Souledtrafford

BOOK REVIEW – “Soul Survivor: A Biography of Al Green” by Jimmy McDonough. None of Al Green’s back catalogue can be found on the my iPod and neither have I listened to any of his work on YouTube, although at a quick glance, the likes of ‘For the Good Times’ has had an incredible 20,118,785 views, ‘How Can You Mend A Broken Heart’ some 29,277,088 and ‘Let’s Stay Together’ 111,814,990. Perhaps surprisingly ‘Tired of Being Alone’ only hits 19, 668,845. However, like everyone else on here, I am sure we could belt out a few lines from any of the above whilst in the shower! The above figures are certainly impressive and project Green into the soul music spotlight due to those now classic tracks, but as I said, none appear amongst the tracks I listen to, while his career is little more than a blank canvas. I do know, however, that there is a copy of ‘Blues and Soul’ in the loft with his photograph on the cover. So, McDonough’s book was one I opened with interest, more so as the accompanying press release stated: “Al Green is one of the most intricate and elusive figures in popular music and considered by many to be the greatest soul singer of the twentieth century.” It went on to add that the book had been three years in the making and that the author had researched “all known interviews, articles, books and court records”, impressive in itself, and that Green’s life was “the living embodiment of the collision between the scared and the profane.” It certainly sounded interesting, but was it? Let me kick-off by saying that I did enjoy it, but found it something of a strange book and in reality it was perhaps two books in one, as it did not simply tell the story of the often turbulent life of the singer turned preacher, but also gave you an insight into the life of Willie Mitchell and Hi Records. The book, almost 400 pages in length, began in familiar fashion, with his early years, but suddenly, a mere thirty-four pages in, the author proclaims “Al’s going to disappear into the night for a few chapters while we set the stage for his arrival. To understand the greatness of Al Green, you have the experience the unlikely early days of Hi as well as the intricate evolution Willie Mitchell went through to develop that precise and particular Hi sound.” Some sixty pages later, Al re-appears and from then on it is something of a bumpy ride through his life to date. His songs, band members, women and much more fall under the microscope as he swings from soul/r&b to gospel amid a life that could most probably yielded much more both fame and financially. Jimmy McDonough, author of biographies of Neil Young, Tammy Wynette, Russ Meyer and Andy Milligan, has certainly researched his subject well, leaving no stone unturned, and paints a vivid picture of Green, a troubled individual at times and a man seemingly obsessed by money amongst other things. Some biographies drift aimlessly along, a straight road from birth to whenever, with an odd journey down a slip road, but McDonough’s book keeps you interested, with his journey down the slip road to Hi Records giving an insight into the lives of other lesser individuals and gives you, as I mentioned earlier, two books in one. An intricate and elusive figure as the press release proclaimed, and Green certainly was both and even after reading the book, it leaves you wondering what Al Green could have gone on to achieve if he hadn’t gone off the straight and narrow. If you enjoy music biographies and don’t already have anything on Al Green, buy this one, it certainly doesn’t disappoint. Right then, let’s get onto YouTube and give the man a listen

BOOK REVIEW – “I Hear A Symphony: Motown and Crossover R&B” by J. Andrew Flory. Like many of you, I have read a considerable number of Motown related books over the years. Some were good, some excellent, while others left a bit to be desired. The likes of ‘Where Did Our Love Go’ by Nelson George, “Berry, Me and Motown” by Ramona Gordy Singleton, Women of Motown by Susan Whitall and ‘The Stories Behind The UK Singles’ by Terry Wilson fall into the former categories, while the likes of ‘The Seduction of Mary Wells’ would fall into the latter. The latest to hit the bookshelves, ‘I Hear A Symphony’, which was published in June this year by The University of Michigan