Soul Strutter: 03/15/24

Friday, 15 March 2024

Sy Smith [2024] - Flowers [Live From The Blue House]

Sy Smith has now completed 11 shows in 5 cities, with 7 of them selling out. She moves on to Chicago on Sunday, the first of the next five city visits. Full dates below and tickets (which are selling fast) available from HERE.

Last week she released a live video performance of the lead single "Slide" which she now follows with another track, "Flowers", from her highly acclaimed album "Until We Meet Again", Live From The Blue House.

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Samm Henshaw [2024] - Troubled Ones [Dorm Seven]

Apart from "Jumoke" in Oct '23 (which is very Afro oriented), South London's Samm Henshaw releases his first new solo material in over two years, since his debut album "Untidy Soul" (Jan '22) which contained the superb single "Grow" (Jul '21).

His last release was featuring on Adi Oasis' re-recording of "Serena" from "Lotus Glow".

His new single "Troubled Ones" is out today (15 Mar).

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Details

Rating:	8.2
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	New Soul
Format:	Single
Media:	Digital
Label:	Dorm Seven
Cat No:	None
Date:	15/03/2024
Key/BPM:	8B/75
Price:	£1

Dickie Wonder [2024] - Nobody Knows [Sound Of Soul]

A couple of weeks ago a 1966 recording on Sound Of Soul by Little Tommy was reissued. Today we have another by Dickie Wonder (Richard L. Jackson). Both sides have been reissued separately i.e. "Nobody Knows" and "Story Of My Love" but we're only posting the former as the latter is quite a dreary doo-wop style ballad.

"Nobody Knows" is a 'proper', archetypal Northern Soul stomper. There were two versions of the song released: a slightly shorter version which has female backing vocals (SS 5002) and this one which has no female backing (SS 217672).

We've also posted the version with female vocals from YouTube below which was reissued on a single sided 7" by Sonic Wax in 2020. Which camp are you in as some prefer the early raw version and others the sweetened version with backing vocals (we're in the latter camp)?

The digitally reissued version is the first release. The song was later re-recorded with female backing when Cameo Parkway picked up a distribution deal for it. It was then reissued on Golden Triangle (possibly around 1976) billed as Dickie (Sweet Sugar) Wonder which, even though a reissue, commands high prices.

Like the Little Tommy song, this track also featured on the "Free Angela" compilation released by Golden Triangle in 1971 so perhaps the 45 was released around the same period? A comment on 45Cat states that the A side ("All My Friends Call Me A Fool") was registered in 1976 but perhaps he may be confusing it with Larry Saunders' version on his 1976 album "Stranger"?

Whilst digging around BMI we noticed that August Moon Music now seems to be managed by Secret Stash, so these digital reissues are probably from Secret Stash. We headed over to their website to confirm this and it transpires that August Moon (the owner of Sound Of Soul and Golden Triangle) passed in Jul 2023 and a tribute page was posted if you wish to learn more about the music scene in Norfolk, VA, in the 60s and 70s.

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Details

Rating:	8.4
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Northern Soul
Format:	Single
Media:	Digital / Reissue
Label:	Sound Of Soul
Cat No:	None
Date:	15/03/2024
Key/BPM:	8B/143
Price:	£1

Solomon [2024] - Can I Call You Rose? (Cover) [Parlophone Records]

The latest single from NW London singer, songwriter, guitarist, Solomon Newman Whyte is a cover of San Diego lowriders Thee Sacred Souls' debut single "Can I Call You Rose?" which they released in Mar 2020.

The song was written by group members Alex Garcia, Sal Samano and vocalist Josh Lane.

Solomon has now released around 16 singles and 4 EPs mainly from 2022, but his first single was in 2018. We've only skimmed a few but most appear to be more pop oriented.

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Details

Rating:	8.3
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Retro Soul
Format:	Single
Media:	Digital
Label:	Parlophone Records
Cat No:	None
Date:	15/03/2024
Key/BPM:	5B/89
Price:	£1

Kismet Brown [2024] - Square Biz [TRE Music]

The jury's out on this one, a cover of Teena Marie's "Square Biz" by Kismet Brown, which may appeal to some, but for us strips out the meat (bass and horns) from Lady T's 1981 original which, believe it or not, was her biggest hit on the R&B chart up to that point, peaking at #3 (outstripping "I'm A Sucker For Your Love", "Behind The Groove" and "I Need Your Loving" all of which charted on UK pop chart but "Square Biz" didn't). She later hit the #1 spot with "Ooo La La La" in 1988. "Square Biz" was the lead single from her final Motown album "It Must Be Magic".

This appears be only the second single from Kismet Brown, the other, "Over You" feat. Jim Brown was released on 16 Feb but we have discovered that it was originally released in 2008, so whether or not "Square Biz" has been out before we cannot confirm.

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Details

Rating:	7.6
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	New Soul / Cover Version
Format:	Single
Media:	Digital
Label:	TRE Music
Cat No:	None
Date:	15/03/2024
Key/BPM:	8B/108
Price:	£1

MS1 Project feat. Daneik Ashley [2024] - Passion [H&S Records]

As Bobby Caldwell sang, 'Down For The Third Time' as the new single from MS1 Project has already been posted from promo, the Bandcamp release last Friday and again today as it is now on general release on all DSPs, so here's a reminder.

The song, "Passion", was written and produced by MS1 Project's Mike & George Harrison with Terrell 'Bishop' Beane and features Daneik Ashley from New York and Artem Jazz on sax.

It's one of the best new releases of recent weeks and has been around on promo for a couple of weeks, so the big surprise is that it's not on the UK Soul Chart yet, especially as it is being promoted by DSG!

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Details

Rating:	8.6
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	New Soul
Format:	Single
Media:	Digital
Label:	H&S Records
Cat No:	None
Date:	15/03/2024
Key/BPM:	3A/75
Price:	£1

Classic Twist & Gene-O feat. J. Henry [2024] - Holding Back the Years [Eugeneious Music]

A song that Gene-O (Eugene Cole) covered back in 2015 gets a revamp under the auspices of Classic Twist, a project Gene-o set up last year. The new version features saxophonist J. Henry from Marietta, GA.

His Classic Twist project reimagines anthem-like rock songs with a concept of change such as Bread's "Make It With You", Journey's "Faithful" and Kansas' "Dust In The Wind". Initially he wasn't too sure about releasing the Simply Red song as the second single from a forthcoming album.

Simply Red's Mick Hucknall wrote "Holding Back the Years" with Neil Moss and recorded the first version with Frantic Elevators in 1982 before forming Simply Red in 1984. It was re-recorded by Simply Red and released as their third single from their debut album "Picture Book" and peaked at #51 on UK Pop chart in Nov 1985 spending only three weeks on the chart. It was reissued in May 1986 and reached #2 for two weeks in Jun 1986 and topped Billboard's Hot 100 receiving a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

The song has been covered well over 100 times, one version perhaps some may not be aware of was by Angie Stone released only on the "Love & Basketball OST" in 2000 which also contains Donell Jones' rendition of Rahsaan Patterson's "I'll Go".

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As Gene-o

Details

Rating:	8.2
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Soul Jazz
Format:	Single
Media:	Digital
Label:	Eugeneious Music] / Self Released
Cat No:	None
Date:	12/03/2024
Key/BPM:	8A/85
Price:	£1