Kent 514 - Various Artists - Where Soul Begins - Kent/Modern For Dancers Forty (2022) + Booklet (FLAC) Rare Soul

After a manic hunt i finally found the elusive CD that i played once and totally forgot where the hell i put it !?😅.I posted the LP version not too long ago in mp3 as Vinyl seems to sound better than flac to my ears ? but as promised heres the even better 24 track CD and boy is this good!.....“For Dancers Forty” revisits the US Modern and Kent labels that started it all off as i stated in the LP posting. But though the compilations share the same celebratory title, only three tracks feature on both. Kent didn’t want to neglect their digital customers at the expense of the vinyl ones i guess ? The collection represents the breadth of label owners Saul, Jules, Joe and Lester Bihari’s recordings, featuring stompers, Rhythm & Blues rockers, girl soul grooves group harmony and sublime ballads. Several tracks are new to Kent CDs. There are previously unheard 1966 soul recording from 50s Modern R&B artists Aaron Collins and his siters The Teen Queens, guitarist/songwriter Arthur Adams and soul-crooner Billy Watkins. Kent stalwarts Mary Love and Z Z Hill are featured, musically and on the front cover, with a recently discovered studio shot. As with Kent 001 initial issue they feature the R&B sounds of the label from T-Bone Walker, Little Joe Blue, Flash Terry and the mighty B B King. There are underplayed tracks by Jeanette Jones, Lowell Fulson and Tommy Youngblood, whose moody LP-only track ‘Tobacco Road North’ has been "sampled" by US rappers. "Sampling" is the new wording for legal theft in the modern music industry and happily accepted even with continual lawsuits flying around on a daily basis for fees..As ever on our rare soul scene, it is the lesser known artists who are spotlighted. There are largely unheard tracks by Teddy Reynolds (from a very obscure Twist LP), King Solomon and a plaintive ballad from Beatrice Lee.  Northern Soul devotees will enjoy The Sweethearts’ Motownesque ‘No More Tears’, Jimmy Bee’s new and improved ‘Wanting You’ with added chorus, which has a digital debut and Clay Hammond’s cult mover ‘You Brought It All On Yourself’ reappears after several years absence. The funk edged crowd get the first re-release of Foxfire’s manic take on Fulson’s ‘Tramp’ Featuring the great Johnny Adams like you never heard before...love it!, and new to Kent are Larry (Perault) & Tommy (Bush of "i dont like it" fame) doing a version of Shorty Long’s ‘Here Comes The Judge’. So from me and i presume from you,its a massive thank you Ace/Kent for supplying rare and quality soul over the last 40 years that make this UK label the best (arguably)in the world!...Thanks to all who sent best wishes for my health,still feel shit but we(I) carry on !

AMM

                                                                        The Tasters!