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
High quality & very rare tracks, released on Polydor between 1972 and 1980. The masters were originally produced by independent record producers, or indie labels During the 1970s, Polydor licensed a large amount of soul and funk material. Soulful and often relegated to B-sides, originally pressed in minute quantities. No funk just sweet & Uptempo soul.
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The Tasters!
UPGRADE from the old blog...the fatback label came before the band, about the same time as the remarkable shop that is pictured on the front of this CD. known as the home of fatback it was bill Curtis' business centre for his band, and a booking agency for local talent, an academy of music, a place to organise parties and functions and much more. Named after Bill's unusual style of drumming,it became the label name when Bill ventured into the record business and he also adopted it for his band,s name when he was eventually ready to record them. That was after the label had closed and Bill had set up BC Project ii for the initial fatback singles,credited to johnny king and the fatback band. These songs were proto-funk numbers but also contained some fine melodies which was inevitable with the band's strong musical roots on vinyl they are as scarce as a sexually naive new r&b video and one of the three is in an extended version from the (then) found master tape. The link between Gerry Thomas and Bill Curtis is how Gerry progressed from the Jimmy Castor Bunch via Gerry and Paul & the Soul Emissaries to the Fatback Band, which he didn't officially join until the late 70s. The music is of high quality throughout and tracks like "peace,love not war" by the early Fatback Band,"i need you" by the Puzzles and Mary Davis' mega rare indemander "who will it be" are particular highlights and bonuses in the form of unissued tapes that had the two great songs left on the shelf and included here. Also two catchy numbers from a singer named Jimmy Williams are also ncluded, being 16 tracks worth of material it is a rare Kent CD. This is now a long deleted album that is now quite hard to obtain containing many unissued tracks seeing release for the first time back in 2003. A quite brilliant album and one of my faves from the Kent label! This is the early days of the fatback sound with five classic northern dancers mainly from the torch... herein befor they went on to acieve super stardom as one of the top funk bands in the world. a great mix of both genres!
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The Fantastic Tasters!
I hunted this out after a request for it and TBH i expected a lot more from the vaults of Weldon A McDougal III anticipating some uptempo Harthon cuts from that legendary label. There are some good cuts on it but not what i was expecting. Strange that the artists are not listed on the back cover and very little info at all. All tracks bar five were unissued. A rare version of the gwen Owens classic "Lies" is a plus. They cetainly did,nt push the boat out on the budget for this release, ive seen better presented boots.
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The Tasters!
Tracks
01 Jimmy Randolph - There's No More Beautiful Days
02 Jimmy Randolph - All That I Want
03 Barbara Cole - Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean
04 Barbara Mason - Take Me Tonight
05 Dahlia - L.O.V.E. Love
06 Dahlia - What's This Hoodoo Voodoo
07 Universal Love - We Gonna Rock This Place
08 Dennis Rodgers & Universal Love - It's You Girl
09 Dennis Rodgers & Universal Love - Moon Ride
10 Sharon Paige - Rain
11 Sharon Paige - Lies
12 Herman Green - Keep Believin
13 Joe Shamwell - Loving You Is A Every Day Thing
14 The Larks - Unbeliebable
15 3p`s - Why Can't You Be Nice To Me
16 Weldon A. McDougal III - Brazilian Rock
17 Weldon A. McDougal III - You Know I Know
18 Lou Gordon - Sweet Memories
Inspired by Sam Phillips, a Memphis radio technician who had started producing a few years earlier (and made a huge sum of money on Elvis Presley), Jim Stewart founded Satellite Records. A banker by day and country fiddle player by night, Stewart knew that he could never make it as professional musician. However, he felt he could be the next best thing - a producer - despite having no experience or knowledge of the recording industry. Satellite cut its first record in October 1957, “Blue Roses”, a country song with low production quality.In order to get a better sound, Stewart needed better equipment, and, in order to get better equipment, he needed money. He approached his older sister, a music-loving bank clerk named Estelle Axton, for help and she mortgaged her house to buy an Ampex 350 console recorder for the studio.In 1960, Estelle refinanced her house again to fund the studio’s move west from Brunswick, Tenn. to a former movie theatre on McLemore Ave. in Memphis. The company was renamed Stax, a combination of the first two letters of Stewart and Axton’s last names. This double CD contains those early satellite recordings some issued on the stax label.
