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Sunday 6 August 2023

VA [2023] - Psychomania Choppers: Chicano Oldies and R&B Rarities, Vol. 1 [Psychomania]


A good compilation, made even sweeter by the ridiculously cheap price of £2.99 on Amazon, was released on Friday (4 Aug).

As the title implies, it  consists of souldies/lowriders from the 60s/70s and contains one of our favourites Little Royal & The Swingmasters who we did a Discography for several years ago.

Most tracks are from relatively little know artists (with perhaps the exclusion of Donnie Elbert and Barbara Mason) who didn't release a lot of music and even fewer made any impact at the time but have been unearthed by  various underground rare soul scenes over the years.

If you have a penchant for sweet n' deep then these will be right up your street.

The comp opens with "All For You" by The Admirations which was the flip side of their last of only four recordings on One-derful! in 1967.

Donnie Elbert's "Baby Let Me Love You Tonite" was an early recording on Vee Jay in 1960 reissued on Jayboy in UK in 1970, presumably to 'cash in' on his UK success with his All Platinum album "Where Did Our Love Go" which had several tracks picked up on by the Northern Soul scene.

The Barbara Mason track, "Just You And Me", is an unissued Arctic recording from the 'Oh How It Hurts' sessions that seems to have been first released on a Bear Family CD reissue of the album with additional unreleased recordings in 1997.

The last of only three records on L.A. based Venus and the second of two singles by Karen Small is another flipside, "That's Why I Cry", written by Don Julian (& The Larks). It even got a UK release on Vocalion in 1966.

The debut single on Markay in 1962 "I Wanna Chance" by The Vows which included Morris Chestnut (know in NS circles for several recordings both solo and in groups such as The Vows and The Attractions). This one has more of a doo-wop sound.

Although Little Royal & The Swingmasters "Jealous" is credited to Little Royal Torrence, it is more or less the same song, with a few changes, as Garland Green's "Jealous Kind Of Fella" written by Green with Jo Armstead, Morris Dollinson and Rudolph Browner. It was released on Tri Us in 1971. Green's song was 1969.

Yet another B side, to his NS spin "Have Love Will Travel" is "Think About It Baby" by Roosevelt 'Rosey' Jones on Patrick Adams run Today Records. John 'Monster' Davis arranged and Frank Fioravanti produced both songs. It was his only solo single although he released another with The Superiors.

Although sounding very 60s, "I'm So In Love With You" is a 70s recording by Californian Chicano group Thee Dupremes who formed in 1975. They released another single on their own label Depreme Productions .

Walter Webb  & The Highlighters is a completely new name to us, not surprisingly when they released just one single on Chess in 1970 "Your Time Is Gonna Come". The single on both Discogs and 45 Cat is associated with James Bell & The Highlighters (Band) from Indianapolis which seems plausible as they released a single on Lulu (which is also the title of the flipside) written by the same song writers Herman & Brantley (misspelt? Bradly).

The Sequins song, "What Makes Me Love You" is a Phillip Mitchell song recorded on Denise LaSalle's Crajon Records in 1971. They were a girl group trio from Chicago and not, perhaps the better know group, from L.A. which included Brenda & Patrice Holloway.

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

Details
Rating: 8.4
Explicit: N
Genre/Style: Lowrider, Sweet Soul, Deep Soul,  Souldies
Format: Album / Compilation
Media: Digital
Label: Psychomania
Cat No: None
Date: 04/08/2023
Price: £2.99
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