Kent 201 - King Northern Soul Vol 2 (2001) + Booklet - Rare Soul (M4A 483MB) Like FLAC

More fantastic gems from the vaults of King records....Sometime member of The Esquires, Mill Evans cut just the one single for King but put three songs on to tape during that session. The one that didn't make the 45 was "Ain't You Glad".  It's 100% Chicago soul in style, and probably in practice, and is very reminiscent of Gene Chandler or Jackie Wilson at their mid 60s best. Just the sort of sound that got us all into this whole scene in the first place. The hand and voice of Charles Spurling is featured throughout this compilation and that's without a contribution from his protoge Junior McCants who was the phenomenon of the previous volume. His unissued recording is "You've Got Love On Top Of Love" which is in the uptempo vein that a lot of his late 60s work was cut in. Also witness "Let Me Be (A Steppin' Soul)" which is even faster and with a hard funk edge that reflected James Brown's huge influence on the company. Some of that style actually came from Charles Spurling who co-wrote "Unwind Yourself" with and for Hank Ballard and it was that song that gave JB's singing belle of the time, Marva Whitney, her finest funk moment when she covered the number. And to rival that musical landmark, Kent unearthed a classic piece of black music that not only irresistibly moves the feet but several vital organs as well. The song concerned is sung by Charles Spurling's young female discovery Connie Austin and is called "She Made A Mistake". It's not typically Northern Soul, yet it has a drive and passion that any red-blooded music lover can relate to. I'm sure Connie would have eventually joined the ranks of Marva, Vicki Anderson or Lynne Collins on JB's revues had she not decided to split for California at the wrong time. Charles also brought Peggie & Artie's "I'll Be Leaving You Soon" contribution to the CD, its great to see that kent have showcased his unique productions, arrangements and rhythm structures to be appreciated by the listener. The third unissued track comes from Billy Soul, whose socially conscious "So Many People" is unusual yet very appealing due to an uncommon style and a strong tune.  Another slight deviation from Volume One is the inclusion of a track from the Hollywood label which was grouped with King in the 60s. Freddie Williams' version of Jimmy Holiday's "I've Got To Live While I Can" is more testosterone fuelled dance floor action record that has been a staple of Northern Soul gatherings for decades. Its manifesto is summed up by the lines, "Everything I do I'm gonna do right, I'm gonna sleep by day and love by night", very apt. It's not all "Wham, bam, thank you Ma'am" by any means. There are doo wop influenced group ballads by the likes of the Solars, the King Pins and the Fabulous Denos and R&B is well represented by Freddy King and the Vonns. The 70s contribute excellent crossover tracks by Gloria Edwards, Regina Sherard and Our Brother's Keeper and a 1950s prototype soul ballad from Donnie Elbert called 2What Can I Do", gets to wrap things up, purely because it's one of the best records ever made and it just had to come out on Kent...As vol 1 A superb collection of rare soul!..But read the booklet ,more info in there. My CD has gone walkies so OSR stepped up.

AMM 

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