We reported some months ago that, at the behest of the Vandross family
estate, two Luther albums on Cotillion were being
reissued for the very first time. The first self-titled one, "Luther" from 1976, was released a month ago on 19 Apr.
The second from 1977 is heralded with the release of the title track "This Close To You" today with the full album due on 7 Jun, available digitally, on CD and
vinyl.
This one, we feel, will be more in demand as it contains the two modern
soul gems "Don't Wanna Be A Fool" and "Follow My Love".
The Cotillion albums have never been reissued as Vandross retained the
rights to them when released by the label when the group was dropped by
them. We bet someone's head rolled (or should have) when they saw the later success of Vandross in the 80s!
Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.
A digital reissue today by Numero Group of two tracks from
Life Force's self-titled album from 1977. It appears to be their only release and was
on New York label Strawberry run by Randy Irwin who produced the album, which was reissued on vinyl in France & Benelux in 2013 by Favorite Recordings.
The vocalist is Mark Worthy who also wrote "Slow Dancer". Other group members were Ben Wolffolk (Bass), Livie Graves (keys), Eddie
Hilton (drums), Danny Wolffolk (trumpet) and Don 'Count' Williams (sax) who
wrote the jazz/funker "Funky Mama".
Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.
Liason was a Bay-Area group led by Morris 'Skid' Clay
who released just one single "Life" / "Disco Party" in 1977 on their own imprint, A.L.C. (apparently named after three of the
group's members' astrological signs i.e. Aquarius, Libra,
Capricorn).
Only one other single appeared on the label around 1982 by Shad (Miller),
one side written, and the other side co-written, by the writer of
"Disco Party", Arthur Charles Handy.
The Liason single has been reissued on 7" by Fantasy Love (who appear
to be related to Symphonical Records who reissued
Equasions
last week) and is also available digitally. It's the label's 16th reissue of all pretty obscure recordings.
Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.
The latest vinyl release from Soul Direction comprises two tracks from
Columbus, OH, group Wee who were active between
1974-78.
The group's solitary, highly sought after, "You Can Fly On My Aeroplane" LP was released on Owl in 1977. Original vinyl copies now sell for up to £1,000 or more. They only released three singles and only two
tracks from the album featured on singles. All the groups original recordings were released on an in-house label for Owl Recording studios in Columbus operated by Tom Murphy, Sterling Smith and Robin Jenney.
In 2008 Numero Group reissued the album digitally on CD and vinyl,
with the addition of some of the songs from singles not on the original
album along with previously unreleased tracks.
Soul Direction has licensed two tracks, "Trying To Tell You How I Feel" and "We Could Get It Together" (similar sounding to probably their best known song "Try Me" but slowed down). Numero Group remixed the tracks slightly for their release but Soul
Direction has obtained the original mixes for release for the first time. We've also included the Numero versions from
Spotify below to give you an idea.
Norman Whiteside was the mastermind behind the group, he wrote, sang and
arranged all songs on the album. He had also written songs for a few
artists, (e.g. The Four Mints and Kool Blues) at Columbus label Capsoul
since 1972. However, his music career was cut short by a 14-50 year sentence
in prison, eventually being released, on parole, in Sep 2016 after serving
31 years. He was convicted of conspiracy to murder following the shooting of
an 18 year old student who was killed by a stray bullet in a gangland
shooting in 1982. The evidence was controversial as he claims all he was
guilty of was taking a phone call from one of the assailants and there was
no evidence that he was ever at the scene nor of firing a weapon
Since the album's reissue many artists, including Kanye West, Talib Kwele
and Frank Ocean, have sampled songs from it.
The single was released on Monday (5 Feb ) and should be
available Soul Direction website. as well as the usual vinyl retailers.
Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.
Click icons below for further information or to connect with the
artist.
Two tracks from Maxi Anderson's 1997 Blue Note album "Maxi" are being
reissued on 7" vinyl by South Street Soul on Friday (6 Oct). The tracks are "Lover To Lover" / "Walk Softly".
As well as being a one-time member of The Andraé Crouch
Choir/Singers, she was also a member of Ndugu & The Chocolate Jam Co
who released two albums on Epic in 1979 and 1980.
She was mainly a session singer with over 300 credits on Discogs featuring on recordings by Phyllis Hyman, Brenton Wood, Lenny Williams, Thelma Houston, Randy Brown, Norman Connors, Alton McLain & Destiny, O.C. Smith, Marlena Shaw, Ronnie Laws, Eloise Laws, Billy Preston and so many more.
