Soul Jewels Vol 1: Let's Do It Over

Deeper than deep, wider than wide...
Every beautiful song on this album shines like a diamond, refracting light into a spectrum consisting of varying shades of blue.
I am hugely grateful for my local boot sale which continues to introduce me to incredible lost sounds.  I hope you all find something special on this wonderful album.



Tracklist:

01     Bobby Powell     Our Love    
02     Ted Taylor     How Do You Walk Away From Fear    
03     Joe Valentine     I Can Stand To See You Go    
04     The Wallace Brothers     I Stayed Away Too Long    
05     Bobby Powell     In Time    
06     Fontella Bass     To Be Free    
07     Ted Taylor     Strangest Feeling    
08     Toussaint McCall     Nothing Takes The Place Of You    
09     Joe Valentine     A Woman's Love    
10     Toussaint McCall     I'll Do It For You    
11     Bobby Powell     I'm Not Going To Cry Over Spilt Milk    
12     Fontella Bass     I Want Everyone To Know    
13     Ted Taylor     Friendship Only Goes So Far    
14     Bobby Powell     Hold My Hand    
15     The Wallace Brothers     My Baby's Gone    
16     Toussaint McCall     Let's Do It Over

Get it HERE.

Authentic R&B - Various Artists (1963)

Here we have a fantastic compilation of swamp blues from Louisiana.  The album comprises songs originally released on the Baton Rouge label, Excello Records during the '50s and early '60s, and there are some real raw footstompers from some of Louisiana's best blues, soul and R&B artists.

Check out this 1958 classic from Lazy Lester:


Tracklist:

01     Lightnin' Slim –     I'm Evil       
02     Lazy Lester –     You're Gonna Ruin Me Baby       
03     Slim Harpo –     I Got Love If You Want It       
04     Jimmy Anderson  –     Going Through The Park       
05     Lightnin' Slim –     I'm Warning You Baby       
06     Lonesome Sundown –     Lonesome Lonely Blues       
07     Leroy Washington  –     Wild Cherry       
08     Silas Hogan –     You're Too Late Baby       
09     Lazy Lester –     I'm A Lover, Not A Fighter       
10     Slim Harpo –     I Love The Life I'm Living       
11     Jimmy Anderson  –     Naggin'       
12     Silas Hogan –     I'm Gonna Quit You Pretty Baby       
13     Lonesome Sundown –     I'm Glad She's Mine       
14     Slim Harpo –     I'm A King Bee       
15     Whispering Smith –     Mean Woman Blues       
16     Lightnin' Slim –     Loving Around The Clock

Get it HERE.

Alla Pugacheva - Mirror of the Soul (1978)

This 1978 compilation of songs by Alla Pugacheva is a quite incredible collection of Communist era prog rock, soul, psychedelia and big, ballsy balladeering from one of Russia's most popular and enduring stars.  For all the funky goodness on display here, Alla was, for many, the epitome of the State-endorsed Culture Industry of the late Soviet era - safe, manufactured entertainment designed to pacify the mind.  Sound familiar?  For all that, I'm loving some of these mad tracks at the minute - the producers obviously had lots of fun, and it sometimes seeps into a lovely kind of Pink Floyd-esque territory.  Anyone who enjoyed the Patty Pravo album I posted a while back will want to check this out.

Here is a severely abridged version of 'Shaman's Tambourine':

Tracklist:

01         Бубен Шамана · Witch-Doctor's Tambourine        
02         Верю В Тебя · I Believe In You   
03         Сонет · Sonnet         
04         Приезжай · Come        
05         Не Отрекаются Любя · Those Who Love Don't Renounce         
06         Песенка Про Меня · A Song About Me         
07         Женщина Которая Поет · The Woman Who Sings

Get it HERE.

The Flamingo Group featuring Marie Rottrová & Petr Němec - This Is Our Soul (1971)

Fabulously funky sounds from the Soviet Bloc.  These tracks are mostly cover versions of songs by American artists but there's enough energy and personality here to make this album a very worthwhile listen with some great party starters.  And both sides end with a mind-melting instrumental freak-out!

