of it now to a large extent and bargains a thing of the past. It's changed from an interest where the more effort you put in the more you developed your knowledge and the more rewarding it got, to one where all you really need is lots of disposable income. Just another form of expensive retail consumerism now really. That said, I think there are other possibilities with the changed situation...

If you click on 'Edit Release' at the top right of the page you can view the comment about the Soul Brother release from a Discogs staff member there. The counterfeit doesn't have a listing on there...