Press, does, as the press release states, “opens new territory in the study of Motown’s legacy”. It is not a ‘warts and all’ story of the label, nor does it delve, yet again, into the somewhat murky past of the artists who gave us countless memorable tunes that would form the backing track of our lives. Neither are there detailed pen pictures of those same artists, something that would do little to persuade anyone to purchase this 368 page book. Flory, an assistant professor of music at Carleton College Minnesota, something that clearly stands out within the pages, as he often speaks in musical terms, covers all areas the Motown story well, whilst not boring the reader with numerous worthless facts and figures and produces a more academic look at what the company was about and how it created its unique sound. You may question the ‘Crossover’ in the title, but it is purely down to the fact that the label took black American music to where it had not ventured previously, changing the whole concept of ‘pop’ music, not only in the States, but across Europe. The book is not abundant with photographs, you have seen the majority of them all before anyway, but the ones that are used fit the purpose, while there are a number of examples as to how some of the cover versions altered the musical arrangement of the original. As I said earlier, the book consists of 368 pages, but just over 200 of those contain the actual narrative. The rest of the publication is made up of an Appendix, where the author lists some seven pages of “Selected International Recordings of Motown Songs 1963-68 (Excluding England). Hands up those of you who knew that Fia Karin recorded Heat Wave in France, Les Gams did Where Did Our love Go in Germany and Gabi Novak went into the studio and recorded Reach Out I’ll Be There in Yugoslavia? I certainly didn’t. Even some of the selected British recordings raise the eyebrow. The Fourmost doing Baby I Need Your Loving, Freddie and the Dreamers on Money and Adrienne Posta with The Way You Do The Things You Do. Those latter three pages are followed by almost 80 pages of Notes, which to be honest is interesting reading in itself, with the Bibliography taking up a further sixty pages. An Index takes you through to the end. Unfortunately for the pocket, the book does not come cheap – Amazon have it in paperback at £41.50, while the Kindle edition retails at £29.44, perhaps not the cover price to persuade you to purchase and to be honest, although a good and interesting read, many will be put off by this. Having said that, I did enjoy it and it is well written, but there are better books on the subject out there.

Dan Penn - Close To Me: More Fame Recordings CD CHD 1477 Few can deny Dan Penn’s place amongst the good and the great of soul music composers, sometimes churning out memorable songs on his own, or more often than not, with a notable side-kick such as Spooner Oldham, although many consider his best work came in conjunction with Chips Moman when they worked together on the classic “The Dark End of the Street”. But Penn wasn’t simply a composer, as he had a voice to match his compositions and could deliver a song with the best of them and as Alec Palao’s sleeve notes say: “his catalogue’s reputation guarantees it gets taken seriously by the music business and listening public.” Few can deny that Ace Records offer value for money when it comes to the quality of their recordings and the number of tracks that each cd/album contain and ‘Dan Penn – Close To Me’ is no different, although on this occasion, the accompanying booklet is given over more to interviews carried out with the man in question than information on the individual tracks themselves. It still, however, makes an interesting read. Preview Tracks Via Juno Records Player: But what of the twenty-four tracks, as that is what the music buying public splash the cash for? Firstly, I have to be honest. I thought the previous release of Dan Penn titles – “The Fame Recordings”, which included the classics “Keep On Talking”, “You Left The Water Running” and “I’m Your Puppet” was a much better cd. However, that is not to say that there was nothing on “Close To Me” that grabbed my attention. I am not sure if it was a marketing ploy or not to kick-off with the title track, but I found this the stand-out