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The Tasters!
The last episode in this superb series sees Al bell Stax president fighting to keep the label alive and stay out of jail as he becomes a victim of corporate America. Also Stax wanting to break the L.A. market and the WattStax concert. But despite Al Bells efforts the label goes under and the Banks win.
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Whilst Moxy cruises the world he sent me this today (why the lazy sod cant post it himself is ???...lol). This album is from Ian levines catalog with new songs at that time done i must admit to a high quality that surprised me, not as synthetic as some of his older material working with the giants of soul music mainly from detroit. Interestingly, alongside the old Motown stars there’s Levine produced cuts from UK stars like Noel McKoy, Angie Gold and Ebony Alleyne… odd, yes, but adding to the huge appeal of the set.
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The Tasters!
The records of Lorraine Silver are prized by girl group and Northern soul collectors alike, not bad for a then 13-year-old Jewish kid from London. Born in 1951, she began her recording career in 1965 while on holiday break from school, during a shopping trip to the Oxford Street district, Silver already a veteran of the talent show circuit entered a Woolworth's record booth, depositing two shillings (10 UK Pence now) and cutting an acappella rendition of "Sealed with a Kiss." Within two months of dropping off the acetate at Pye Records' London offices, she was offered a record contract, making her official debut with an uptempo rendition of the Shelley Fabares hit "Lost Summer Love." Featuring Beatles associate Klaus Voorman on bass, the resulting single a classic dancefloor stomper ideally suited to Silver's powerful and soulful vocals became a British chart smash, and the teen singer enjoyed a brief flurry of fame. (Another jewish girl helen Shapiro was also riding a crest at the same same) Silver's career quickly took a downturn, however scheduled for an appearance on the UK TV program "Ready, Steady, Go", at her managers' insistence she was replaced by their firm's other current chart act, the Overlanders. When the follow-up single "The Happy Faces" failed to receive a significant promotional push, a disillusioned Silver retired from performing to return to her school career. she did not resurface publicly until the 1970s, touring cabarets under her married name Lorraine West. In the meantime, Silver's original recording of "Lost Summer Love" became a major favorite of Northern soul crowds, and without her knowledge, the single was reissued on the Casino Classics label, selling in excess of 12,000 copies. Still unaware of her resurgent popularity, she toured as a member of the vocal group Mixed Feelings during much of the 1980s, only learning of her cult following in 1988 when her husband spotted "Lost Summer Love" discussed in the pages of Blues & Soul Magazine. In the years to follow, Silver regularly appeared at the Northern soul weekends at Caister Holiday Park. In the 21st century, she could be found touring the U.K. with the Edwin Starr Band, and she released the single "Standing at the Intersection" in January 2018. Here are many unreleased cover versions of well known Northern Classic delivered rather well!
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The Tasters!
REPOST/RE-EDIT/IMPROVED...I thought this great album was well worth revisiting after it was shared by OSR. Fantastic tracks as rare as rocking horse shit. So if you grabbed this the first time around dump it for this improved copy! great Vocals & Instrumentals!
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Courtesy Of OSR..Thanks Again M8!
The Tasters!
