FOR FANS OF SOUL, 60,s MOD,JAZZ, JAZZ FUSION,REGGAE AND BLUES MUSIC.....ONLY THE BEST QUALITY OF REVIEWS AVAILABLE! NOW A SUBSCRIBED BLOG AND REVIEWED FOR THE LOVE OF THE MUSIC - NO LINKS AVAILABLE ON THIS BLOG AND NO SHARING REVIEWS WHAT SO EVER PLEASE WITHOUT CONSENT..OR YOUR GONE.....HAVE RESPECT AND ENJOY YOUR VISITS
ENQUIRIES OR REQUESTS TO
allmusicman2@protonmail.com OR BACK UP EMAIL allmusicman22@yahoo.com
The ultimate funk and gospel amalgamation, wow! How far ahead of their day were these guys! One of the greatest examples of
religious grooves meeting big 70s funk rhythms. Released on CD for the
first time back in 2010. When BGP started the Funk & Jazz
Classics series earlier that year they had an idea that they would put a few
albums out, and that would be that. But as they reached their third batch of
five they found that there is a whole world of sought after original
albums, which for a myriad of reasons have failed to turn up in the
reissue racks. This time they came up with something very special,
digging deep into the Stax Records vaults to rescue five of the most
collectable albums on the label. This being one of them. The Sons Of Truth LP appeared
on Stax’s Gospel Truth subsidiary. The group look like they could be in
Funkadelic etc, while their music is a blend of compelling funk and harmony
soul that doesn’t appear to be based on traditional gospel in any way.
Cuts from this album started to be played in progressive soul
clubs also back in the day.
An UPGRADE from the old blog....This is the only album/recording this obscure group from Las Vegas ever did & 1 X 45. To say its rare is an understatement as both formats long deleted from stock & now on many collectors wishlists. It,s a bit of a Holy Grail for Soul/Raw Funk lovers initially released in 1975. Most of the tracks were recorded at Cholley Records in Riverside & Gold Star studio in Hollywood. Great album that is a mainly raw funk & a couple of ballads.The Cult were from the west coast created by Cholly Williams. It was pressed in small quantities, the rarest of the rare. It got its CD issue in Japan 2009 but 4 years later deleted from stock. i can only assume that the idea for the title/cover goes back to the war of independance ? who knows certainly a different theme.
i just kicked another guy off called "Angellic" (David Rodriguez) as
he,s part of the BENTLEYFUNK blogs..10 in all..BF has been going since
2008. A notorious scumbag...He (and his cohorts) makes his living
trawling blogs downloading and re-selling their shares. He now charges
100 euros to join + to download.... not a bad earner eh guys for others
work ?. I always thought angellic was a good guy then i found out he
is a contributer on BF. So i challenged him about it and he said he
would leave that guys blogs and was inactive on there since 2020 and protested his innocence which like a fool i accepted...Moxy
did some diggin today and if you see the SCREENSHOT BELOW... he changed
his profile to "Kalibaby" and still on there, and well and truly had me over...or so he
thought!... Their not as clever as they think they are....i checked his
recent comments ON here and they have changed to "Kalibaby". Now you know why i am
private and take the action against these scumbags that i do...No wonder
our albums have been poppin up all over the web!.i hope now this
bastard is the last one but who knows ?..Many thanks to Moxy for his shrewd detective work. As far as i,m concerned these people can do whatever they want as long as their not on here making money out of this blog, so its up to other blog owners on here as to what they tolerate, well NOT ON HERE!
ThisCDhighlightsthisneglectedformofblackmusic. Sweet soul at its finest,ConcentratingmainlyontheEasternseaboardthisselectioncontainshitsandnon-hits,well-known artistsandobscuritiesbutwiththeemphasisfirmlyonquality music.Likeitsfirstcousin-doo-wop-thebestsoulgroupmusicis allaboutmelodyandthewaytheinterplayofthehumanvoicebringsbeautytoasong.Thepurestformofthisis,ofcourse,theballadandthisCDisjustdrippingwiththem. Long deleted from stock and difficult to obtain this gem is just a beautiful example of the gems that got way!..Guarantee you will not find this rarity anywhere else on the Web without paying for it...Volume 2 to follow on!
