Ian Dewhirst

Great release. A big fave of mine too!

There was a '76 release? Don't think so.......

Ian D

Fantastic effort! Well done to all.

Ian D

Found by me in Highland Records in Hollywood in 1976. I think we ordered 500 copies which cleared the whole stock out. One of the few occasions when I've found a record and the number on the label actually worked!

Ian D

Incredible article. Everybody on Soul Source should read it. RIP Eddie.

Ian D

Thought the John Anderson and Kenny Gamble interviews were great ......

Yep, both fascinating in their own ways. I LOVE the fact that Kenny Gamble had no idea who B.K. Marcus was lol.......

Ian D 

Can I just buy the DVD's without all the other stuff?

Not at this point Quinvy. It's sold as a complete package and is selling well so no point in tinkering at the moment. The interviews are a pretty integral part of the whole thing.....

Ian D 

Yeah, but I still haven't found the time to watch the DVDs or read the book, and I know all the tracks.

Join the club! 

Ian D 

Trouble is I paid full whack on a pre-order, Ian.  Never mind, it's only money.

Stop moaning. You got it 7 weeks ahead didntcha...? 

Ian D 

Just seen the box set for £62, £18 less than Amazon......

 

https://www.wowhd.co.uk/CD/various-odyssey-a-northern-soul-time-capsule-1968-2014-8cd-2dvd/dp/40528203/69790217#bc=bf36

Now THAT is a bargain! This has never stopped selling since it was issued 7 weeks ago. Looks like it's in for the long haul! Good spot Steve!

Ian D   

I just played it again to make sure my ears aren't deceiving. It's definitely a re-recording. Maybe not an IL one. But definitely 80s or later. Even her voice sounds much more mature than on the original Stax LP.

BTW, yes, mastering in general is great. So is the whole capsule.

How bizarre. That was the master supplied by Concord (owners of Stax). I haven't had time to check it yet but it'll be on full-blast tomorrow. Bit of a mystery though, Why on earth would it be a re-record? It was an album track and not even popular till 40 years after it was recorded. Still nothing like  a mystery ay? Glad you approve of the rest of it! 

Ian D 

Eventually it arrived yesterday. Great package. starting playing through all CDs last night. I noticed some tracks are different mixes/takes. That's nice. But why is there at least one Ian Levine re-recording? Barbara Lewis - The stars with a synth backing? not good

Whaaaaat? We didn't license anything from Mr Levine. I'll need to check that master again but I'm pretty sure that was a kosher master from the copyright owners - Concord, the owners of Fantasy/Stax in this case. We went to insane lengths to get the correct masters on this and, up to now, everyone has complimented us on the quality of the mastering. This is just plain weird. I'll check it tomorrow. I have to say that a handful of the masters supplied by the owners were slightly different mixes to the known recordings and, in most cases, superior.

The weirdest master we received was the first track on the box set - Darrell Banks "Open The Door To Your Heart" which turned out to be a previously unknown instrumental version (which is spectacular in it's simplicity and impact). So there are bonuses too!

Will come back to the Barbara Lewis master tomorrow when I sober up OK?

Ian D  

Just a progress report but also I just noticed that the Amazon price has dropped to £71.68 which probably explains it's boost up the rankings after 3 weeks out there!

• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 719 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
•  
  • #10 in Music > R&B and Soul > Motown
  • #21 in Music > R&B and Soul > Soul
  • #23 in Music > Pop > Pop R&B

Ian D

You know what Chalky? You could have a 500 page book on the scene and it wouldn't be enough. 

I've just spent the last hour FINALLY going through the finished article and it doesn't get any better in terms of a Northern Soul box set in my opinion. I'm obviously biased, but in terms of the wider market, this is the definitive release in my view. Thanks to all involved. The real deal.

Ian D 

bit confused here,

 

is it £49.99 or £76.99 as showing on Amazon at the moment. can I buy it for the dealer price although I'm not a dealer?

 

regards H

Hi H,

The £49.99 is the Dealer Price, i.e. the price we charge the Dealers who stock it, so no, unfortunately you're stuck with whatever the Dealers charge, so the Amazon price is a good 'un...

Ian D 

well that them all downloaded just in case i loose any and yes cd 4 is not listed on gracenote,so ive done it myself no problem.so ian,how are you going to top this then ? you have set your benchmark very high now mate !!! first track,my all time favourite,what a start .luv it.

I'm not gonna be able to top it unfortunately. The days of the lavish box sets are numbered I believe, so I always look at each project as if it could be the last. Thus almost was lol. Almost killed me....

Ian D

The two discs I've listened to so far are incredible, not just in the sound quality but also in the running order. You could probably have a decent nighter just playing these discs through (though you'd upset the OVO crowd).

I spend a lot of time on sequencing. My colleagues can't understand it but I do treat each CD as a DJ set really which generally seems to work out OK.

Ian D

Spoke too soon.  Disc 4 track listings not on Gracenote yet.  Might upload them myself if they haven't appeared by the time I rip the other discs.

You might be the first to be ripping it Steve.....

Glad you like it mate!

Ian

well its 10am monday morning and its arrived via amazon.very impressive box,so thats my monday sorted,listening to this excellent collection and reading the very informative book.

well done ian,great job done .

 

dave o'neill

Killer Dave! I'm very happy with the way it came out! Happy listening.

Ian D

Amazon have just dispatched my copy.  Hurrah.

Yep, just saw on Facebook that someone has had theirs delivered already. So they're out there at last! 

Ian D 

Just ordered mine.

Nice one Russell. You should get it for Monday/Tuesday. Also you're guaranteed the first manufacturing run which is always good!

Ian D

The Unveiling of 'The Odyssey: A Northern Soul Time-Capsule Part 2'.

Yep, we were watching it and someone said how come there's no music, so voila! Thanks Lidia!

Order order order! Going fast! Out this coming Monday!

Thats some compilation Ian !  Well done to you !…..I hope it sells by the bucketload for you,it certainly deserves to…..

Cheers Ivor. A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into it so hopefully it'll work!

Ian D

The moment finally arrived! Praise be to the lord. A project which has been almost 3 years in gestation and which almost killed me due to the complexity and sheer scale of the beast, was finally delivered in it's finished form.

Little did I know when I was 15 years old in 1970 and purchasing my first record collection from a Huddersfield DJ called Jim (£25 for 400 records - a bargain), that 45 years later I'd be responsible for overseeing a project which originally stemmed from that suitcase full of records which I bought from Jim. The first record that I pulled out was a battered Stateside copy of Darrell Banks "Open The Door To Your Heart" and now it's also the first record of 230 within this collection 45 years later.  

Fate goes full circle ay? It truly has been a lifelong odyssey for me personally, so can you imagine how I felt when I finally got to open the b*stard?

So here's the unveiling folks...

Ian D 

Look forward to seeing the videos , mouthwatering stuff ....

Deffo Eddie. Some brilliant interviews. Here's a short promo for the "Keep On Keeping On" DVD...

Ian D