An album that has been highly sought after by UK rare soul collectors
comes from Alice Clark who earlier had a big Northern Soul tune released
on Warner Bothers in 1968 "You Hit Me (Right Where It Hurt Me)" but don't
ignore the flip which is a classy deep soul tune "Heaven's Will (Must Be
Obeyed)" which has featured on these pages in the past.
An original copy of Alice Clark's only, self-titled, vinyl album on
Mainstream will set you back at least £300-£400 or more but for us mere
mortals it has been reissued on CD and vinyl several times and is
available digitally.
It was initially sought after for the modern soul spin "Don't You Care" (written by Bobby Hebb no less who contributed another two songs to the
album) and "Never Did I Stop Loving You" written by jazz singer/songwriter Juanita Fleming who was a backing
vocalist for Martha Wash (Two Tons 'O Fun / The Weather
Girls).
Samoan-Australian vocalist Kylie Auldist did a respectable cover
of "Never Did I Stop Loving You" on her 2008 debut album "Just Say"
Not much is known about Alice Clark who released only three singles, the
Warner Bros. release preceded by "You Got A Deal" / "Say You'll Never (Never Leave Me)" (which sounds quite similar to "Heaven's Will") on Rainy Day, also
1968, both written and produced by Billy Vera, and a final single of two
tracks off the Mainsteam album in 1972 ("I Keep It Hid" / "Don't Wonder Why"). She went into obscurity after recording this album which was a
commercial failure and died of cancer in 2004 aged 57 possibly not knowing
of the underground following for her album.
| Rating: | 8.6 |
| Explicit: | N |
| Genre/Style: | Modern Soul |
| Format: | Single |
| Media: | Vinyl / Digital |
| Label: | Mainstream |
| Cat No: | MRL 362 |
| Date: | 1972 |
| Price: | £400+ (approx.) /£7.99 |
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In addition to this magnificent album, I recommend the CD released in 2010 by BGP Records (CDBGPD 216) "The Complete Studio Recordings 1968-1972".
ReplyDeleteYves