My selection of the best releases this week (Dec 2021 Wk 48)
In no particular order other than tempo.
It's the time of year when you would think that new material starts to dwindle, however, if you checked out "The Bleeding Edge" playlist posted on Friday I still managed to select 73 'reasonable' tracks from the hundreds that were released (if you think some of these aren't 'up to scratch' then you should listen to many of the others omitted! Having said that though there are very few, if any, releases from what you would call established artists and I think this week's dozen highlights that, as most are from names previously unknown.
It's quite a mixed bag but choosing this week's Soul Strutter Selection of the Week was a no brainer for me, even though it is a real early 70s throwback tune, my selection is Bobby Harden & The Soulful Saints with "Feels So Good" showing that all new music doesn't have to be the same, old same old whiny auto-tuned nonsense! A late-comer to the pack worthy of mention is "Never Settle For Less" from an album only posted earlier today from Hareston Clay which is another retro sounding tune has been around for almost three weeks and seems to have gone under the radar.
As always the playlist is in no particular order of merit simply ordered by tempo starting off with the slowies and building in tempo.
The SoulStrutter Top 30 of the most viewed posts in the last 30
days (i.e. blog readers choices).
As anticipated last week, as many were approaching 30 days, there are eleven new entries this week but none have broken into the top half of the chart.
Silk Sonic remains on top for the third week and may yet survive another week at the top. Doc City, Regi Myrix, Jay Diggs, W3sst and Dames Brown all enter the top 10 with Jay Diggs being the highest climber rising from #26 to #8.
We'll lose at least nine again next week and unfortunately four of them are new entries this week!
My selection of this week's best cover versions, remixes, reissues,
previously unreleased and new songs using samples or new releases with
a retro feel (Dec 2021 Wk 48 and a few from last week). (In no particular order).
As they say 'it never rains but it pours' as, after abandoning the
covers dozen last week as there weren't enough to make up a dozen,
this week there is a deluge, mainly as I had a scout on Traxsource mid
week so there are a few 'housed up' dance tracks and have also
included the few that weren't posted last week.
Remixes/Re-edits/Re-makes:
Boogie Boots (Jackson Sisters re-edit),
Peter Pc (George Benson),
Rytmlabb (Controllers),
Dave Leatherman (Arthur Adams),
Sammy Deuce (Mystic Merlin),
Walterino (Crown Heights Affair),
Hive (Evelyn King),
Block & Crown (Mary Jane Girls),
Mannix (Melba Moore),
Escort (People's Choice/Dillinger),
Block & Crown (Leon Haywood),
Donna Allen (remix using Lonnie Liston Smith "Expansions")
Friend of the blog San Francisco producer Derrick Sena has just produced three new mixes of A SoulStrutter favourite "I Can’t Help It" first released back in May. A mellower vocal mix featuring the undoubtable talent of Roxiie Reese and two different instrumental mixes.
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artist.
This album "I'm On Fire" by Hareston Clay slipped under the radar with it being
released on a Monday (15 Nov 2021). There are around half a dozen
cracking tracks and a few 'dodgy' retro 80s ones e.g. "Fresh Like The
Air" and a couple of others.
Focussing on the positive though the
standouts are in order of appearance "Never Settle For Less" (the clear 'killer' which sounds like it may have a Luther Vandross "Never Too Much" sample/riff in it?), "Stand Together", "This Marvelous Dream", "You're the One", "Never Want To Let You Go" and "Woman Of My Dreams". I'm also warming to "Fearless" which has more than a few strong hints of Curtis Mayfield's Superfly to these ears!
Hareston Clay is from Akron, OH, and debuted in 2014 as H. Clay with a single "Head Spinnin'". He's released around eight singles as Hareston Clay since then and this is his first album.
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BookerTaliaferro Newberry III
is best known to a UK audience for his Top 10 hit "Love Town" in the summer of 1983 which he followed up with "Teddy Bear" which reached #44 in Oct. that year.
He began his career in the mid 70s with a group called Mystic Nights from Ohio
(unconfirmed). In the 70s he moved to Philadelphia and joined Sweet Thunder
who released 3 albums and around 5 singles between 1976-79 on Fantasy/WMOT.
Only two of these singles made any impact on the US R&B chart, "Baby, I Need Your Love Today" (#21) (regarded as a quiet storm/slow jam classic) and "I Leave You Stronger" (#63), but many will remember the group for "Everybody's Singin' Love Songs" which was a big club tune in the late 70s, which was released in between
the two chart entries, and I'm surprised that it didn't enter R&B chart.
it was their only UK release. Their last single was
'Love's Embrace'.
All Music
(which has been cut and pasted into Wiki) claims that Newberry then joined
Impact, but I'm not sure that is correct as the group's releases were
concurrent with Sweet Thunder between 1976-77, unless he sang with them but
they never recorded any further material.