track on the cd and an excellent opener, but sadly, for me at any rate, not many of the other tracks grabbed my attention in the same way. So apart from ‘Close To Me’, it was down to track12 – “So Many Reasons” and track 15 – “Lovely Ladies” to grab my attention and download for future listening, while track 5 – “Love Is A Wonderful Thing”, track 10 – “I Need You” and track 14 “I Love Everything About You” were the best of the rest. The others, at least in my opinion, were somewhat ordinary. Perhaps I don’t listen enough to the wide spectrum of soul music, but sometimes twenty-four tracks by the same artist can be just a little too much, more so if your preference lies in a different direction. But that, however, is not to say that I do not appreciate Penn’s work. The guy is an undoubted legend in his own right and I am sure that there will be many lovers of the music out there who will be eager to purchase this cd, although a mixing of this and the first set of ‘Fame’ recordings would have produced a real five star cd. Star rating - 3/5 Iain McCartney July 2016 Tracks 1. "Close To Me" 2. "Without A Woman" 3. "Trash Man" 4. "Miss Personality" 5. "Love Is A Wonderful Thing" 6. "It Hurts" 7. "Standing In The Way Of A Good Thing" 8. "Reaching Out For Someone" 9. "I'll Take Care Of You" 10. "I Need You" 11. "Destroyed" 12. "So Many Reasons" 13. "Little Girl" 14. "I Love Everything About You" 15. "Lovely Ladies" 16. "I Dig A Big Town" 17. "Diamonds" 18. "She Ain't Gonna Do Right" 19. "I Can't Stop (The Feeling Won't Let Me)" 20. "Do You Need It" 21. "You Really Know How To Hurt A Guy" 22. "Live & Let Live" 23. "We're Swinging" 24. "Downright Uptight Good Woman" Video Ad Links For more images and release notes from Alec Palao along with purchase options and details of mp3 versions get to... http://acerecords.co.uk/close-to-me-more-fame-recordings

I was never a Mod. Ok, I had the sta-prest trousers and the Ben Sherman shirts, listened to some of the music, but would never have classed myself as a Mod. This was rural south-west Scotland we are talking about, not one of the major cities where you could find numerous clubs playing the music you enjoyed. However, visiting bands at the local Town Hall were generally from the north-west of England, so there was more often than not an r&b, Stax/Atlantic and of course Motown influence in the music that they played. This is where I got hooked.But no, I was never a Mod. The music, however, was certainly appealing, like this latest offering from the Kent/Ace Stable, entitled - ‘Modernism’ a follow up to their recent release ‘Modernists’ and one that the Mods scattered around the country should certainly appreciate.The majority of the tracks are obviously from the mid to late sixties and as the music echoes out of the speakers, you could close your eyes and be transported back in time to one of those smokey, sweating, Brut smelling basement clubs where fashion was as important as the sounds. To my ears, one or two of the tracks, lean more to the r&b side of things like Eddie Bo’s ‘Tee Na Na Na Na…’, while others, such as Chuck Jackson’s ‘Beg Me’ and The Ambertones ‘Clap Your Hands’ definitely sound dated. The Shirelles offering - ‘Crossroads In Your Heart’ first saw the light of day in 1987, with the opener from Teddy Reynolds – ‘Ain’t That Soul’ an un-released version of a late sixties track, ‘We Gonna Rub Pt1’ by Joe Johnson, which lay in the vaults until the 1990’s and Wallace Johnson’s ‘Private Eye’ being another that failed to see the light of day when it was recorded. For me though it was the more ‘northern’ tracks that shone through such as The excellent Lou Johnson with his ‘Magic Potion’, The M&M’s and the Peanuts ‘The Phillie’ and Joan Moody’s ‘The Life of the Party’. The Stax/Atlantic sounding ‘Soul Is My Game’ by Chet ‘Poison’ Ivey and his Fabulous Avengers is another that got a second play. As for the last track, the oldest on the disc, dating from 1958 – ‘Listen to me (Baby) by Ralph Ventsha and Red Julian Quartet, I imagine that this, as the booklet notes hint to, would be a perfect ender in any Mod club. With the Mod scene, arguably having never been away, but lurking behind the effervescent Northern Soul one, this twenty-four track cd will be well received by those of the former persuasion and as