John Reed

A review of Eccentric Soul: Sitting In The Park - Various Artists In Eccentric Soul: Sitting In The Park, The Numero Group pays homage to the life and work of the late Chicagoan Bob Abrahamian. Abrahamian was devoted in the celebration of “Chicagoland” and made it his obsession to discover and document Chicago Area Soul recordings from 1960 – 1980. He showcased these discoveries on his weekly radio show on WHPK which championed obscure Sweet and Group Soul, putting a spotlight onto many local artists whose output would have otherwise remained forgotten. In addition to the music, his shows included many interviews of artists, giving the listener some insight into their backgrounds and that of their recordings. These interviews can still be found on-line at http://sittinginthepark.com/interviews.html Preview tracks The CD begins with the first of two female lead tracks on the compilation. Cindy & The Playmates – A Portrait of God’s Love; A great choppy mid-tempo number with a nice string and piano break midway through. The other is The Krash Band – So I Can I Make This Change; with lead vocals Evelyn Holder it’s a lovely mid 70’s swayer. Cliff Curry – Let Lover Come In; is the first outing on CD for this 1973 demo. It’s sparse, with instrumentation coming from just a piano, guitar and some form of percussion and I really like it. The Northern styled dancer Life of Tears by Walter And The Admirations is one of the more well know tracks included here. Other tracks that have also seen some action on the desk are Shades Of Brown – How Could You Love Him and The Producers - Give Me One More Chance, both great examples of mid-tempo crossover soul. Onto a funkier vein is Master Plan Inc – Try It (You’ll Like It), with its breakbeat intro this song keeps on the right side of funk (which I don’t have a problem with), without losing any soulfulness. The rest of the tracks are generally more down tempo with the likes of The Enchanters - A Fool Like Me, which has a great talkie intro before moving into sweet soul heaven. Ahead Of Our Time – It Ain’t Fair is a falsetto lead group soul with tight backing and personally I think it’s comparable to the best stuff the Delfonics or Stylistics were doing at that time. The other tracks included all have their merit and I don’t think there’s a duff track on the whole CD. The final track is Otis Brown and the Delights – Southside Chicago; a lovely laid back toe tapper which was used as the “Sitting In The Park” theme and was included in every instalment. There are times during the play-back where the sound quality of some tracks seems muffled (Oneness – Hard To Know, is one of them) and I’m unsure if it’s the mastering or the quality of the original source that is used. Saying that, I’m not an audiophile so it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the CD. The accompanying booklet gives an insight into Abrahamian’s life, the evolution of his show and the demons he battled. It’s packed with pictures and detailed information on each track and includes a snippet of each of the artist interviews. It’s a fitting epitaph to a man whose enthusiasm, passion and knowledge were unsurpassed. His death, not only hit hard the world of record collecting and many music forums he frequented, but Soul Music lost one of its best assets, R.I.P. Bob. Eccentric Soul: Sitting In The Park - Various Artists - Numero Group Track Listing 1.Cindy & The Playmates - "A Portrait Of Gods Love" 2.Shades Of Brown - "How Could You Love Him" 3.The Mist - "The Girl In The Window" 4.Puzzle People - "Reach For The Truth" 5.Enchanters - "A Fool Like Me" 6.Oneness - "Hard To Know You" 7.Procedures - "Give Me One More Chance" 8.Master Plan Inc - "Try It" 9.Chocolate Sunday - "Second Story Man" 10.The Krash Band - "So I Can Make This Change" 11.Ahead Of Our Time - "It Ain't Fair" (part 1) 12.Cliff Curry - "Let Love Come In" 13.Walter & The Admerations - "Life Of Tears" 14.The Auditions - "Returning Home Frome Vietnam" 15.Dontells - "Moaning & Crying" 16.Otis Brown & The Delights - "Southside Chicago"

Mainstream Modern Soul 1969-1976 - Various Artists (Mainstream Records) Mainstream had many guises over its life. Started by Bob Shad in 1964, it initially focussed on issuing Jazz and Soundtrack LP’s, by the mid-sixties it moved onto its second musical phase as it found success with Psych, Garage and Rock bands. This carried on till the early 70s when its focus again changed, this time to a more Soul/Funk and eventually Disco leaning and it’s this period that this CD focusses on. The set starts off with Linda Perry’s “I Can’t Give You Up”, which is the first of three tracks by her. Perry’s first release was the Eddie Billups penned “I Need Someone” on the small Chattanooga label HELPP. This was picked up by Shad who released it on Mainstream for national distribution and it became a minor hit. This success lead to Perry being brought to New York for further recording session. “I Can’t Give You Up” was one of the unreleased songs from that session and it’s a great