UPGRADE from the old blog by request....These guys were the House band for Local DJ Skipper Lee Frazier's label, Ovide Records in Houston, Texas . The label ran from 1967 to 1984 with 46 x 45,s issued. Group members included Cal Thomas (guitar/vocals), Will Thomas (guitar/vocals), Peter Newman (bass), Darryll Busby (saxophone), Clarence “Creeper” Harper (trumpet), and Nelson Mills (horns). The band (named after the school where they were students, and their favorite car, the Oldsmobile Toronado) slowly gained a reputation on campus and in Houston as a tight unit. As well as doing gigs on their own, the band would often be the backing band to national acts such as Jackie Wilson, Barbara Acklin, and Etta James, who would be in town to play in the Houston area. But it was their backing of Archie Bell & The Drells from which they gained their notoriety in turning heads to their talent .Only a dozen 45,s recorded and no studio albums which is a crying shame for such a talented bunch of guys, but they did spend their time out on the road a lot. Their rare northern dancers are all present. Again this is long deleted from stock.
Another long deleted from stock with some great & authentic records that were spun on the scene back in the early 1960,s. What a great label backbeats was in its day with all bases of Black music covered! Some obscure old gems included.
In a break with the normal Sunday Reviews i,m highlighting a very interesting series over the next month. This is the fourth edition of National Geographic’s “Genius” series
which is essentially a two for one glimpse about the lives of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. “Genius: MLK/X”
collectively presents a richly detailed look back at the civil rights
movement. It shows their path to progress in very different ways yet remain linked in
our minds as their lives were both cut violently short a few
years apart. After seasons devoted to Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso and
Aretha Franklin, this installment of “Genius” begins with King (Kelvin
Harrison Jr.) and X (Aaron Pierre) meeting briefly in Washington in
1964, during advocacy for the Civil Rights Act, and smartly expands its
focus to devote ample attention to their respective wives, Coretta Scott
King (Weruche Opia) and Betty Shabazz (Jayme Lawson).
The opening episodes then jump back to their early lives from chilhood & goes about documenting what brought them to that point. I hope you will get an in depth insight as to how these iconic characters got to where they were as i learned so much about their lives from childhood that was previously unknown to me. It is a very entertaining and well acted series that i think/hope you will enjoy. Theres a great soundtrack to the series also.
I,m getting ploughed under with requests so to get them reduced a couple reviewed today............Ex Northern jock Ian Levine got hold of legend J.J.Barnes back in the 1990,s and asked him to re-record all his old records & a few new tracks that they co-wrote. These were the last recordings of the great man but i prefer the originals classic tracks, though not a bad effort on the newer material. I,ve included a couple of tracks from the same sessions not on the album.
Brooks O’Dell was born in 1933 in Philadelphia. He began his singing career in 1955 in Chicago where he would join up with Carl Holmes & The Commanders. The group, working out of Philadelphia, would often back the Cameo-Parkway artists. After some time with the Commanders O’Dell would form the Majestics. Soul music sure does love its cult heroes and, in UK collector
circles, the cult of Brooks O’Dell has persisted for more than 40 years.
Most of us first encountered him on the ground breaking 1965 Stateside
compilation “An Album Full Of Soul”, where his exquisite Bell recording
"You Better Make Up Your Mind" provided a notable highlight even in a
collection that was brimming over with them. His cult status was further
assured by the fact that he didn’t record very often, but when he did,
there was almost always a classic involved somewhere in the session.