it says in the usual first class booklet, penned on this occasion by Dean Rudland, “we are trying to depict the timeless nature of the whole world of mod”. Marks out of five? As I said, I was never a Mod, but can imagine four would be about right. Cheers, Iain Iain McCartney June 2016 Video Ad Tracks 1. Beg Me - Chuck Jackson 2. Everybody's Feelin Good - King Carl 3. I'm Gonna Get You - Leroy Harris 4. Listen To Me (Baby) - Ralph Ventsha & Red Julain Quartet 5. Cinderella Jones - Sammy Jones 6. I Know What I Want - Tommy G & The Charms 7. Ain't That Soul - Teddy Reynolds 8. Crossroads In Your Heart - The Shirelles 9. Magic Potion - Lou Johnson 10. Soul Is My Game - Chet Poison Ivey & His Fabulous Avengers 11. I've Gotta Know Why - Darrow Fletcher 12. Tee Na Na Na Na Nay - Eddie Bo 13. We Gonna Rub Part 1 - Joe Johnson 14. I'm On The Move - Joe Mayfield 15. Night Beat - Kenny Smith & The Loveliters 16. Private Eye - Wallace Johnson 17. Clap Your Hands - Ambertones 18. Go - Little Johnny Hamilton & The Creators 19. The Phillie - M&M & The Peanuts 20. The Duck Part 2 - Jackie Lee 21. Dancin' Everywhere - Bob & Earl 22. When One Of Them Won't - The Turnarounds 23. The Life Of The Party - Joan Moody 24. Do It - Pat Powdrill More information Modernism Various Artists (Kent) CDKEND 452 http://acerecords.co.uk/modernism

THE INDEPENDENTS – JUST AS LONG – THE COMPLETE WAND RECORDINGS - CD REVIEW “Group/ Smooth Soul, Soul” is style description that the Independents fall under in to in the ‘All Music Guide to Soul’, which goes on to add that they “specialised in almost melodramatic, overwrought, but perfectly performed love songs”, something that is clearly defined in the twenty-two tracks of this recently issued Kent cd. Perhaps not one of the top acts to come out of Chicago, they just manged a couple of pages in Robert Pruter’s superb book ‘Chicago Soul, but they do ooze quality throughout the cd that combines their complete Wand singles collection, all their album only tracks, plus a Tom Moulton re-mix of ‘I Love You, Yes I Do’. The majority of the tracks are written by Charles Jackson, brother of the more famous Jesse, and Marvin Yancy, considered the best to emerge from the Chicago based Jerry Butler Songwriters Workshop and alongside Helen Curry and Maurice Jackson, both solo acts in their own right, they were to become the Independents. For those who like their music to grab them by the scruff of the neck and propel them onto the dance floor, then this cd is certainly not for you, but if you want to switch on the stereo late at night and settle down with a nice glass of wine, then this might just tickle your taste buds. For me the stand out track is the classy ‘Can’t Understand It’, which for me would have been the perfect opener rather the two ballads which fail to grab the attention, but renowned for their ‘Smooth Soul’ style, you know what to expect when you buy this cd. There are a couple of more up-tempo tracks – ‘I Love You, Yes I Do’, the disco oriented ‘Arise and Shine’ and ‘One Woman, Do Right Man’, which they perform admirably, but the group appear to be more at home with the slower sides, the Helen Curry led R&B chart topper ‘Leaving Me’ a prime example. How she wasn’t more successful I don’t know. For the soul collectors who want complete recordings of as many artists as possible, then Kent seldom, if ever, fail to please and come out on top again with this one. Booklet notes by Tony Rounce, with the usual artist label illustrations. Iain McCartney May 2016 @SouledTrafford Preview cd via Juno Records player Tracks 1. "Just Want To Be There" 2. "Our Love Has Got To Come Together" 3. "Can't Understand It" 4. "Just As Long As You Need Me" (part 1 & 2) 5. "Leaving Me" 6. "Baby, I've Been Missing You" 7. "I Love You, Yes I Do" 8. "Couldn't Hear Hobody Say (I Love You Like I Do)" 9. "Here I Am" 10. "It's All Over" 11. "Sara Lee" 12. "The First Time We Met" 13. "Show Me How" 14. "Arise & Shine (Let's Get On It)" 15. "I Found Love On A Rainy Day" 16. "Let This Be A Lesson To You" 17. "No Wind, No Rain" 18. "The Same Old Way" 19. "In The Valley Of My World" 20. "One Woman Do Right Man" 21. "Lucky Fellow" 22. "I Love You, Yes I Do" (Tom Moulton remix) Video Trailer More info via http://acerecords.co.uk/just-as-long-the-complete-wand-recordings-1972-74