Tracklist:

01         Big Chain         
02         The Weight         
03         Hey Lonely Girl         
04         Ain't No Way         
05         Sunny         
06         Chain Of Fools         
07         I've Got Dreams To Remember         
08         Oh! What A Fool I've Been         
09         Nothing's Too Good For My Baby        
10         Purple Angels         
11         Quasimodo's Dream

Get it HERE.

Patty Pravo - Per Aver Visto Un Uomo Piangere E Soffrire Dio Si Trasformò In Musica E Poesia

I picked up two Patty Pravo LPs in a charity shop a couple of years ago and this one has really grown on me. Patty started out as a nightclub singer in the mid '60s, she has the honour of being the first pop singer to have a song played on Vatican Radio. This is her 1971 foray into orchestral prog-rock histrionics, I don't understand the Italian she sings but to me she conjures filmic images of a startled awakening from a '60s dream, aimless glamour, cynical and dead-eyed jetsetters in Rimini nightclubs, smashed ashtrays and hysteria. Maybe you'll like it.



Tracklist:

01 Morire... Dormire... Forse Sognare
02 Lanterne Antiche (Antique Annie's Magic Lantern Show)
03 Poema Degli Occhi (Poema Dos Olhos Da Amada)
04 Storia Di Una Donna Che Ha Amato Due Volte Un Uomo Che Non Sapeva Amare (The Same Old Chair)
05 Preghiera (Bright Tomorrow)
06 Un Uomo Una Donna Una Bambina (Do Yourself)
07 Un Volto Bianco Sulla Neve (I Do Love You)
08 T. L. & R. (Thunder Lightning And Rain)
09 Follow The Lamb

Get it HERE.

Betty Harris - In the Saddle (1980)

Here's a Saturday morning treat for y'all! Forty minutes of fierce and funky R&B from the Queen of New Orleans Deep Soul. These songs are raw and heartfelt and Betty's incredible voice are perfectly complimented by Allen Toussaint's gritty production.




Tracklist:

01 Ride Your Pony
02 Show It
03 What A Sad Feeling
04 Take Care Of Your Love
05 I'm Gonna Git Ya
06 Nearer To You
07 What'd I Do Wrong
08 Trouble With My Lover
09 Twelve Red Roses
10 I'm Evil Tonight
11 Cry To Me
12 I'll Be A Liar
13 There's A Break In The Road
14 All I Want Is You
15 I Can't Last Much Longer
16 Mean Man

Get it HERE.

Trouble Funk - Drop the Bomb (1982)

Last weekend the sun was blazing here on the south coast, temperatures crept up above 20C and I got a bit of a tan. This fantastic album got some play in my house and a great time was had by all.

When I was in my teens in the North-East of England (a small town called Bishop Auckland to be precise), Trouble Funk were big with the local B-Boys (there were maybe 5 or 6 of them in the mid-'80s) along with Schooly D, Kraftwerk and Run DMC. Trouble Funk make an almighty noise, theirs is a weird brand of disco-funk - heavy on the polyrhythmic percussion, fat bass and simple call and response vocal lines.
If the sun is out where you are, then you might want to give this a go.

'Pump Me Up' is my favourite track, so here it is:


Tracklist:

01 Hey Fellas
02 Get On Up
03 Let's Get Hot
04 Drop The Bomb
05 Pump Me Up
06 Don't Try To Use Me

Get it HERE.

Ann Peebles - I Can't Stand the Rain (1974)

Absolutely classic deep, southern soul with that sweet Memphis sound. This album was produced by the genius R&B and soul producer Willie Mitchell, and was originally released on his Hi Records label, home also to Al Green. Ann Peebles' voice aches and swoons across these songs and the band are super tight.