bit of sassy funky female Soul; tight backing singers, rolling rhythm, burping horns and a catchy chorus it’s a shame it was left in the can as I think it’s a good example of the style of releases that were hitting the top of the R&B charts at the time. “It’s All In The Back Of Me Now” also from that session was one side of her second and last single for Mainstream, it’s a swaying piece Jazzy Soul, which has had numerous plays on the Soul Scene and should be quite well known. The last of the Perry tracks “Ain’t Nobody Gonna Make Me” was another previously unreleased song, which for me has more of a popular appeal than the other two and sounds as if under the right circumstances, could have also been a hit. In a similar vein to the Linda Perry’s opening track is another sassy song, this time by Ellering Harding. “To Whom It May Concern (All I Need)” is one of the two album only tracks included on the CD. It sounds like a cross between a James Bond theme and a Blaxploitation film score, odd that that sounds I do think it works. As with many of Bob Shad’s LP projects no expense was spared, with the musician credits reading like a who’s who of best Jazz talent of that time. The other album only track is Alice Clark’s “Don’t You Care”, which is a well know classic on both the Soul and Jazz scenes. The song also gained a retrospective single release on Acid Jazz. Randy Brown’s musical output has been well documented, especially his Parachute/Chocolate City recordings. After his solitary release on the Stax subsidiary Truth, he released two singles on IX Chains imprint and “It Ain’t Like It Used To Be” is included here. It’s a great 70s dancer that was heard at many a Modern Soul event up and down the country in the late 80’s/early 90’s. The other Brown track is “I’m on Sick Leave” it’s a more funkier affair and not as instant as “Ain’t…”, saying that it’s still a nice record. Both these tracks and their flips initially saw a local release on the tiny Memphis Label, Black Magic. Juno Records Preview Player Along with Randy Brown, another IX Chains release that saw plenty of plays up and down the country was “The Steptones – Let The People Talk”, a quality strings and things dancer from the Detroit group who recorded “Lonely One” on Diamond Jim. Staying with string laden mid 70s dancers is “The Dramatics – No Rebate On Love”. Following the groups split in 1972, Elbert Wilkins and Wee Gee Howard broke away and toured with a newly formed group under the same Dramatics name. They eventually landed a record deal with Mainstream and their first release was “No Rebate…” became a hit, breaking into the top 30 of the R&B charts in 1975. Legal proceedings from the “old” Dramatics, fronted by Ron Banks, lead to a name change to “The Dramatic Experience”. They released one further single on Mainstream before parting ways. In a similar feel to “The Steptones” and “The Dramatics” is “Words Of Wisdom – You’re A Friend Of Mine” a pleasant enough dancer, but nothing earth shattering. Also popular at a similar time was “The Fantastic Puzzles - Come Back” on New Moon, a lively up-tempo feel-good number, quite odd as it’s all about the lead singer’s girl leaving and him pleading for her to return. Johnny Gilliam started recording in the mid 60’s and released two singles on IX Chains in “75 & 76” under the name J.G. Lewis. Following some success of his initial single, “What Am I Going To Do” was his follow up release. It was another song that was well received by dancers as it had that “Modern Soul” Vibe. Also included, is the previously unreleased track “I’m The One Who Loves You”. It’s a good slightly funky southern styled swayer which Gilliam sings well. The track itself sounds as if it’s a finished song rather than a demo and it’s a shame it never got out the can. More southern styled soul with Calvin Arnold’s “Satisfy My Woman”, another singer who released a number of singles good on Venture and Sonday before landing at IX Chains. It’s a nice mid-tempo brass infused number which reached the lower ranks of the R&B top 100. “Bobby Earl Williams - That’s The Way She Is” was the secondrelease on IX Chains and is an enjoyable brassy 70’s dancer with a funky edge. Changing the style to more emotive soul is Almeta Lattimore’s anthemic swayer “These Memories”, known by probably everyone and was recently reissued. Charles Beverly’s “Stop And Think A Minute” was his first release as an artist and what song to begin your career with, it starts off slow and builds all the way through. McArthur’s “It’s So Real” is an inclusion from the Brown Dog label and is a great piece of Sweet/Group soul, with Willie Jones of the Detroit Group 21ST on lead. Lee Bates had eight releases on the New Orleans Instant label from 1969 to 1975 and “(What Am I Gonna Do) What Am I Gonna Say” is a nice piano lead mid/down-tempo dancer which ended up his last release on the label. It must have been a bit of a local hit as it was picked up by IX Chains for national distribution. I don’t think it did anything nationally as I