COVID-19 REALITY CHECK!

I have just seen this video on my sister's Facebook page who is a NHS nurse and think EVERYONE should watch it.  It was an interview with Dr Ami Jones an intensive care consultant on BBC Breakfast TV aired on 6th April and posted by host Dan Walker on his facebook page HERE

Elisabeth Martin [2020] - Little Love [Savannah Street]

One that's been out since Feb 2020 from Elisabeth Martin - Little Love on Savannah Street. A mellow neo soul stepper

SoulStrutter's Rating: 8.2

Canita Feat. Noel Gourdin [2020] - No Love

It's been a little while since I posted some new music so here goes:

Recent release from Canita Rogers featuring Noel Gourdin is a mellow neo soul stepper.

SoulStrutter's Rating: 8.75

Canita Facebook
Noel Gourdin Facebook

Fantastic Epics [197?] - Lets Get Together [Kelton 121-245]

Not much known about the Fantastic Epics.  I believe that they were Chicago based. 

All release except the 45 credited to Jimmy Burns & The Fantastic Epics were Aries Productions which was a Chicago record company run by James Mack who worked at Brunswick and arranged most of Tyrone Davis' releases. Aries owned Kelton which released only 3 known/listed 45s. Most releases on the Aries main label were by Shelley Fisher and Tenison Stephens.

Fun And Funk was written by Brooks, Harris and Martin Luther Dumas Jr., the latter was with Crystal Winds and Rasputin's Stash, both Chicago funk bands in the 70s/80s. The other Tories side was written by Robert Lee Thurston and Vince Willis, both Chicago writers, and Willis was also a member of Rasputin's Stash and, interestingly, played keyboards on Bobby Hutton's Piece Of The Action album.  I wonder whether there's a connection between Rasputin's Stash and Fantastic Epics?

Fantastic Epics [197?] - Lets Get Together [Kelton 121-245]

A great slab of 70s Northern Soul written by Leon Triplett one half of The Triplett Twins with (twin?) brother Levi (although apparently another release states Triplett Twins).  They also wrote Ernie Hines - Electrified Love on We Produce in 1971.

Fantastic Epics [197?] - We Do It All Up In Here [Kelton 121-246]

Early 70s street funk/rap.

Jimmy Burns & The Fantastic Epics [1966] - You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone [Tip Top 2013]

A driving Northern Soul thumper.

Jimmy Burns recorded a Northern Soul classic 'I Really Love You' on Erica in 1965 which is still pretty rare and would cost 4 figures if you managed to find one.  The song was written by Robert Lee Newsome who also recorded it under the alias Bobby James on Karol with an instrumental version on the flip, which I believe is even rarer than the Jimmy Burns 45.  Newsome also wrote and sang with the Chicago 60s group The Vontastics as Bobby Newsome.  I have created a post with different versions of the song.

Jimmy Burns & The Fantastic Epics [1966] - It Use To Be [Tip Top 2013]

A deep and soulful Northern Soul stroller just above beat ballad pace.

Fantastic Epics [1969] - Fun And Funk Part II [Tories T-1001]

Funk

Fantastic Epics [1969] - Fun And Funk Part III [Tories T-1001]

Psychedelic funk

Fantastic Epics [1969] - I Won't Forget'cha Brother [Tories T-1002]

Funk

Fantastic Epics [1969] - Fun And Funk Part II [Tories T-1002]

Same as Tories T-1001 above.

Fantastic Epics [1969] - Fun And Funk Part I [Tories T-1004]

No sound clip available

Fantastic Epics [1969] - Fun And Funk Part II [Tories T-1004]

Same as Tories T-1001 above

The Emotions - The Early Sides

Originally a gospel act calling themselves Hutchinson Sunbeams, the 3 Hutchinson sisters, Sheila, Wanda and Jeanette from Chicago began recording secular music as The Emotions in late 60s. Probably best known for their 70s hits Best Of My Love in 1977 and their collaboration with Earth, Wind & Fire on Boogie Wonderland in 1979.

In this post I aim to highlight some of their lesser known material from late 60s / early 70s.

The Sunbeams [1964] - The Good Old Days [Tollie 9022]

Their first secular release on Chicago's Tollie label as The Sunbeams was a typical early 60s girlie group sound.  I've only ever seen white promos of this so it may have never been released, which may explain why their next release was 3 years later?

Tollie was a subsidiary of Vee-Jay and was famous for the release of the first 2 Beatles singles in the US in 1964 Twist And Shout and Love Me Do.  It was only in operation for around a year and closed in 1965 but output approx. 50 releases in that short time including the Northern Soul mid-tempo masterpiece by Sam Fletcher - I'd Think It Over in May 1964.

The Emotions [1967] - I Can't Stand No More Heartaches [Brainstorm 125]

Underrated driving Chicago Northern Soul.

The Emotions [1967] - You'd Better get Pushed To It [Brainstorm 125]

One probably best described as funky Northern Soul / Crossover.

The Emotions [1968] - Somebody New [Twin Stacks 126]

Deep soul / crossover, group soul harmony.

Red label variant seems to sell for double that of the green label variant.