Tracklist:

01 I Can't Stand The Rain
02 Do I Need You?
03 Until You Came Into My Life
04 (You Keep Me) Hangin' On
05 Run, Run, Run
06 If We Can't Trust Each Other
07 A Love Vibration
08 You Got To Feed The Fire
09 I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down
10 One Way Street

Get it HERE.

An Album Full of Soul - Various Artists ($tateside 1965)

Excellent compilation of rare soul sounds from the mid '60s. I picked this one up in a flea market last week but unfortunately it came without a cover and also with a big scratch which makes Brooks O'Dell's 'You Better Make Up Your Mind' unplayable - hence it not being included in the zip. My current favourite tracks here are Little Eva's excellent cover of 'Stand By Me', which is an uptempo dancefloor stormer, and Titus Turner's 'I'm a Member of the Club'. Mostly though, this is lovely, blue, doleful, soulful stuff.

Tracklist:

01 Clyde McPhatter-Everybody's somebody's fool
02 Little Eva-Stand by me
03 Brooks O'Dell-You better make up your mind
04 Lee Dorsey-Work work work
05 Glady's Knight & The Pips-Lover's always forgive
06 Eddie Billups & The Gigs-My Faith in you
07 Pearl Woods-Something touched me
08 Titus Turner-I Am A Member of the club
09 Gladys Knight & The Pips-Stop and get a hold of my self
10 Big Dee Irwin-You satisy my needs
11 Betty Harris-What a sad feeling
12 Ed Towmnsend-I Love you
13 Earl King-You'll Remember me
14 Bobbie Smith-Wait
15 Clyde McPhatter-I Belong to you

Get it HERE.

The Marvelettes - The Marvelettes (1967)

A couple of weeks ago Dominic from Gigante Records posted a comment warning us that Motown Meltdown Volume 2 was about to be released as a freely downloadable album. Well, thank you Dominic for getting in touch, I've now had the chance to check out the music and I can wholeheartedly recommend it. If you're interested in hearing some seriously demented re-workings of classic old Motown tunes, then this is the album for you...and its all free and fun.
And if all that lunacy whets your appetite for a little more Motown, then you could do worse than to check this out:


In the early '60s, The Marvelettes were one of Tamla's biggest girl-groups scoring the company's first number 1 single in 1961 with 'Please Mr Postman'.
This 1967 album features killer versions of Robert Parker's 'Barefootin' and the Velvettes 'He Was Really Sayin' Something'. The real classic here though, is the gorgeous 'The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game' which has some beautiful lyrics and a really soulful feel as well as fantastic backing from the Funk Brothers:

Tracklist:

1. Barefootin'
2. Message to Michael
3. The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game
4. When You're Young and in Love
5. I Know Better
6. I Can't Turn Around
7. He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'
8. The Day You Take One (You Have to Take the Other)
9. When I Need You
10. Keep Off, No Trespassing
11. Tonight Was Made for Love
12. I Need Someone

Get it HERE.

Mataya Clifford - Star Fell from Heaven (1976)

This is a weird, mixed up mess of loads of different sounds and styles, all of which must have filtered through the ears of Mataya Clifford during his 1970s in Ladbroke Grove. The music here is sometimes kind of funk-rock, sometimes soulful and awash with mad strings, there's some reggae influences in there, and then the whole lot has this SOUND that is very pub-rock, or maybe influenced by the Notting Hill community bands of the period. I don't know. Maybe its none of these things and just some shonky old record I found in a flea market.

You decide:

Tracklist:

01. Star Fell From Heaven
02. Black Woman

03. Things Are Going My Way

04. Amazing Grace

05. Mama (Stay A Little While)

06. Just A Little Love

07. Running

08. Little Girl

09. Lost Child

Get it HERE.

El Barrio Dream - Various Artists (1996)

Excellent Japanese compilation of Latin sounds from New York. There's a great mix of stuff here, from straight up boogaloo to more soulful songs like 'Cowboys to Girls', or fuzz guitar madness on tracks like 'My Daddy's Farm', and all the big names (Tito Puente, Willie Colon, Joe Bataan) are represented alongside some more obscure groups like the TNT Band or Orchestra Harlow. Enjoy.