don’t think it got past the S/S demo stage, as I’ve never an IX Chains issue of this release. Veteran singer Lenny Welch arrived at Mainstream after a having a couple of releases on Atco. “A Hundred Pounds Of Pain” was the last of his three singles and although it’s a jaunty number, it doesn’t really do anything for me, but I can understand why it had a following from dancers in the 70’s. Another song in a similar category is Nia Johnson’s “Plain Out Of Luck”, which to me is just an average Disco record. All the tracks generally flow well with the exception of the two tracks by “The Jackey Beavers Show”. Originally issued on Beavers’ Jabar label, this is a fine double sider was picked up by Mainstream for national distribution. Fantastic as these tracks are, they’re a 1968 release and although there are only two years difference between these and the next oldest tracks the different in style is quite apparent and for me doesn’t really fit into the whole theme of the CD. Finally comes Sarah Vaughan’s “I Need You More (Than Ever Now)”. I’ve never really been a big fan of her singing, but this mid-tempo number was a nice treat to finish off the CD. The compilation duties were fulfilled by Ady Croasdell and as always the booklet is full of artist pictures and label scans with each track getting a detailed write up. When I first received the disc, I thought playing it would be a pleasant enough way to while away 80 odd minutes. Once played, memories of a misspent you at Modern Soul nights in late eighties/early nighties came flooding back. It’s a very enjoyable CD, with a few blips, but that’s just me being picky and I give it a star rating of 4 out of 5. John Reed May 2016 Mainstream Modern Soul 1969-1976 - Various Artists (Mainstream Records) CDKEND 449 Released: 28 Apr 16 More info via Ace records website http://acerecords.co.uk/mainstream-modern-soul-1969-1976 Video Ad Tracks 1. Linda Perry - "I Can't Give You Up" 2. The Fantastic Puzzles - "Come Back" (part 1) 3. Randolph Brown & Compaby - "It Ain't Like It Used To Be" 4. The Dramatics - "No Rebate On Loev" 5. The Words Of Wisdom - "You're A Friend Of Mine" (vocal) 6. Calvin Arnold - "Satisfy My Woman" 7. JG Lewis - "I'm The One Who Loves You" 8. Almeta Lattimore - "These Memories" 9. Charles Beverly - "Stop & Think A Minute" 10. McArthur - "It's So Real" 11. The Jackey Beavers Show - "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby" 12. Lee Bates - "(What Am I Gonna Do) What Am I Gonna Say" 13. Alice Clark - "Don'y You Care" 14. Bobby Earl Williams - "That's The Way She Is" 15. The Steptones - "Let The Pople Talk" 16. Linda Perry - "It's All In The Back Of Me Now" 17. Lenny Welch - "A Hundred Pounds On Pain" 18. Nia Johnson - "Plain Out Of Luck" 19. Ellerine Harding - "To Whom It May Concern (All I Need)" 20. The Jackey Beavers Show - "We're Not Too Young To Fall In Love" 21. JG Lewis - "What Am I Going To Do" (vocal) 22. Linda Perry - "Ain't Nobody Gonna Make Me (Turn My Back On My Baby)" 23. Randolph Brown & Company - "I'm On Sick Leave" 24. Sarah Vaughan - "I Need You More (Than Ever Now"

South Texas Rhythm ‘n’ Soul Review 2 is Kent’s second dip into Huey P Meaux’s rich RnB back catalogue. Much has been written about Meaux’s insalubrious business activities and his abhorrent personal life, so I’ve tried to look past the man and focus solely on the music. Meaux had no colour boundaries and was equally comfortable recording; black, white or hispanic artists in search of a hit and this current offering as with its predecessor reflects this. This CD also contains a broad spectrum of musical styles, ranging from Pop and R&B dancers, through to Blues and Deep Soul with much more in-between. The CD starts strongly with The Traits – Too Good To Be True, a storming horn driven “Blue Eyed” dancer and one of my favourite Meaux productions, a proper up-tempo soul recording. As an accompaniment to the Traits, is a previously unreleased track by periodic member and lead singer of the aforementioned track, Dean Scott. It’s a strong traditional “Northern” styled dancer with great burping horns and good girlie backing vocals and I wonder how well this would go down played loud at one of today’s venues. Another traditional “Blue Eyed” Northern styled dancer is David “King” Thomas – You Better Investigate, a cover of the similarly titled Major Lance Okeh release from a few years prior. It’s revealed in the sleeve-notes that Pete Smith identified that Thomas and Jay D Martin of “By Yourself” fame are one and the same. It has a good driving beat, but doesn’t do much for me as I find it a bit too poppy. Saying that I’ve never really liked “By Yourself” either, maybe it’s just his voice that doesn’t gel with my particular taste. Another one of the more “Northern” tracks and one that people will be familiar with is the exceptional “Total Disaster” by professional baseball player Lee Maye. It’s a top mid-tempo 60’s soul and one I never tire of hearing. Margo White is represented by two offerings, the first; “I Got The Right To