Richard Marks [2022] - Innocent Bystander / Ups And Downs + Living My Life (Day To Day) [Hit And Run #HR 1537]

Garry Cape at Hit And Run has selected Richard Marks' original 1976 version of "Innocent Bystander", a track well know in rare soul circles via Bill Wright's 1978 version on Midtown, as the A side of a pair of new Hit and Run 45 reissues. It was originally issued on Salsoul subsidiary Free Spirit with an instrumental flip side. 

He has chosen, what he considers, perhaps the finest deep soul couplings ever released for the flip side as he found it impossible to choose which side to include so decided to go for both. "Ups And Downs" / "Living My Life (Day By Day)" were originally paired on the same single, recorded at New London Studios, Birmingham, AL, and released on Atlanta's Note label in 1974.

Richard Clyde Marks was a producer and guitarist from Atlanta, GA, and was very much a cult hero on the funk collector scene He died of cancer in 2016 and, according to Discogs, never having issued an album, or ever granting an interview. However, that has been rectified by Now-Again records who have released two compilations by him "Love Is Gone (The Lost Sessions: 1969-1977)" in 2020 and "Never Satisfied" in 2014 on which all three tracks on this single appear. Interestingly there is a version of Jimi Hendrix "Purple Haze" which is  very psychedelic. 

Izipho Soul also released three of his recordings on a single last year "Love Is Gone" / "Don't Take It Out On Me" / "I Can't Stand" which all appeared on the Now-Again 2020 compilation. 

As often the case, there are some interesting interconnections, as he co-wrote a song posted only a couple of weeks ago on Sound Gems by Vivilore Jordan, and a new cover of it by Beth Ann Wyn, "Put My Loving On You" and also co-wrote and produced the B side "Picking up Where She Left Off".

You can buy from your favourite purveyor of vinyl or direct from Hit And Run by sending £12 + £3 P&P (UK only and good for 3 records) via PayPal (Friends & family) to hitandrunsoul45@gmail.com

Details

Rating:	8.4
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Southern Soul, Deep soul / Reissue
Format:	Single
Media:	7"
Label:	Hit And Run
Cat No:	HR 1537
Date:	11/03/2022
Key/BPM:	N/A
Value:	£12 + £3 P&P (UK)