Tracklist:

01 Reminiscences
02 Que Paso (Wa Happens)
03 Got Myself Together
04 Bridges
05 Searching For Love
06 My Daddy's Farm
07 Chin Chow
08 Chinito Boogaloo
09 Subway
10 Slow Down
11 Cowboys To Girls
12 Michelle
13 Coquero
14 Grazin' In The Grass
15 At The Hamburgea Shop
16 Safari
17 Willie's Whopper
18 ME__
19 Bridges
20 De Que Te Quejas
21 Las Quisquellanas
22 Reminiscences
23 At Last

Get it HERE.

Mandrill - Solid (1975)

Mandrill were a psychedelic funk band from Brooklyn, New York. Formed in 1968 their sound was a heady brew that threw funk, soul, rock and latin influences together. In the early '70s their sound was characterised by energetic funk jams with acid guitar and mindblowing percussion breakdowns, by the time this album was released their sound had become a touch smoother...still cosmic though, and still funky.

Here's a clip of the band playing live on Soul Train in 1973:


Tracklist:

01 Yucca Jump
02 Peck Yer Neck
03 Wind On Horseback
04 Tee Vee
05 Solid
06 Stop & Go
07 Silk

Get it HERE.

Don Covay & The Jefferson Lemon Blues Band - Different Strokes for Different Folks (1970)

I was excited to find this in a fleamarket recently, mainly because I've been loving the Covay song that appears on this recent post. I initially thought that it must be a compilation of tracks from throughout his career, but then was intrigued to find that its actually a reissue of his 1970 album "Different Strokes for Different Folks". Check out the man in his finery on the original cover:
This is a great blend of deep soul, funk and blues sounds and its been keeping me entertained. Here's the excellent closing track:


Tracklist:

01		Sweet Thang
02		Daddy Please Don't Go Tonight
03		Why Did You Put Your Shoes Under My Bed
04		Stop By
05		Bad Luck
06		Hitching A Ride
07		Standing In The Grits Line
08		In The Sweet Bye And Bye
09		Ain't Nothing A Young Girl Can Do
10		If There's A Will There's A Way
11		What's In The Headlines

Get it HERE.

Get Up and Get Down! - Various Artists (Philips 1974)

Absolutely top notch collection of rare mid-'70s funk, soul and disco. The record contains some sweet northern soul like this one from Brother's Guiding Light:

It also has a sprinkling of street-tough ghetto funk like Etta James' stunning 'Out On the Street Again':

My very favourite though (and also one of John Peel's all time favourites) is this classic from Don Covay:


Tracklisting:

A1	Act One -	Tom The Peeper
A2	Brothers Guiding Light -	Getting Together
A3	Al Downing -	I'll Be Holding You
A4	Joe Tex -	Cat Got Her Tongue
A5	King Floyd -	Can You Dig It?
A6	Aaron Neville -	Hercules
A7	Cissy Houston -	Midnite Train To Georgia
A8	Annette Snell -	You Oughta Be Here With Me
B1	Whispers -	A Mother For My Children
B2	Roy C -	Got To Get Enough (Of Your Sweet Stuff)
B3	Etta James -	Out On The Streets Again
B4	Joneses -	Hey Babe (Is The Gettin' Still Good)
B5	Don Covay -	It's Better To Have (And Don't Need)
B6	Ohio Players -	Streakin' Cheek To Cheek
B7	Dramatics -	Choosing Up On You
B8	Little Anthony & Imperials -	La La La At The End

Get Up and Get Down HERE.

The Peddlers - Three in a Cell (1968)

Excellent bit of Hammond driven jazz-pop-lounge sounds from this band of Manchester hipsters. Here's some great footage of the band in action in the early '70s. Check the drummer!:

Tracklist:

01		Comin' Home Baby
02		On A Clear Day You Can See Forever
03		Basin Street Blue
04		Nobody Likes Me
05		I'm A Boy In Love
06		People
01		In The Still Of The Night
02		Ebb Tide
03		Just A Pretty Song
04		Lost Continent
05		Prime Of My Life

Get it HERE.