This 45 got a UK release on Dave Godin's original Deep Soul label in 1969.

The Emotions [1968] - Brushfire [Twin Stacks 126]

Mid-paced Northern Soul.

The Emotions [1968] - I Love You But I'll Leave You [Twin Stacks 130]

Another great crossover tune which had Brushfire on the flip.

The Emotions [1969] - So I Can Love You [Volt VOA 4010]

Mellow crossover /  deep soul group harmony.

The Emotions [1969] - Got To Be The Man [Volt VOA 4010]

Northern Soul

The Emotions [1969] - Stealing Love [Volt VOA 4031]

Northern Soul

The Emotions [1969] - When Tomorrow Comes [Volt VOA 4031]

An Isaac Hayes & David Porter deep soul ballad composition originally released as a more uptempo version by Carla Thomas on Stax in 1967.

Carla Thomas [1967] - When Tomorrow Comes [Stax S-214]

The Emotions [1970] - Heart Association [Volt VOA 4045]

Sweet and soulful ballad/stepper.

The Emotions [1970] - The Touch Of Your Lips [Volt VOA 4045]

Deep and sweet soul group harmony - those soulful harmonies ... just sublime!

I believe it's Theresa Davis on lead on this track

The Emotions [1970] - Black Christmas [Volt VOA 4053]

Don't let the title put you off - yes it's a Christmas record but so soulful and easily one of the best after Donny Hathaway's This Christmas. Written by Pervis Staples, son of Pops Staples.

The Emotions [1971] - You Make Me Want To Love You [Volt VOA 4054]

Early 70s funky crossover.

The Emotions [1971] - Show Me How [Volt VOA 4066]

Superb mellow deep soul stepper.

The Emotions [1972] - Blind Alley [Volt VOA 4077]

Written by David Porter and sampled no fewer than 164 times by the likes of Mariah Carey - Dreamlover, Big Daddy Kane, LL Cool J, Notorious B.I.G, 2 Pac, Pete Rock etc.

The Emotions [1972] - I Could Never be Happy [Volt VOA 4083]

Another melodic, deep soul, group soul harmony stepper with hints of Ain't No Mountain High Enough.  This one just builds and builds.

The Emotions [1972] - I've Fallen In Love [Volt VOA 4083]

A sweet and deep soul ballad written by Carla Thomas and released on her Memphis Queen album.

Carla Thomas [1969] - I've Fallen In Love (With You) [Stax STA-0011]

Joss Stone [2003] - I've Fallen In Love With You [S-Curve]

A nice version from The Soul Sessions album.

The Emotions [1972] - I Call This Loving You [Volt VOA 4088]

Early 70s funky soul dancer.

The Emotions [1972] - I Call This Loving You [Volt VOA 4088]

A sweet soul toe-tapping stepper.

The Emotions [1972] - I Wanna Come Back [Volt VOA 4095]

Sweet and deep

The Emotions [1973] - Peace Be Still [Volt VOA 4100]

Gospel / Deep soul with video footage of The Emotions singing in church.  The 45 version is an edited live version from Wattstax 1972 - the full version is 8:54 and on 'The Living Word' album.

The Emotions [1973] - What Do The Lonely Do At Christmas [Volt VOA 4104]

Another Christmas song but this Homer Banks & Carl Hampton deep soul cut is just too soulful to be omitted.

The Emotions [1974] - Anyway You Look At It [Volt VON 4113]

Wonderful mellow soulful ballad on the flip to their cover of Johnny Nash's There Are More Questions Than Answers. No label scan available.

That concludes their best releases before they left Volt after the demise of Stax and joined Columbia. I'll finish off with a couple of tracks before they had their first major hit Best Of My Love in 1977.

The Emotions [1976] - Flowers [Columbia 310347]

Modern soul stepper which I always thought was a hit but it only reached #87 in US and didn't trouble the UK charts at all.  I recall buying it on 12" in UK which at the time was one of the first 12" singles released (it's the 12" version posted below).  A great double-sider with I Don't Wanna Lose Your Love on the flip.

The Emotions [1976] - I Don't Wanna Lose Your Love [Columbia 310347]

Modern soul dancer.

There's plenty more material from this greatly underrated and overlooked group from 1976 onwards which I may post later.

Elvin Spencer - Lift This Hurt

Lift his Hurt, a great example of Chicago crossover, has seen 5 different releases.  Originally on Winner in 1970 which is a shorter and faster version, then in 1971 on Twinight, the same version then came out on Bandit in 1974 and again on The Chosen Few in 1975 by The Chosen Few, and finally it was reissued as Elvin Spencer on E.S.Cosy. A comment on Discogs (by respected soul aficionado Rod Dearlove - Voices From The Shadows) states that it was pressed from vinyl by Elvin Spencer (E.S.) in late 80s as master tapes were not available. 

Elvin Spencer was originally from Memphis and moved to Chicago when he came out of the army in 1969.  He joined The Chosen Few around 1974. Discogs lists a 12 track album 'Picking Up The Pieces' by him released in 1996, but other than that and the 3 tracks here on 5 different releases and 2 other 45s by The Chosen Few I can find no other material.