"Maxi" was her only release, she released no singles, therefore this will
be the first time they are available as a single and on 7" vinyl.
Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.
Originally a 9:02 album track on Tata Vega's sophomore album "Totally Tata" 1977, "Come In Heaven (Earth Is Calling)" was always really two tracks rolled into one. The first half a deep soul
ballad and the second half takes it into Disco territory. When David
Nathan's Soul Music Records reissued the album on CD in 2011 they had the
foresight to break it into two bonus tracks. So here's the first half.
We'll also add the full length album track as a couple of minutes have been
lost between the two edits.
Carmen Rosa 'Tata' Vega released four solo albums for Motown's Tamla
imprint between 1977-80 and then had a break and came back a gospel artist
but also performed backing vocals fro many artist.
In the late 60s she performed in a Broadway production of 'Hair' in L.A.
and then joined a group called Pollution of which Dobie Gray was a member.
Whilst performing they were spotted by Berry Gordy who signed them and
released an album on them as Earthquire on Natural Resources in 1972. The
album failed commercially and the group were dropped but Tata
retained.
Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.
Following the Tommy Tate post yesterday here's another, "If You Got To Love Somebody", which became popular circa 2000.
It was an unreleased promo from KoKo in 1977 and allegedly only two known copies exist. White label vinyl copies were
floating around in 2000 taken from a 1996 Japanese (P-Vine) CD "Soul Revelations The Complete KoKo Recordings", a different/smoother version.
Grapevine released it in 2003 as the flip to "Do You Think There's A
Chance" and it was later reissued by Kent in 2010.
The white label 'bootleg' had Byron Miller "Got To Get It Right (Radio
Edit)" on the other side.
Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.
Whilst we trawl through the new releases looking for something worthwhile posting, we'll have a dig through our vinyl vault.
In a summer of heatwaves and wild
fires, The Godfather of Soul was already preaching about it as long ago as 1977 with
this track, "People Wake Up And Live", in particular from "Mutha's Nature".
Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.
A big ticket item by Smoke Inc. on original vinyl which has been known in modern soul circles for many years. A copy will set you back over two grand as it was a limited private press. There are only five listed on Popsike.
The main side "Waitin' For Love" was featured on a Mr Bongo compilation "With Love: Vol. 1 (Compiled by Miche)" last year (Sep '22). The flip "It's the Same Old Song" is a cover of the Four Tops 1965 song.
It's the first 7" from a new series from Mr Bongo in partnership with Miche, available on vinyl from Bandcamp.
Smoke, Inc. were Roy Schmall (vocals/keys), Stan Terry (lead vocals/harmonica), Michael 'Ollie' Schotka (vocals /bass), Keith Stafford (vocals/drums) and Archie Williams Jr (guitar). A little titbit, Stafford co-wrote Life's Northern Soul biggie "Tell Me Why"
They released another single the same year before this one "Ain't That Nothin'" / "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby". Again the flip was a cover, of the Hayes & Porter written, Sam & Dave hit in 1966. In 1982 they released a four track self-titled EP on 12".
Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.
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artist.
Numero Group continue to dig deep and digitally reissue lesser know or
hard to find music. This one from
Franky & The Spindles isn't particularly difficult to
find nor expensive. It was released on New York label Strawberry in
1977 and consists of vocal and instrumental sides of "Crazy About Your Love". A superb 70s smooth soul song.
They released around nine singles between 1968-77 and there is a good
compilation of their complete singles "Count To Ten (The Complete Singles Collection 1968-1977)" by Select-O-Hits which, strangely, seems to have been only released in
Poland (on vinyl and CD) and has been blocked for sale on Discogs, so
presumably is a bootleg?
The group played in and around Baltimore and was formed by the merger of
two groups Frankie and the Spinners and Little Ray and the Playboys. When
their first record on Baltimore's Roc-Ker label (owned by writer/producer
George Kerr and DJ Freddie Robinson) was released in 1968 they had
changed their name to Frankie & The Spinners to avoid conflict with
Motown's The Spinners.
The group included two sets of brothers Franky Kennedy (lead), Robert
Kennedy, Joseph Shields, Raymond Shields and Charles Graves and may have originated from Nutley, N.J.
NOTE: The group used the name Frankie, as well as Franky, & The
Spindles and, whilst the label states Franky, many sites have it listed as
Frankie just in case you search for it and can't find it.
Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.
A set of three Roy Ayers remixes by Paul Simpson with some of Ayers' most
iconic dance tracks. For anyone around in the late 70s these will be
etched on their brains as they were club classics. The first from 1977 and
the other two from 1979.
