Soul Strutter: 02/16/22

There has been just so much good music around in the last week I'm still catching up with some of the retro material. Here's another offering from Colemine by Oliver James "One And Only" which will keep the 60s lovers and Northern Soul devotees happy alike. However, some may be surprised to discover that he is white, although you'd hardly guess from his voice and the production sounds very authentic!

It appears to be the first recording by Oliver James who I believe is the song's writer Oliver Ridenour who's facebook page I found which states that he hails from Lafyette, TN, and is a singer/songwriter at the legendary Fame Studios.

The song did appear last year (13 Jun) on the Colemine "Soul Slabs Vol. 3"

This is what Colemine says about him:

"Oliver James is a time capsule. Raised in a family of musicians and a man who has been performing live since he was a child, Oliver comes to his love of soul music in a most honest and authentic way. Growing up listening to gospel, blues, and R&B from the classic early Stax era, his influences as a musician, songwriter, and producer are clear. After a stint working as a songwriter for Rick Hall, Mr. James is now set to start his own career. Producing, editing, mixing, and performing completely to tape, Oliver makes his mark with his debut single "One And Only" on Colemine Records."

"One And Only" will also be released on 7" vinyl with "But For The Love" on the flip side which is available to pre-order from Colemine with a release date of 25 Mar 2022.

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Details

Rating:	8.4
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Retro Soul / Neo Northern Soul
Format:	Single
Media:	Digital / 7"
Label:	Colemine
Cat No:	CLMN-202
Date:	08/02/2022
Key/BPM:	7A/119
Value:	£1 / $7.99

Malia [2022] - Only One [Black Sea Music]

Malia (Cunningham) from L.A. featured on the blog with her last single in Jun 2021 which was a cover of Alicia Keys' "How Come You Don't Call Me" and her debut album "Unpolished" in April.

She released her latest single "Only One" on 9 Feb 2022 which is a self-written moody, sultry, smokey-voiced neo soul ballad and possibly her best to date, highly recommended.

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Details

Rating:	8.6
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Neo Soul
Format:	Single
Media:	Digital
Label:	Black Sea Music
Cat No:	None
Date:	09/02/2022
Key/BPM:	11A/89
Value:	£1

Micayla Rivera [2022] - You've Hurt Me / My Dearest Darling [Industry Music Group]

The second release today from Industry Music Group. Both sides by Micayla Rivera have previously been released digitally last year but it is showing on Bandcamp with a release date of 18 Feb 2022 which I guess must be for the vinyl?

The first side "You've Hurt Me" is a cover of a C.B. Allen written song and an early recording by Denise Chandler (aka Neicy Deneice Williams) on Lock in 1970 on the flip of her version of Barbara Mason's "Yes I'm Ready". It was also recorded in 1970 by The Lovelites (who Chandler/Williams was a short-term member of) and also by Sunday Williams on Red Balloon, owned by Clarence Johnson on which the The Ledgends also recorded.

"My Dearest Darling" was written by Eddie Bo and Paul Gayten and Bo recorded it in 1958 on Chess and Etta James covered it in 1960 on Argo.

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Details

Rating:	7.6 / 7
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Lowrider
Format:	Single
Media:	Digital / 7"
Label:	Industry Music Group
Cat No:	None
Date:	18/02/2022
Key/BPM:	10B/80 / 4B/52
Value:	$1 / $15

Yvonne Fair [1970] - Stay A Little Longer [Soul #S 35075]

Another, possibly lesser known, tune aired today by Gary Van Den Bussche is this deep soul gem "Stay A Little Longer" by Yvonne Fair from 1970. It's not the Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs song but a song written by Harvey Fuqua, Arthur Scott and Vernon Williams.

Yvonne Fair was a member of The Chantels in the late 50s/early 60s and then joined The James Brown Revue and released a few singles as Yvonne Fair & The James Brown Band between 1962-65 and a few solo singles on Dade and Smash before joining Motown in 1970 with the single here being her first for the company on the Soul imprint. The song also appeared on her only album "The Bitch Is Black" released on Motown in 1975 (which is a longer version 3:34 v 2:41).

She had limited success with only three of her Motown singles entering the R&B chart but she had a #5 Pop hit in 1976 in the UK with a US B side which was a cover of "It Should Have Been Me" released two years earlier in 1974 on the flip to "Walk Out The Door If You Wanna".

"It Should Have Been Me" was first recorded by Kim Weston in 1962 and released in 1963 and then Gladys Knight & The Pips released it as a single in 1968.

Details

Rating:	8.8
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Deep Soul
Format:	Single
Media:	7"
Label:	Soul
Cat No:	S 35075
Date:	09/07/1970
Key/BPM:	8B/77
Value:	£15-£20 (approx.)

Patti LaBelle [1994] - I Can't Tell My Heart What To Do [MCA #MCAD-10870]

A superb album only track by Patti LaBelle from her 1994 (CD only) "Gems" was played today by Gary Van Den Bussche on his lunchtime Starpoint Radio show. I'm not normally a big fan of Patti LaBelle's voice, as I find her a bit 'screechy' and she often 'over eggs' a lot of her songs, but "I Can't Tell My Heart What To Do" is an absolute pearl of a song and delivery.

Gary mixes up the old with the new from across the decades and always manages to find and play loads of hidden gems on his shows that you may have long forgotten or didn't know in the first place. A great show for soul connoisseurs. Catch the show Mon-Fri between 11am-1pm (GMT) on Starpoint Radio. He also does a 'Get Down Saturday Night' show 8pm-10pm (GMT) Sat evenings which, as the title suggests, is more dance oriented than his daytime shows.

Details

Rating:	9
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Deep Soul
Format:	Album Track
Media:	CD
Label:	MCA
Cat No:	MCAD-10870
Date:	1994
Key/BPM:	2B/75
Value:	£5-£15 approx.

Naya Shea [2022] - Risk It All [Shakeink]

Naya Shea (Castro) from New Jersey released her fifth single "Risk It All" on 15 Feb 2022. She also has a four track EP "Love Is The World" from 2019 under her belt.

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Details

Rating:	8.5
Explicit:	Y
Genre/Style:	Neo Soul
Format:	Single
Media:	Digital
Label:	Self Released
Cat No:	None
Date:	15/02/2022
Key/BPM:	3A/86
Value:	£1

Miriah Avila [2022] - Slow Change Up [Industry Music Group]

More 'neo' lowrider stuff coming out of L.A. by Industry Music Group. The new single from Miriah Avila "Slow Change Up" was released on 27 Jan 2020 and is produced by Joey Quinones. As is de rigueur it's a 60s style soul ballad.

Whilst checking out her discography I noticed that her debut single in 2019 was a cover of Linda Jones' classic "Hypnotized" so have included it below.

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Details

Rating:	8.4
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Retro Soul
Format:	Single
Media:	Digital
Label:	Industry Music Group
Cat No:	None
Date:	27/01/2022
Key/BPM:	1B/85
Value:	£1