Timmy Thomas - Why Can't We Live Together (Glades 1972)

The title track from this album is probably familiar to many, its deep, minimal gospel inflected
soul sound is striking and stays with you long after the song finishes. Like many 'message' songs (from the sublime 'Imagine' to the ridiculous 'Where is the Love?') this one proved popular with the record buying public, making the top 3 in the US and the top 10 in many European countries in 1972 and '73. What struck me when I first heard it was the inventive use of an early drum machine and the rudimentary production that lends the song a weird, otherworldly quality. I picked this album up at a boot sale last sunday and was unsure as to whether it would be any good, but was really surprised to find that the otherworldly reverberations seep across the whole album. Some of it comes on like someone spiked the drinks at the tea dance on the end of Blackpool Pier. The album is entirely solo. Timmy Thomas is the only musician on the album; the beatbox is built into the keyboard and he squeezes out bass lines with the foot pedals. Here he is in action (try to ignore the out of step go-go girl):

Hope you enjoy this one as much as I have.

Tracklist:

01 Why Can't We Live Together
02 Rainbow Power
03 Take Care of Home
04 The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
05 The Coldest Days of My Life
06 In the Beginning
07 Cold Cold People
08 Opportunity
09 Dizzy Dizzy World
10 Funky Me

Get the goodness HERE.

George & Gwen McCrae - Together (Cat Records 1975)

Great Miami soul from George and Gwen McCrae. This album swings between the smooth soul sound of songs like 'You and I Were Made for Each Other', and the dirty, sex-funk of songs like 'Mechanical Body' or 'The Rub'. Gwen McCrae has a really fantastic voice and this album has been getting a lot of play in my house over the last few weeks. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

A little taster:

Track list:

01 I'll Do The Rockin'
02 You and I Were Made for Each Other
03 Mechanical Body
04 I'm Comin' At You
05 Let's Dance, Dance, Dance
06 Winners Together, Losers Apart
07 Home Sick, Love SIck
08 The Rub
09 Let Your Love Do the Talkin'

Get it HERE.

Bohannon - Bohannon's Best (Brunswick 1975)

Hamilton Bohannon was a drummer, a band leader and producer who started out with Motown in 1965 working as a drummer for Stevie Wonder and as an arranger for many of the label's top acts. Bn 1972 Detroit was no longer a booming centre of industry, but a symbol of urban blight and post-industrial decline; poverty, deprivation, rioting and crime all played a part in creating a new image for the city as one of the most dangerous in America. In 1972, Motown Records left Detroit to Los Angeles. Hamilton Bohannon stayed behind to form his own band with other Motown refugees. The resulting music is some of the uncompromising dance music of the era. This stuff was popular in the inner city discos and dancehalls, but there is nothing fluffy about these rhythms. This is hard-edged, stripped down, lean and aggressive dancefloor funk, rough and dirty, the real sound of '70s Motortown.

Here's a little taste:

Track list:

01 The Stop & Go
02 Keep on Dancing
03 South Africa Man
04 Disco Stomp
05 Truck Stop
06 Getting to the Other Side
07 Footstompin' Music
08 Happy Feeling
09 The Pimp Walk
10 Have a Good Day

Get it HERE.

The Detroit Emeralds - Feel The Need (Westbound 1977)

The title track here will be familiar to many people, gorgeous soulful dancefloor R&B that I'm loving on these warm days. I often find that the b-sides of these '70s soul or funk albums are weaker than the a-side...that's certainly the case here, but side one is pretty great all the way through, though I'm sure you're more than capableof mking up your own mind.

Tracklist:

01 Set It Out
02 Take It or Leave Me
03 Feel The Need
04 Wednesday
05 Love For You
06 Look What's Happened To Our Love
07 Sexy Ways
08 Love Has Come To Me

Get it HERE.