REPOST/REQUEST from the old blog...Nice to be back from a little break and to a ton of requests!.........In our modern world of mega media companies, where corporate giants such as AOL Time Warner, Viacom and Walt Disney dominate both the music labels and the media outlets, the idea of a local musician starting his own recording label seems very unlikely if not downright impossible. But Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in the 1960's was a hotbed of soul music talent, and local musician Bobby Fulton saw both an opportunity and a need to record artists who were performing in the area. No other recording options were then available in the mid state for soul or gospel artists, so in September 1967, Fulton, who was performing with the bands "The Emperors" and "The Soul Exotics," got together with friends Toby Young, Jimmy Walker and Hulie Diggs to create Soulville Productions. Located on North Sixth Street in Harrisburg, the fledgling company's first release was the 45 "Nobody To Blame/Nothing Matters" from the nine-member "Soulville All-Stars." For some crazy reason not included on this CD so i,ve included it as a bonus track as its one of the best northern tracks you,ll ever hear!..Fulton himself was a member of the R&B "All-Stars," which featured vocal harmonies and horn arrangements in the style popularized by the "Temptations." Other artists and groups were soon released on the Soulville label and the company soon built up a catalog of R&B, funk and gospel titles which included artists from across the country who flocked to harrisburg once word got out. Jay-Walking 45 "The Way I Love You" by The Continental 4 Despite distributing numerous copies of their new titles to area radio stations, the Soulville promotions team had difficulty getting satisfactory airplay, and found that many stations would not promote an entire line from a particular label. Enter Jay-Walking Records an offshoot of Soulville, created as a means to get more airplay for Soulville talent. In 1972, Fulton took an opportunity to work in Pittsburgh as Director of Operations for Black Circle Records. He subsequently became an ordained Baptist minister and founded Gospel Music Ministries International, a Christian Interdenominational Church Fellowship. The Soulville label continued to release titles for a few years, and according to Rev. Fulton, is still a viable label today. A lovely printed label littlered with great northern dancers! If you have`nt heard this great album before your in for a real treat!
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The Tasters!
Found this gem before i went away, from the vaults of Jewel/Paula/Ronn stable of labels outta Shreveport, Louisiana comes this album still on Vinyl only from two of the greatest groups to come from the deep south!. Each side of the LP is devoted to that particular group. The Wallace Bros hailed from Atlanta, Georgia & The Patterson Twins from Magee, Mississippi. This is what soul music is all about!
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The Tasters!
More sad news i,m afraid the passing of Evelyn Thomas and the last remaining original member of The Four Tops "Duke" Fakir.here,s my tribute to Evelyn R.I.P. & her connection to northern soul. Chicago native Evelyn Thomas born 1953 emerged before the commercial peak of disco It was in the post-disco era that she truly etched her name in dance music history. Launched from underground clubs, "High Energy" (1984), produced by long-term studio partner Ian Levine rejuvenated the singer's career by cracking the U.K. Top Ten and topping the U.S. club chart, and in turn became one of the definitive recordings of the post-disco era. An ex-gospel singer blessed with a bluesy voice, Thomas has had a lengthy career beyond her signature hit, as her elastic, soulful vocals have fit everything from soul-jazz to torch songs to the pulsating electronic dance music for which she's best known. Ellen Lucille Thomas was discovered in her hometown of Chicago by British DJ and songwriter/producer Ian Levine. Levine had come to the U.S. to discover talent for his newly formed Voltafine Production Company. His goal was to record American soul singers and lease the results to major recording companies. Impressed by Thomas' voice, he cut some tracks with her and secured a deal with 20th Century Records. Levine and Danny Leake produced Thomas' first single, "Weak Spot,". The success of Thomas' record and others prompted Voltafine to fly their American artists to England to tour and appear on Top of the Pops in hopes of additional success. Thomas came over with fellow Chicagoans and Voltafine artists Barbara Pennington and L.J. Johnson. The appearances went well, and Thomas nearly scored a second Top 40 U.K. hit with her follow-up, "Doomsday." After returning to Chicago, the trio were soon flown back to England to tour the Northern soul clubs as the Chicago Soul Revue. Levine had established himself earlier in the decade as a DJ at the Blackpool Mecca, one of the major Northern soul venues. After a total of four singles for 20th Century, Thomas recorded for Casablanca and AVI, releasing the albums "I Wanna Make It on My Own" and "Have a Little Faith in Me" by the end of the '70s. For a few years, Thomas didn't record any new material. After Levine became one of the leading producers of the uptempo and electronic post-disco sound dubbed Hi-NRG, he and Thomas resumed their partnership with "High Energy." Sure enough, the 1984 single became one of the style's most representative songs, peaking at number five in the U.K., where it was issued on Record Shack. In the U.S., licensed to the Vanguard label, it topped the Billboard club chart. "High Energy" was consequently Thomas' biggest album, and was followed two years later by "Standing at the Crossroads". Thomas released a batch of lower-profile singles through the '90s and continued recording and performing into the 2010s.
