Monthly Archives: March, 2013
THE T.K. RECORDS STORY VOLUME 1.
THE T.K. RECORDS STORY VOLUME 1. Throughout his life, Henry Stone has been immersed in music. Indeed, ever since he was discharged from the US army in 1947, Henry Stone’s life has revolved around music. His career started in sales and distribution, at Modern and Jewel Records in 1948. After that, he moved to Miami, …
THE SALSOUL RECORDS STORY.
THE SALSOUL RECORDS STORY. Given Salsoul Records is disco’s premier label and was responsible for some of the most innovative and influential music of the disco era, you’d expect there to be many more compilations available than there are. Granted there have been a number of compilations released over the past few years, but recently, …
BACKBEATS-METROPOLIS STOMP TIME-NORTHERN SOUL FROM THE BIG CITY.
BACKBEATS-METROPOLIS STOMP TIME-NORTHERN SOUL FROM THE BIG CITY. When it comes to compiling a Northern Soul compilation, Harmless Records couldn’t have selected a better compiler than Kev Roberts for their latest Backbeats’ compilation Metropolis Stomp Time. After all, Kev Roberts life has been Northern Soul since Northern Soul’s heyday. Kev Roberts started off as a …
BACKBEATS-DETROIT GOLD-70S SOUL GROOVES FROM MOTOR CITY.
BACKBEATS-DETROIT GOLD-70S SOUL GROOVES FROM MOTOR CITY. After becoming embroiled in a dispute with Motown Records during 1967, the songwriting and production team of Lamont Dozier and brothers Eddie and Brian Brian Holland left the label in 1968. Motown sued Holland, Dozier, Holland, who countersued Motown. Like all litigation, things were getting messy and expensive. …
BACKBEATS-CROSSOVER TO SOUL-MORE CROSSOVER SOUL FROM THE 60S AND 70S.
BACKBEATS-CROSSOVER TO SOUL-MORE CROSSOVER SOUL FROM THE 60S AND 70S. Two of my favorite compilations from Harmless Records’ Backbeats series have been the two crossover compilations. The first of these was I Get My Groove, released in 2010. Then in 2011, came They Call It Crossover, which somehow, surpassed the quality of its predecessor. Now, …
BACKBEATS-DANCE FLOOR REVOLUTION-70S MODERN SOUL STUNNERS.
BACKBEATS-DANCE FLOOR REVOLUTION-70S MODERN SOUL STUNNERS. Over forty years ago, in the North of England a musical revolution was taking place in venues like the Wigan Casino, Cleethorpes Pier, Leeds Central, Stoke-On-Trent’s Torch and Samantha’s in Sheffield. Soon, Northern Soul became one of the biggest musical scenes. Not only was it thriving, but people from …
BACKBEATS-LAY BACK AND CHILL-MORE SUPERIOR AND SENSUOUS SOUL
BACKBEATS-LAY BACK AND CHILL-MORE SUPERIOR AND SENSUOUS SOUL. It was back in 2010 that Harmless Records released the first of the Backbeats’ series. Since then, Backbeats had grown to become the world’s most popular budget series. Now there are forty-two compilations in the series,plus ten artists specific compilations. They’ve come a long way. However, several …
THE MANHATTANS-THERE’S NO ME WITHOUT YOU.
THE MANHATTANS-THERE’S NO ME WITHOUT YOU. Like so many other groups, success took time to come The Manhattans’ way. Indeed, The Manhattans released seven albums before making a commercial breakthrough with 1976s The Manhattans. It was certified gold, and 1977s It Feels So Good and 1980s After Midnight repeated the feat. However, before their 1976 …
CASTON AND MAJORS-CASTON AND MAJORS.
CASTON AND MAJORS-CASTON AND MAJORS. When Caston and Majors released their eponymous debut album in December 1974, it was very different from the music Motown had made their name releasing. This wasn’t the poppy soul that was referred to as The Sound Of Young America. Quite the opposite. Caston and Majors demonstrated how Motown’s music …
ARTHUR PRYSOCK-ALL MY LIFE.
ARTHUR PRYSOCK-ALL MY LIFE. Ever since his career began in 1944, Arthur Prysock had watched musical tastes constantly change. Since then, Arthur’s music had been in and out fashion several times. His fusion of jazz, blues, pop and R&B had proved commercially successful during the fifties and sixties. Arthur’s recording career began in 1959 at …
PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL CLASSICS-THE TOM MOULTON REMIXES-SPECIAL VINYL EDITION.
PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL CLASSICS-THE TOM MOULTON REMIXES-SPECIAL VINYL EDITION. Just a year after the release of Philadelphia Classics-The Tom Moulton Remixes, now lovers of vinyl will be able to purchase a copy of what was one of the most anticipated box sets of 2012. While the four CD box set of Philadelphia Classics-The Tom Moulton Remixes …
ANITA WARD-SONGS OF LOVE.
ANITA WARD-SONGS OF LOVE. The best way to describe Anita Ward is an accidental disco diva. Why? Well, before the release of her disco classic Ring My Bell, Anita hadn’t even been in a disco. Instead, the whole disco craze had passed her by. So, when she released Ring My Bell, Anita became disco’s latest …
FERN KINNEY-GROOVE ME.
FERN KINNEY-GROOVE ME. After taking a break from music to raise her young family, Fern Kinney decided to mount her musical comeback. Little did she realize that she was about to release what not only what become a disco classic, but a song that would become synonymous with her and transform her career. That song …
THE ORIGINAL MASTERS-DISCO VOLUME 10.
THE ORIGINAL MASTERS-DISCO VOLUME 10. Often, when it comes to a successful compilations series, record companies are loathe to kill what has become a musical golden goose. You can see their point. After all, the music industry is not only going through the toughest time in its history. So any album that’s commercially successful and …
DEVIL’S JUMP: INDIE LABEL BLUES 1946-1957.
DEVIL’S JUMP: INDIE LABEL BLUES 1946-1957. The latest box set from British reissue label JSP is Devil’s Jump: Indie Label Blues 1947-1957. Compiled by Neil Slaven, and released on 11th March 2013, Devil’s Jump: Indie Label Blues 1947-1597 is a four-CD box set which focuses on the blues music released by King Records, and its …
OTTI ALBIETZ-BUBBY TONE II.
OTTI ALBIETZ-BUBBY TONE II. Otti Albietz, whose sophomore album Bubby Tone II will be released by BBE Music on 8th April 2013 is best described as a modern day minstrel. It was when strolling through the streets of his hometown of Malaga, in Spain, that Otti first found inspiration for his songs. Whether epic, intimate …
YESKING-RE-RECORD NOT FADE AWAY.
YESKING-RE-RECORD NOT FADE AWAY. For Yesking’s sophomore album Re-Record Not Fade Away, which was released by BBE Music on 11th March 2013, it appears founder Rhys Adams has looked to the past for inspiration. Rather than release a sprawling fifteen track album, Yesking have returned to the vinyl age for inspiration. Back in the golden-age …
JOHN DAVIS AND THE MONSTER ORCHESTRA-AIN’T THAT ENOUGH FOR YOU.
JOHN DAVIS AND THE MONSTER ORCHESTRA-AIN’T THAT ENOUGH FOR YOU. By 1978, John Davis had established a reputation in music as a successful songwriter, arranger and producer. Ever since the early seventies, he’d been working in Philly, with groups like First Choice, The Intruders, The Soul Survivors and artists like William DeVaughn. Then when he …
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