Cry” is a lovely sax laden early ballad, showing what a good singer she was. The other is a competent version of “Neighbor Neighbor” and sounds like it was originally recorded in the 60’s but was only released on her 1978 Crazy Cajun LP. I do keep comparing it to the rendition by Jimmy Hughes or even by the songs original artist Charles Berry and for me those versions pip it to the post. Mentioning Charles Berry leads me onto his track included here. “Half A Man” is a lovely gruff toe-tapping mid-pacer, as with the Margo White track was originally released as album track on one of the many tax efficient Crazy Cajun album projects Meaux did in the late 70’s. Moving onto a slightly more up-tempo mode is the very catchy “I’m Losing You” by Chet McDowell and this is one of my favourites on the CD. A couple of artists better known for their country and pop recordings are Warren Storm and Ronnie Milsap. Storm, represented here by “The Bad Times Make The Good Times”, does nothing for me and I find it quite twee. Conversely, Milsap hits us with the up-tempo “Wish You Were Here” a great 634-5789 clone that just oozes 60’s soul. Two people who had more R&B success than many of the others included here are Jean Knight and Jo Jo Benson. Jean Knight recorded for Meaux in the mid 60’s, with little success and “T’aint That The Truth” (a cover of an Ernie K-Doe song), is one of those recordings. As with quite a few of Meaux’s projects, this was retrospectively released to cash-in following her success with “Mr Big Stuff” on Stax. The song was enhanced with overdubbing to give it a similar feel, but I think it just makes an ordinary recording, worse. Jo Jo Benson along with Peggy Scott did surprising well duetting together, which included hits on Shelby Singleton’s SSS International label. As well as recording them as a pair Meaux recorded them individually as solo artists and included here is Benson’s previously unreleased cover of the Barbara Lynn classic “You’re Losing Me”. Now this is one of my favourite records by one of my favourite artists, so this was a “big ask” for me to like it – But I Do!!! Moving onto the R&B side; Joe Medwick’s “After Hour Man” was originally previously unreleased and saw the light of day on an Edsel CD in 2000. Big Sam’s “All About Love” is a rockin’ piano lead dancer, Johnny Adams’ “Spunky Onions” is a great funky dance craze number and Prince Charles’ “Sick”, makes you want to nod your head in time with the beat, all very nice indeed. Onto a couple of Blues numbers with Jackie Paine – Skid Row Blues & Joe Fritz – Good Doctor Sweet Soul, both are rolling guitar lead Blues and good additions to the set. Moving onto the Ballads and Deep soul and there are plenty here to please those with a liking for the morose. Representing the Chicano element of the Texas music scene is Rocky Gil and the Bishops, with a wonderful cover of the Georgie Boy song “The Pleasures Of My Woman” and for me it stands shoulder to shoulder with original version. Jackie Payne’s “At Your Wedding” is classic Deep Soul and tells a sad story of lost love (don’t they all) and Henry Moore’s “I’m Losing You” is another highlight of the CD and this recording should be in every collection, it’s that good. The organ intro and muted horns on Luvenia Lewis’ “Tender Loving pain” complement her voice to perfection, another winner in my book. Joe Hughes – The Rain Came is simple in its production, but hits all the right spots when it comes to soul. One of my last comments is reserved for Eugene Gamble’s “Strange Love”. This previously unreleased gem sat in-the-can for nearly 50 years and it’s a crime that something this good should only see the light of day in 2015. Musically, this is a very good CD and highlights the many facets of Meaux’s R&B back catalogue and is a good companion to Kent’s previous Meaux CD of a few years back. As with the previous CD, compilation honours go to Tony Rounce and as always the sleeve-notes packed with pictures, label shots and interesting backstories. Start Rating: 4 out of 5 John Reed March 2016 Tracks 1. Too Good To Be True - The Traits 2. I'm Losing You - Chet Mcdowell 3. Half A Man - Charles Berry 4. The Bad Times Make The Good Times - Warren Storm 5. I Got A Right To Lose My Mind - Margo White 6. You'd Better Investigate - David King Thomas 7. T'ain't It The Truth (Remix) - Jean Knight 8. Strange Love - Eugene Gamble 9. You're Losing Me - Jo Jo Benson 10. At Your Wedding - Jackie Paine 11. Wish You Were Here - Ronnie Milsap 12. Neighbor Neighbor - Margo White 13. Total Disaster - Lee Maye 14. I'm Losing You - Henry Moore 15. All About Love - Big Sam 16. The Pleasure Of My Woman - Rocky Gil And The Bishops 17. Please Pass The Soul - Dean Scott 18. Skid Row Blues - Jackie Paine 19. Sick - Prince Charles - Prince Charles 20. Good Doctor Sweet Soul - Joe Fritz 21. Tender Loving Pain - Luvenia Lewis 22. After Hour Man - Joe Medwick 23. The Rains Came - Joe Hughes 24. Spunky Onions - Johnny Adams Video Trailer http://acerecords.co.uk/south-texas-rhythmn-soul-revue-2