Force De La Vie / Force [2023] - Holy Moses [Cannonball Records #CBLL041]

A record that has been burning up rare soul dancefloors over the last few years is a rare recording by Force "Holy Moses". It's quite surprising (or not if you know the rare soul scene) as it's more of a soft rock song (to my ears) than a soul tune.

It was originally recorded in 1974 on Streaker Records (promo only we believe) and was intended to be released under the band's original name, Life Force, who were Bart Zazzali (lead vocals), Frank Filipetti (songwriter and drummer), Rich Bora and Tommy Mandel (keys), Even Levee (bass) and Terry Alverado (flute). 

They previously went by the name Saratoga Trunk (the name of a 40s Western book/movie) who released three singles on three different labels (Capitol, Scepter and Uni) in 1970/71. United Artists in France released "Holy Moses" by Saratoga Trunk in 1975 which is a longer version than the Streaker promo version (i.e. 4:00 v 3:24) and apparently it was originally 5:00 long.  Filipetti used a pseudonym Frank Silketti for writing credits on that release. 

A previously unknown third recording of the song was made in French which turned up recently on an acetate in Barcelona.

So, coming out on Cannonball at the end of June, is a 7" single containing the original Streaker version and the new, previously undiscovered, French version of "Holy Moses". Limited to 250, these will surely fly off the shelves as this one has got under the skin of many rare soul followers, so get your pre-order in at Cannonball Records.

The song's writer, Filipetti, went on to become a seven time Grammy winning (plus another six times nominated) audio engineer, mixer, producer for Color Purple, The Book Of Mormon, Monty Python's Spamalot, Wicked, Elton John & Tim Rice's Aida and two for James Taylor's "Hourglass" album.

From humble beginning with his group, he has worked on projects for Foreigner, The Bangles, Survivor, Carly Simon, Barbara Streisand, Vanessa Williams, George Michael, 10,000 Maniacs, Frank Zappa, James Taylor, Billy Joel and Meat Loaf, Pavarotti Liza Minnelli and Elton John.

Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.

Details

Rating:	8.2
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Modern Soul / Blue-Eyed
Format:	Single
Media:	7" Vinyl
Label:	Cannonball Records
Cat No:	CBLL041
Date:	06/2023
Key/BPM:	N/A
Price:	£20

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