Candiman

Fair play to John for putting these updates out. So which "stock list" is the most accurate do you think - his website or Discogs? I found a few things on Discogs that weren't on his website so I assumed he was updating his website first.

Although my order was made thru his website. Also I haven't had an email order confirmation, I would have thought that would have been automatic.

As already said postage cost is high. I have hardly ever bought from JM so don't know if this is normal. I initially had 9 items in the basket (half price value just under £100, I don't buy big ticket items!) and postage was set at £15.95 or £16.95 with £100 insurance. I reduced to 8 items and postage reduced by £1, reduced to 7 items and postage reduced by a further £2 to £12.95. There is clearly an algorithm behind it based on number of items but it isn't any sort of accurate reflection of value and weight, and it is quite possibly also based on out of date postage prices. You can buy 1st class tracked with signature and £150 insurance for £5.65 (on line price small parcel up to 2kg). Add, say £1 for packing material (cardboard is expensive nowadays but as a business he will be buying in bulk so maybe less than that), so postage is being marked up approx. 100% to cover labour packing cost and transport to sorting office (although RM can collect nowadays), or is it an algorithm that just keeps on giving (from JM's perspective)? Still, at half price the prices are acceptable. Will just have to be patient for delivery as he obviously has his hands full.

It seems to be generally accepted that the Inner Ear 45 was from 1970 but a copy was found in the estate sale of a gospel/Christian DJ pen dated 15 Jan 1969. Another Inner Ear 45 (Free Form Experiment) was found in the same collection with the same date on it. The vast majority of the records found were all pen dated, presumably by the DJ when he received the record from the distributor - many were small label promos - and there is no reason to doubt the dates on the records, they seem to stack up with info elsewhere (I have become obsessed with this collection documenting on 45cat the dates of everything I can find that has been sold thru ebay from this collection in the last year or so.) Any thoughts on the date, if it was late '69 I could understand it?

I love You Better Stop It, and Don't Ever Go Away. Wonderful arrangements. I did a deep dive into some old mailing lists earlier this year. On one of Rudzy's early lists in 1976 he had at least one demo copy listed- only as Happy Girl (the B side) - for 35p (That's £3.16 in today's money). I didn't buy it a) because I didn't know it then and b) because my funds wouldn't stretch to buying multiple blinds. Although I did buy Kool Blues blind off the same list - it was nestling just six rows below Happy Girl/You Better Stop It. If I knew then and all that. By around 2009 I remember looking for a copy but would I think have been lucky to pick one up for about £100 (£168 in today's money). Now it would appear you would be lucky to pick one up for less than £300. I realise in 1976 there were still plenty of plums to be found. Also, I guess it was not fast enough to be in demand in the 70s. So I'm interested to know when You Better Stop It became an in demand record?

Syl Johnson's "I Hear The Love Chimes" in a Hammersmith pub at the weekend. Made me interrupt the conversation with my wife to say "Wow!". The playlist was soul and funk slanted but nothing really similar (I remember AWB, Raphael Saadiq, Gap Band). Love Chimes did make it to a 45 B side but I think of it as an album track (from one of his great early-mid 70s Hi albums) so pretty obscure. I find music in public places - pubs, supermarkets, chazzas etc - a lot more interesting nowadays with a lot of more obscure stuff getting an airing. Probably it's the Spotify effect and some more enlightened managers allowing their staff to choose a playlist. My favourite local chazza chain is St. Peter's Hospice, I always hear some great jazz and soul in their shops. Whoever schedules their "station" has really good taste. Just a shame my hit rate in their vinyl bins has fallen off a cliff lately!

Perhaps they're trying a bit too slavishly to copy the latter day Wigan Casino model.

Indeed. Get me started on Candi and I can't stop. This sounds so much more alive than the released "Sweet Feeling". It's almost like you are in the studio with her and the band.

Lyrics bear some similarity to Simon Dupree and the Big Sound "Castle In The Sky" 1968, also recorded by Blonde On Blonde as "Castles In The Sky" in 1970. But it's neither of those. As the lyrics are so close in places I'm betting it's not called "Castle In The Sky".

This is one I can never play just once when I pull it out of the boxes, and I wish it would go on a bit longer (not the only reason it gets multiple plays though, it's just sublime). Did BKE ever make just an average record? Brothers Of Soul - I'd Be Grateful (aagghh, why do I seem to lost the ability to embed a youtube link properly!)

Yes, definite shades of Chat GPT in the intro. Just out of interest I put "summary of Northern Soul" or something like that into Chat GPT recently just out of curiosity and some of the text rings a lot of bells with that. Overall not a terrible article for the layman though, if there are any laymen around now as the NS scene has been done to death now in mainstream media hasn't it? Being a huge fan of Candi Staton the multiple "Stanton" references really grate. How did that happen?! For the layman you can't really fail in listing 10 "overlooked" classics of the scene, but the choice of Lydia Pense over Barbara Lynn was really weird in itself.

https://dogpatch.libsyn.com/surek Just listened to John Kirby & Dante Carfagna’s latest Dogpatch podcast – the subject matter being Greg Surek’s record collection which, following his passing last year, has been acquired and is now being sold off. It is both a beautiful (for the music), and fascinating (for the insights) listen. I’ll be honest I had not heard of Greg Surek, and I notice he has only two hits when you do a search on this site. But listening to Dogpatch’s homage it is clear that, at least to those that knew him, he was up there as one of the gurus of Rare Soul. Interested to know if anybody on here (apart from Matt Weingarden, who Dante namechecks) was invited to the sale? PS: Matt Weingarden – surely another of the top gurus of Rare Soul, he’s been doing his stuff at Downtown Soulville for over 30 years now.

Yes, I think it was Robbie Vincent who turned me on to Terry Callier. I certainly bought Fire On Ice when it was released in 1978. Unfortunately never saw him live. Straddled Soul and Folk. His early 70s albums are beautiful.

Gorblimey indeed.

Would be interested to know - did this have a date written on the label 2/15/67 ? That copy was part of the big find at the estate sale of 60s Gospel/Christian DJ in the DC area back last Autumn. It sold for $1000 on ebay in July. Nice profit if it was.