1 - Running away (Paul Simpson Uniquity Special Disco Version) 4:59
2 - Don't stop the feeling (Paul Simpson Uniquity Special Disco Version)
5:33
3 - Love will bring us back together (Paul Simpson Uniquity Special Disco
Version) 5:52
Full tracks are available to listen to on Paul's dedicated website available for a two weeks only.
Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.
The penultimate, i.e. fourth of five, 45 reissue from Soul Brother is the
only single by a group named The Reason Why which was
produced and arranged by the great Willie Hutch and has his mark stamped
all over it. Both sides co-written by his brother Richard with Brian
Warren.
Curiously, there were at least another three groups with the same name: one from Florida who recorded a single in 1969, one from Illinois 1970,
and another from Pittsburgh who recorded two singles in 1971-72. Whether or
not any of these were the same group is not known for certain, but
unlikely given the Hutch's were from L.A.
The in-demand side has been "Step Inside My World" (which has been comp'd
a couple of times) but the official A side (and a long time SS favourite)
is "So Long Letter (In A Picture Frame)" a superb mid-tempo soulful
stepper with Willie Hutch written all over it (and certainly sounds like it could be his vocals?).
The original Polydor 'issue' sells for up to £800 but the same sided promo with the official A side, can be picked up for a 'snip' at £150-£200. We thought that only the in-demand side had featured on compilations but discovered that "So Long' appeared on a Japanese CD compilation "Soul Galaxy Gambling To Sweet Harmony" in 2008. (along with Mojoba).
Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.
The third 45 reissue from Soul Brother is another rarity. We found only
five listed on Popsike which now fetch approaching four figures.
Like Crystal Clear, Mojoba also only released two singles
on Polydor. This was their second in 1977 which followed "Keep The Funk A
Flowin'" / "Disco Music" (disco funk from 1976).
Their name is a derived from the three members' surnames: Sam Ray
Mosley, Bob Johnson (who went on to record as Mosey & Johnson) and Doris
Badie, who only actually featured on the flip to "Say You Will", "I Know" which was the official A side and is a bit of a southern soul
beater). The three had sung together earlier as Bob & Sam &
The Soulmen feat. Doris Badie.
Badie recorded a solo single for Polydor in 1977, "Why Is Leaving You So
Hard To Do", which she wrote and recorded withBob & Sam & The Soulmen feat. Doris Badie. It was reissued
by Garry Cape on Hit and Run in 2011 along with another song written by her
and recorded by the group on their 1971 album "Mississippi Mud".
The 'in-demand' side has always been "Say You Will" which has shades of The Isleys' "For The Love Of You".
Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.
Here we go again with yet another Philadelphia Re-edit Session from Paul
Simpson. His subject this time out consists of four tracks by
Brenda & The Tabulations from their 1977 album "I Keep Coming Back For More".
The album was recorded at Sigma Sound Studio and produced by a
combination of John Davis, Norman Harris, Bobby Eli along with Gilda C.
Woods who originally signed the group to her Dionn set up. In fact it was
after seeing the group appear at the Uptown Theatre (Philly's version of
The Apollo where her DJ husband hosted the shows) that she decided to set
up the Dionn label in 1966 to showcase their talent.
The group was formed in 1966 with a line-up of Brenda Payton, Eddie
Jackson, Jerry Jones and Maurice Coates and stayed at Dionn and
subsidiary label Top and Bottom until being singed to Epic when the line
up changed with the three male backing singers departing and replaced by
Pat Mercer and Deborah Martin.
Their last few singles for Top And Bottom involved Van McCoy who they
continued to work with when they singed to Epic in 1972 with limited
success. Only one of their four singles for the label between 1972-75
charted, that being "One Girl Too Late" which was popular in the UK although didn't chart but made it to #46
US R&B.
In 1977 they signed to Chocolate City but in reality it was Brenda with
no Tabulations as she was essentially solo by this time. A third album
was released "I Keep Coming Back For More" which produced two minor R&B hits "Home To Myself" (#61) and "(I'm A) superstar" (#31).
Brenda died in from breast cancer 1992 aged 46.
Track Listing:
01 - Let's go all the way (Down)... Paul Simpson Climax2 8:16
02 - I keep coming back for more (Paul Simpson Re-edit) 5:15
03 - Everybody's fool (Paul Simpson Re-edit) 9:07
04 - I'm a superstar (Paul Simpson Re-edit) 5:25
Full tracks are available to listen to on Paul's dedicated website available for a two weeks only.
Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.
