Monthly Archives: October, 2011
CANDI STATON-CANDI STATON.
CANDI STATON-CANDI STATON. Sometimes, I decide to write more that one article on an artist, if they’ve released a number of highly regarded or important albums. However, sometimes, my reasons for writing about an artist more than once are that as well as being an important and influential artist, they’re an artist whose music I …
JEAN CARN-JEAN CARN.
JEAN CARN-JEAN CARN. By the time Jean Carn signed for Philadelphia International Records in 1976, she’d been involved in the music business since the late sixties. After studying at Atlanta’s Morris Brown College, Jean became know as a hugely versatile vocalists, with a five octave range and the ability to sing in a variety of …
THE CHI-LITES -THE CHI-LITES.
THE CHI-LITES -THE CHI-LITES. The early seventies were a great time for anyone who loved soul music. It seemed that during that period, labels throughout America were consistently producing some fantastic music. Several cities had successful labels, all of which were releasing both critically acclaimed and commercially successful music. This seemed to be the case …
THE DELFONICS-THE DELFONICS.
THE DELFONICS-THE DELFONICS. Growing up, The Sound of Philadelphia was one of the biggest musical influences in my life. For a number of years, it seemed to provide the soundtrack to my life. Sice then, I’ve been inseparable from that sweet, beautiful sound. Over thirty years later, hardly a day goes by when I don’t …
SMOKEY ROBINSON-QUIET STORM.
SMOKEY ROBINSON-QUIET STORM. There can’t have been many recording artists who have left a hugely successful group to concentrate on their position as Vice President of a record company, and in doing so, embark on a somewhat low-key solo career. Well, in July of 1972, that’s exactly what Smokey Robinson did. He’d been planning to …
THE DRAMATICS-WHATCHA SEE IS WHATCHA GET.
THE DRAMATICS-WHATCHA SEE IS WHATCHA GET. Earlier in October 2011, six albums which were originally released on Stax, were released having been remastered by Joe Tarantino. Previously, I’ve reviewed Shirley Brown’s Woman To Woman and Johnnie Taylor’s Taylored In Silk, both of which were great albums, and have hugely benefited from being remastered. The remastering …
ANN PEEBLES-IF THIS IS HEAVEN.
ANN PEEBLES-IF THIS IS HEAVEN. Since I first started buying soul music, there are certain labels which have been great favourites of mine. Among them are the obvious ones Stax, Fame, Philadelphia International, Cadet, Motown and of course Hi Records. Hi had been founded in 1957 by a group of people including Ray Harris, a …
JON LUCIEN-SONG FOR MY LADY.
JON LUCIEN-SONG FOR MY LADY. Some time ago, I wrote about two of Jon Lucien’s album that he recorded for RCA in the early seventies Rashida and Mind’s Eye. Both albums were three albums full of some great music, but sadly, they failed commercially. Although the albums weren’t huge commercial successes, Jon’s music was highly …
THE THREE DEGREES-INTERNATIONAL.
THE THREE DEGREES-INTERNATIONAL. Recently, I’ve been looking back at some of the albums released on the Philadelphia International Records label. Now, when many people think of Philadelphia International, they immediately think of artists like The O’Jays, Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes, Billy Paul and Teddy Pendergrass, some of the biggest and most successful artists …
JOHNNIE TAYLOR-TAYLORED IN SILK.
JOHNNIE TAYLOR-TAYLORED IN SILK. In a previous article, I reviewed Shirley Brown’s album Woman To Woman, which was one of the last albums released on the legendary Stax label. It’s one of a series of albums that have recently, been remastered by Joe Tarantino. His remastering totally transformed the sound of Shirley’s 1974 album, bringing …
TERRY CALLIER-FIRE ON ICE.
TERRY CALLIER-FIRE ON ICE. One of my favorite artists of all time is Terry Callier, who I’ve previously written about before. In these articles, I’ve featured What Color Is Love, the second of the three albums he recorded on Cadet, a subsidiary of the famous Chicago label Chess. This is one of my favorite of …
ROSIE GAINES-WELCOME TO MY WORLD.
ROSIE GAINES-WELCOME TO MY WORLD. Many people reading this article may be thinking that they recognize the name Rosie Gaines, but can’t quite place her. They’ll have heard of her, but can’t quite remember where. To save you wracking your brains any more, I’ll tell you where you might have heard of her. Rosie used …
JERRY BUTLER-NOTHING SAYS I LOVE YOU LIKE I LOVE YOU.
JERRY BUTLER-NOTHING SAYS I LOVE YOU LIKE I LOVE YOU. Unlike many people, I disregard who successful an album was when I buy it. Experience has taught me that a successful album is no guarantee of a good album. Conversely, an album that wan’t a success, doesn’t mean that it’s a bad album. Sometimes, it’s …
SHIRLEY BROWN-WOMAN TO WOMAN.
SHIRLEY BROWN-WOMAN TO WOMAN. For many years, I’ve been a huge fan of the music on Stax. Since I bought my first album bearing Stax’s clinging fingers logo, I’ve literally bought hundreds of the albums, compilations and box sets that have been released. Over the years, I’ve explored the albums released during the various stages …
CHIC-CHIC.
CHIC-CHIC. Back in 1977, when I was growing up, one of the many sounds that immediately, grabbed my attention, was Chic. Not for me the angry, desolate sound of punk, that to me was a depressing, ugly sound, the anathema of what music should sound like. Instead, I’d become accustomed to The Sound of Philadelphia, …
HAROLD MELVIN AND THE BLUENOTES-BLACK AND BLUE.
HAROLD MELVIN AND THE BLUENOTES-BLACK AND BLUE. One of my favorite labels of all time is the Philadelphia International label, founded by Gamble and Huff in 1971. For many years, Gamble and Huff sprinkled their magic on many artists that went on to become soul legends. These included Billy Paul, The O’Jays, Lou Rawls, Teddy …
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