Despite the fact that his recording career covered a ten year plus
period, it passed by in almost total obscurity as far as interviews and
artist information are concerned , which has only added to that ongoing
cult status. Hopefully this will both please Brooks’ existing fan base,
and add to it. The CD covers virtually the whole of his recording
career, and embraces almost every known recording that he made between
1963 and 1972. (All that’s missing are a couple of singles that he made
in Italy in 1961 and the instrumental flipside of one of his Bell
singles). Given that Brooks worked almost exclusively with top class
producers of the calibre of Luther Dixon, Larry Maxwell, Carl Davis and
Jerry Williams Jr (aka Swamp Dogg), the quality of the recordings here is
guaranteed. From the Big City soul of Brooks’ early Gold and
Bell masterpieces, some written by Kenny Gamble and Thom Bell, to the
subtle Southern sound of his final 1971 sessions, produced in Muscle
Shoals by his friend Swamp Dogg and including virtually a whole album’s
worth of unissued material, it’s all quite wonderful. For many the
highlight may be the unearthed, previously unissued 1966
Columbia recording "The Heartless One". When you hear this prime example
of mid 1960s Chicago soul you will shake your head in amazement that
something so good did not make it onto a 1966 release schedule. With a wealth of label shots, some very rare and previously unseen photos and a sleeve note that does its very best to present the Brooks O’Dell
story from the scant career information that is available, this is another essential addition to
anyone’s library of Kent CDs. The kent guys tried to track him down for an interview on his career for the Booklet but no trace of him was ever found, & they didnt know back in 2008 if he was even alive ?. Whether he is or he isn’t, “I’m Your Man” will ensure that his
music will never go unforgotten & live on. The guy is a legend on the Northern scene, here the CD includes 9 Unissued cuts.....from only a dozen 45,s recorded and surprisingly no studio albums.
A musical journey of America’s steel capital, developed in the prosperous
cavern between the departure of the Jackson 5 to Motown and the
collapse of U.S. Steel, this album digs deep into that area of Gary, Indiana thanks to the guys at Numero. Featuring The New Day, El Anthony, Nate
Evans, Sky’s The Limit, Wilton Crump, Lost Weekend, General Lee, Krash
Band, Billy Foster & Audio, I.N.D., and Junei, this double album
collects 21 lost songs from the southern most tip of Lake Michigan. It connects the dots between its most famous sons, The Spaniels, Michael Jackson, and Freddie Gibbs.There,s quite a few on here new to me also. There,s a very strong Chicago vibe on this album with some stunning cuts with general lee the main man. A great mix of sweet, deep, northern, modern soul.
Tony Jackson (Stackton) real name, was an obscure British soul musician, singer/songwriter, producer and arranger trying to break into the big time, sadly never happened for him. He did win a TV Talent show on the old ATV Network "New faces" in 1977 & he was in quite a few local London groups, one was called Indigo who were in the competition to represent the UK in the Eurovision song contest in 1978, they didn't win, but they did record an album. He recorded 45,s with several outfits before he went on to record this one gem on a private press (his label ?). No info about it on discogs as is the case with private presses. Now its a collectors item with soul/northern fans alike worth a lot of money. A few acetates were floating around the scene back in the day of his dancers all featured on here. From my faithful back-up library of CD,s after selling off the original years ago. It,s a very good all round album. He passed in 2001.