Now well on their way to their 100th 7" vinyl release, Izipho Soul has another two releases scheduled for 6 Apr '23.
Both sides of this single are taken from Numero Group's "Eccentric Soul: Sitting In The Park" (2016) compilation which was named after, and dedicated to, Bob Abrahamian's passion and devotion to celebrating and documenting unknown Chicagoland group harmony music. He assisted Numero Group on many compilations.
Sadly Bob suffered from depression and took his own life in 2014 aged only 35. He hosted a radio show titled Sitting In The Park where he played obscure soul group harmony records from his personal collection, primarily by Chicago groups, and interviewed many artists. Podcasts for all his Sitting In The Park shows are still available. His family donated his massive collection of over 35,000 singles and LPs to the Stax Museum.
The single leads with the A side of the only listed single "So I Can Make This Change" for The Krash Band from 1976. The original is the only release on Liberated Record out of Gary, IN, and credits 'with Evelyn Holder' who was the lead vocalist.
The OneNess song, "Hard To Know" was recorded for Cincinnati's AMG label in 1977 but never released. It has been restored from a damaged tape. They were previously known as The Auditions who released just one (listed) single in 1973, the only release on Chicago's Freckless Records.
Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.
For the forthcoming 7" vinyl release on Miles Away they have selected a
pair of tracks from a rare gospel album "Seasons" by The Howard Lemon Singers which was released on TK gospel imprint Gospel Roots in
1977. The tracks are "You Are Somebody" and "For The Children".
The single won't be released until 24 Mar '23 but will, more than likely, sell out on pre-order so, if you want one then, pre-ordering via
Bandcamp
would be recommended.
Only a sound sample is currently available for "For The Children" but fortunately "You Are Somebody" is available on YouTube to
give you an idea. There are contradictory comments though regarding the
female lead vocalist. Miles Ahead gives it as Esther Smith on both
whilst the YouTube comment states that it's Joyce Moore. I think they
sound different on both so perhaps it's Moore on the A side and Smith on
the B. The musicians include several from Memphis who were at Stax such
as Lester Snell (piano) and Willie Hall (drums) (both members of The
Isaac Hayes Movement whilst Hall was also a member of The Bar-Kays), Randy
Brown's brother William Brown (organ) and, interestingly, Brainstorm's
fretless bassist E. Lamont Johnson.
The group recorded four albums between 1966 and 1977 and their first
three are available on Spotify, but of course it would be this one,
"Seasons" that isn't!
Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.
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artist.
Nancy Butts was from Sparta, GA, and was the lead singer in
her family gospel group the Butts Sisters before releasing half a dozen
secular singles, initially on Eugene Davis' Detroit label Flaming Arrow and
Crow and then on Jar-Val out of Macon, GA, run by DJ Hamp Swain which was
also responsible for the release of Matt Brown's superb "Thank You Baby".
Her first release on Jar-Val included a cover of Don Covay's "Letter Full Of
Tears" which was picked up nationally by King Records.
Hit And Run Records has just reissued both sides of her first single on
Flaming Arrow "I Want To Hold Your Hand Baby" / "Your Friend Will Take The Man You
Love". In that post I alluded to another song from her that I would post
separately so here it is with another two later cover versions.
It's a deep soul song "I Can't Love But One Man At A Time" which was covered twice by New Love Ltd. as "One Love At A Time" who released it as a single on Arco in 1977 and then on their only album,
"So Much To Talk About" (1978) (where they were billed as New Love Ltd & Interstate 95) which
only appears to have been released in Brazil, although there is a 2015
reissue by Funky Planet. The album version is a different take to the
single. It is thought that it is Nancy Butts on the single but the album
vocalist is definitely Valerie Lipford.
Whilst the original song is credited to only Jackie Avery, on the Arco single Nancy Butts is also on writer's credits which may be why it is thought she is singing? However, on the album version both are replaced by Samuel Wilson who was a member of Today, Tomorrow, Forever's band and is credited with writing all songs. The things that went on! He has other writing and performing credits with Rivage on their rare 1981 album "Sittin' On It" from where their sought after modern soul gem "Strung Out On Your Love" came from, as well as with Philly Cream and The Mighty Ryeders. Incidentally Ronald Broomfield (aka Eugene Wilde, brother of Vince) was also a member of Today, Tomorrow, Forever.
Nancy Butts [1972] - I Can't Love But One Man At A Time [Jar-Val
#14]
New Love Ltd [1977] - One Man At A Time [Arco #100]
New Love Ltd & Interstate 95 [1978] - One Man At A Time [Giant
#201.005]
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