Elvin Spencer [1970] - Lift This Hurt [Winner W-0472]

This was the only release on Bill Meeks' Alteen subsidiary label.

Original version is shorter and faster than the later issue on Twinight.

Elvin Spencer [1970] - Don't Make This Dream Come True [Winner W-0472]

Superb deep soul / crossover track which makes the Winner version a 'winner' as you get this as well as the faster version of Life This Hurt.

Elvin Spencer [1971] - Lift This Hurt [Twinight 159]

Elvin Spencer [1971] - You've Been Unfair [Twinight 159]

Deep soul

Chosen Few [1974] - Lift This Hurt [Bandit RS 2521]

Although credited to Chosen Few this is in fact is exactly the same as the Twinight release by Elvin Spencer (who was now a member of Chosen Few) pressed from the master which Arrow Brown (Bandit's owner) obtained from Twinight. Chosen Few then left Bandit and reissued the tracks on their own The Chosen Few label in 1975.  They also released another 45 on The Chosen Few label Rico Collins & The Chosen Few Since You've Been Gone/What's Gonna Happen To Me which was also issued on Soul Beat.

Chosen Few [1974] - You've Been Unfair [Bandit RS 2521]

COVID-19 10th April 2020

Summary

US new cases up 1,601 from yesterday and it looks likely total cases will be around 500,000 tomorrow at current rates.  New York has now the most cases worldwide at 161,504.

Spain had lowest number of new cases (5,002) since peak on 26 Mar 8,271.

Italy continues to have fewer new cases (4,204) since peak 6,557 21 Mar, but new cases have increased for the last 2 days since the low of 3,039 7 Apr.

Like Italy, Germany continues to have fewer cases since the peak 6.933 26 Mar but new cases have been higher than the low of 6 Apr 3,252 for the last 3 days.

France new cases up 918 and deaths up 800 to 1,344 the 3rd highest to date and the 5th time deaths have exceeded 1,000 in a day in France. No other EU country has reported more than 1,000 deaths in a day, even at its worst Italy only reported 919 deaths in a day, UK 938, Spain 961, Germany 333.

UK new cases down 1,147 from yesterday but still UK's 4th highest number. Reported deaths (881) are 2nd highest after yesterday's high of 938.

I think what the latest figures are showing is that even though it would appear that Italy, Spain and Germany all peaked 2 to 3 weeks ago, and new cases are lower, they are still experiencing 4,000-5,000 new cases per day.  France, UK and US 'may' have peaked in the last week (still to be confirmed), but we should expect to continue to see a consistent number of new cases for a few more weeks.

Latest stats from Worldometers

Latest v previous day - increase/decrease

Country	New Cases 9 Apr	New Cases 8 Apr	New Case Increase	Deaths 9 Apr	Deaths 8 Apr	Death Increase
IT	4,204	3,836	368	610	542	68
ES	5,002	6,278	-1,276	655	747	-92
DE	4,939	5,633	-694	258	333	-75
FR	4,799	3,881	918	1,341	541	800
UK	4,344	5,491	-1,147	881	938	-57
US	33,536	31,935	1,601	1,903	1947	-44

Latest v previous day - actuals

Daily	09-Apr				08-Apr
Country	New Cases	Total Cases	No. Deaths	Death Rate%	Total Cases	No. Deaths	Death Rate%
IT	4,204	143,626	18,279	12.7%	139,422	17,669	12.7%
ES	5,002	153,222	15,447	10.1%	148,220	14,792	10.0%
DE	4,939	118,235	2,607	2.2%	113,296	2,349	2.1%
FR	4,799	117,749	12,210	10.4%	112,950	10,869	9.6%
UK	4,344	65,077	7,978	12.3%	60,733	7,097	11.7%
US	33,536	468,566	16,691	3.6%	434,927	14,788	3.4%

Latest v one week ago - actuals

Weekly	09-Apr				02-Apr
Country	New Cases	Total Cases	No. Deaths	Death Rate%	Total Cases	No. Deaths	Death Rate%
IT	4,204	143,626	18,279	12.7%	115,242	13,914	12.1%
ES	5,002	153,222	15,447	10.1%	112,065	10,348	9.2%
DE	4,939	118,235	2,607	2.2%	84,794	1,107	1.3%
FR	4,799	117,749	12,210	10.4%	59,105	5,387	9.1%
UK	4,344	65,077	7,978	12.3%	33,718	2,921	8.7%
US	33,536	468,566	16,691	3.6%	246,515	6,081	2.5%

Latest v one week ago - percentage rate increase

	Daily		Weekly
Country	Total Cases Increase Factor	Death Rate  Increase Factor	Total Cases Increase Factor	Death Rate  Increase Factor
IT	103.0%	100.4%	124.6%	105.4%
ES	103.4%	101.0%	136.7%	109.2%
DE	104.4%	106.3%	139.4%	168.9%
FR	104.2%	107.8%	199.2%	113.8%
UK	107.2%	104.9%	193.0%	141.5%
US	107.7%	104.8%	190.1%	144.4%