One of the greatest Soul groups to exist are The Dells. With over 30 albums & 150 x 45,s under their belt their pedigree speaks for itself. This is perhaps my fave album of theirs of which i have the lot..The Dells grew up in Harvey, Illinois,near Chicago and began singing together while attending Thornton Township High School. Forming in 1952 under the name the El-Rays, the group initially consisted of Marvin Junior, Michael McGill, Lucius McGill, Verne Allison, Chuck Barksdale, and Johnny Funches. Lucius McGill soon left the group and the remaining quintet signed with Checker Records, releasing their first single, "Darling I Know", which flopped. In 1955, the group renamed themselves the Dells and signed with Vee-Jay Records. In 1956, they recorded their first hit, "Oh, What a Night" (a song co-written by Johnny Funches, who also sang lead on the recording alongside Marvin Junior, which hit the top 5 of the R&B singles chart. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. The song is ranked No. 260 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In November 1958, the Dells suffered a car accident that left McGill in a hospital in Ohio for six months. The group temporarily disbanded and Barksdale sang as a member of Harvey Fuqua's spinoff Moonglows act, Harvey and the Moonglows, which included a young Marvin Gaye. In 1961, the Dells reunited and auditioned for Dinah Washington. After Washington agreed to hire them, Johnny Funches left the group to take care of his family. Funches was replaced by Flamingos founding member Johnny Carter and sang background for Washington for two years. In 1966, they were hired to open for Ray Charles, only to be fired after a performance resulted in several standing ovations. The group would also sing background for Barbara Lewis, mainly on Lewis' 1963 hit, "Hello Stranger", while also working with Quincy Jones, who helped to fine-tune their vocals for standards and jazz material. In 1966, the Dells returned to Chess under the label's Cadet subsidiary working with Bobby Miller and future Earth, Wind & Fire arranger Charles Stepney. In 1967, the Dells issued this album "There Is" which included their first R&B chart-topper in years with the title track, which showcased the sharp baritone of Marvin Junior and the harmonies with the four other Dells. The song was also their first top 20 pop hit. Subsequent R&B hits included "Wear It on Our Face", "Always Together" (top 20 pop), "I Can Sing a Rainbow - Love is Blue (medley)" (UK No. 15), and their first No. 1 R&B hit and first top ten pop hit, 1968's "Stay in My Corner", which reached No. 10 on the pop chart and showcased both Carter and Marvin in lead vocals. In the following year, 1969, The Dells' soulful remake of their debut hit, "Oh What a Night" gave the group their second chart-topping R&B single and also reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100. For a second time, the song sold over a million copies. Subsequent hits included "Open Up My Heart", "Oh What a Day", and "On the Dock of the Bay". In 1971, the Dells' "The Love We Had Stays on My Mind" became another top ten hit on the R&B chart, also reaching the pop top 30. By this time Charles Stepney had taken over production duties from Bobby Miller. 1973's "Give Your Baby a Standing Ovation" was their third certified gold record. The song was written by L.V. Johnson and produced by Don Davis. Leaving Cadet around the end of 1974 with the parent company in financial difficulties, the group would continue recording in order under the Mercury, ABC, and Virgin labels finding some hits, including 1980's "I Touched a Dream", which returned the group to the top 40 on the R&B chart. The Dells were confined mostly to the oldies market afterwards until they were asked to be creative consultants to Robert Townsend's acclaimed 1991 film, The Five Heartbeats, which was loosely based on the lives of The Dells and other groups of its era. The group recorded a composition titled "A Heart Is a House for Love". The song reached number 13 on the Billboard R&B chart, making them only one of two groups to have hit singles in five decades. The following year, signing with PIR, they released the album, "I Salute You". The Dells continued performing and recording sporadically in the early years of the new millennium. In 2004, the group were inducted to both the Vocal Group Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 2022 into National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. The group continued performing until 2012. So many great dancers hit the floors of the Northern Scene from these guys, they are truly LEGENDS in my book...wow what an album!...Some of you may not know this but the original version of "Higher & Higher" (Jackie Wilson) was first recorded by The Dells, although it wasn't released until 1968, after Wilson's version had become a hit.
You know when you hear a track on the radio, in my case a soul show a week ago, & you know you have that track but you cant for the life of you remember the artist etc...well its drove me nuts so i put out a few feelers to you guys & lo and behold Yves & Hakase came through with the group & title so thanks guys for stopping me going nuts!🤣..Once i knew that i could crack on and find it. The group in question were Solar Flare ,an obscure philly outfit that recorded only 3 records and this gem is one of the best philly records ever made IMHO..Please dont let the title mislead you "Boogie Fund" as its a great record and i ripped it from the 12 inch i still have on RCA. This record crossed over to ALL the soul rooms (bar R&B) and was huge back in the 70,s, thats why it caught my attention as i thought eye eye !...long time no hear..So now ive shared that tale with you all enjoy the album!
.png)