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The Tasters!
REPOST/UPGRADE from the old blog...I was talking today to moxy about the great Jazz/Funk clubs we used to frequent and this album popped up in the conversation after my sunday review of him. It,s hard to think back in the day people used to dance to some of these awesome tracks ( re tasters) as its a killer of an album. Two albums from these guys the brainchild of the great Shigeharu Mukai trombonist/Flute player supreme!
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The Tasters!
Tracks & Line Up
01 Orissa
02 Lonely Rider
03 Transportation
04 News
05 Sugarcane Dread
06 Personal Call
07 Fantastic Slim
08 Pineapple Rain
09 Orissa (Reprise)
Trombone, Flute (Baroque Flute) – Shigeharu Mukai
Acoustic Guitar – Hiroki Miyano (tracks: 8)
Bass – Getao Takahashi
Drums, Electronic Drums – Pecker
Guitar – Ryo Kawasaki (tracks: 4, 7), Shinji Shiotsugu (tracks: 2)
Keyboards – Hiromichi Tsugaki
Percussion, Marimba, Voice – Tony Koba
Changing times in America for the black community & Isaac Hayes rise to superstadom winning an Oscar for composing the music for SHAFT the first black man to do so. Boss Al bell,s continuing uphill fight to get a fair deal for the label.
Superb outing from master trombonist Shigeharu Mukai. This was his 2nd solo album from a total of 15 recorded. The line up includes the cream of japanese Jazz fusion!
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The Tasters!
Line Up
Trombone – Shigeharu Mukai
Bass – Tamio Kawabata
Clavinet – Toshiyuki Daitoku (track 5)
Congas – Tatsuji Yokoyama (tracks 3, 5)
Drums – Ryojiroh Furusawa
Guitar – Kazumi Watanabe (tracks 3, 4)
Piano, Electric Piano – Kazuhide Motooka
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Yasuaki Shimizu
Written-By – Shigeharu Mukai
Sylvia Robinson , singer, songwriter, producer & label owner was born in 1935 & passed in 2011. She was born Sylvia Vanderpool in Harlem, New York. As a 14-year-old student at Washington Irving high school, her vocal talent led to her first recordings, singing blues with a band led by the trumpeter Hot Lips Page. Between 1956 and 1962, she worked as a duo with her former guitar teacher, the virtuoso instrumentalist Mickey Baker. In 1962 Baker moved to Paris, bringing their partnership to an end. Sylvia married the musician Joe Robinson in 1964. She immersed herself in the music business and ran a club in the Bronx before the couple moved to Englewood, New Jersey. There, they opened Soul Sound Studio, an eight-track recording studio which, like Motown and Stax, had its own house band of backing musicians. The Robinsons formed the All Platinum Record Co. in 1968, and Sylvia became one of the few female record producers/owners at the time. By the late 1970s, All Platinum was in financial difficulties, caused in part by the Robinsons' purchase in 1975 for close to $1m of the rights to the Chess Records catalogue, which included recordings by Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters. They intended to record new material under the Chess banner, but found they could not afford to. In 1979 the company was thrown a lifeline. Sylvia was alerted by her teenage son Joey to the new sounds developing in the Bronx. The resulting track, "Rapper's Delight", was soon selling 50,000 copies a day. It became a top 40 hit in the US and reached No 3 in the UK. The single launched the Robinsons' Sugar Hill Records label and Sylvia became a leading figure in the rapid proliferation of hip-hop music worldwide making her a lot of money. Like most soul labels All Platinum had its own unique signature that has attracted collectors and buyers alike with a huge fan base. As a sole artist she only recorded 4 albums ( the others will be reviewed) and close to 40 x 45,s in her busy career. This album was massive on the soul scene in the UK for the title track, its a strange album over all (did she get the idea from jane Birkin ?) but compelling to the listener. She did record the "New Sounds" album with her old mentor Mickey baker and i have that also as well as many comps on the duo with unreleased cuts.
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The Tasters!