Impact were originally called The Young Vandals/The Vandals (prior to that The
Shades Of Formation) who released 3 singles on The Isley Brothers' T- Neck
label. They broke up in 1970 but reformed in 1975 and changed their name to
Impact when Damon Harris
re-joined them from The Temptations, who he joined in 1971. There is an
Impact single listed by Discogs from 1988 but 'if' that's even the same
Impact, which I doubt as 45Cat has them listed separately as from Washington
D.C., Newberry had gone solo by that time releasing an album in 1983 and 1996.
Incidentally the Impact 1988 track 'I'm Here' is pretty good, it was written by Al Johnson.
Sweet Thunder
Released three albums (the last two arranged and produced by Larry James of
Fat Larry's Band) and five singles between 1976-79.
A selection of some of his best tracks and some video performances.
1978 - Baby, I Need Your Love Today
1979 - I Leave You Stronger
I doesn't sound like Newberry on lead vocals (possibly Charles Buie who
co-wrote the song with Larry James (Fat Larry's Band)) on this track which
was their only other R&B chart entry after "Baby I Need Your Love
Today".
1979 - Love's Embrace
Another co-written by Charles Buie and Larry James (Fat Larry's
Band)
1979 - It's You That I Need
An album only track from "Horizons".
1983 - Love Town
1983 - Love Town (Froggy Mix)
Froggy (Steven Howlett) was a big UK soul DJ in the late 70s/early 80s with
a residency at one of he top clubs in the South East 'The Royalty' in
Southgate. He became a member of 'The Soul Mafia' alongside Robbie
Vincent, Chris Hill, who DJ'd at the legendary Caister Weekenders.
1983 - Teddy Bear
1986 - Take A Piece Of Me
Reminds me a bit of of Luther's "Never Too Much".
1996 - Baby
A 1996 re-recorded version of the Sweet Thunder single "Baby, I Need Your Love Today" from 1978.
A previously unreleased track issued on a compilation CD The Best Of
Society Hill in 2008.
A live performance uploaded to YouTube in 2016. Just three tracks: "Love Town", a gospel song and the full 9 min version of "Baby I Need Your Love Today".
The new Jean Carn remixes album ("RE-Captured: The Official Jean Carn Philadelphia Remix Album") posted on Friday reminded me of a
recording that may not be that well known (or at least overlooked or
forgotten) by Fat Larry's Band who covered "Don't Let It Go To Your Head" which was included on their 1983 "Tune Me Up" album but only saw a release as a single in UK and Australia.
This version features Freddie Campbell (Fatback Band)
and Monica Thoughton sharing lead vocals. It's still 'cheap as chips' to buy, you should easily find a decent copy for under a fiver.
Later versions have been recorded by Dave Chambers (Jazz instrumental 1983) Chellé (1990), The Brand New Heavies (1992), sampled by Brand Nubian ("Foundation" 1998) and Will Downing ("Black Pearls" 2016). A reggae versions were also released in 1979 by Black Harmony and True Harmony. Another reggae / lovers rock version from the mid 80s (possibly early 90s) by Tricia Dean which was actually reissued this year.
The Philly group had seven minor US R&B hits between 1977-86, their highest being "Boogie Town" which reached #43. Their biggest success was "Zoom" which reached #2 in UK pop chart in 1982. "Don't Let It Go To Your Head" got to #93 on UK pop chart which possibly explains why there are so many copies still around and why it is cheap.
They also had a club hit in the UK with "Center City" in 1976/77 which didn't seem to register stateside. Other popular UK club plays included "Boogie Town", "Lookin' For Love Tonight" and "Act Like you Know".
The band's leader Larry James died in 1987 from a heart attack which effectively ended the band.
From the vaults of Philadelphia International who are celebrating their
50th Anniversary we get another ten remixes. This time from the hands of
John Morales: "The John Morales M+M Remixes".
Teddy Pendergrass dominates proceedings with four solo tunes and another with
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, two each from The Jones Girls and MFSB and
one from Jean Carn (which is a different version to the one included on her
album "RE-Captured: The Official Jean Carn Philadelphia Remix Album" from Friday 3 Dec).
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Pittsburgh's Sierra Sellers has featured on the blog with her last two singles "Need You Bad" and "Lonely Feels". Her latest single "Accidents" slipped by on 12 Nov 2021. This one features Cam Chambers and has a distinct jazz edge.
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Tierra Marie emerged in Jan 2021 with a single "Fallin'" and followed it up with a five track EP "Introduction" in April. Her third release "Choosing Myself" came out on 1 Dec 2021.
All songs are credited to Tierra Marie, Tierra Jackson and Tierra Rose-Marie Jackson.
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This single "All I Need" was released 22 Oct 2021 and has subsequently been superseded by another "Why Money Ain't Free" on 5 Nov, but I feel the previous single is the better of the two.
Marc May appears to have emerged in May 2020 with a debut single and the latest single will be his eighth since then.
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