Category Archives: Soul

THE BEST FIFTEEN BOX SETS OF 2014.

THE BEST FIFTEEN BOX SETS OF 2014. As anyone with a penchant for box sets knows, that box shapes come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes, the CDs or vinyl comes in a basic box, other times, the box set is luxurious and lovingly compiled. Examples of both feature in my list of the fifteen …

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THE FIFTY BEST REISSUES OF 2014-PART 1.

THE FIFTY BEST REISSUES OF 2014-PART 1. 2014 is almost over. So it’s that time again, time for me to choose my fifty best reissues of 2014. To do that, I’ve listened to a mountain of music. Eventually, I came up with fifty albums. Here they are. GATO BARBIERI-THE THIRD WORLD.  Bob Thiele signed Gato …

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THE FIFTY BEST REISSUES OF 2014-PART 2.

THE FIFTY BEST REISSUES OF 2014-PART 2 CRYSTAL WINGS-FIRST FLIGHT. The story behind Crystal Wings began in 1981. That’s when Crystal Wings released their debut single, Signs Of Winter’s Time. This was a Paul Coleman and Joyce Alicia Lagrone composition. It was recorded at Chicago’s Streeterville Recording Studio. Producing Signs Of Winter’s Time was Paul …

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THE FIFTY BEST REISSUES OF 2014-PART 3.

THE FIFTY BEST REISSUES OF 2014-PART 3. ELTON JOHN-GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD. Although critical acclaim and commercial success were constant companions for Elton John between 1970 and 1978, one year stood out, 1973. During 1973, Elton released two of his most successful albums. The first of these two albums was Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only …

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THE FIFTY BEST REISSUES OF 2014-PART 4.

THE FIFTY BEST REISSUES OF 2014-PART 4. TERRY REID-RIVER. By 1973, Terry Reid’s contract with Mickie Most was over. Now Terry’s career could resume. He signed to Atlantic Records and began work on his third solo album, River, which was rereleased by BGO Records during 2014. Produced by Yes’ Eddy Offord and Tom Dowd, River …

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THE FIFTY BEST COMPILATIONS OF 2014-PART 1.

THE FIFTY BEST COMPILATIONS OF 2014-PART 1. As 2014 draws to a close, it’s time to compile my fifty best compilations of 2014. So, here goes. A BLUES TRIBUTE TO CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL. A Blues Tribute To Creedence Clearwater Revival was the third instalment in Cleopatra Records’ Tribute To series.  Twelve tracks from Creedence Clearwater …

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THE FIFTY BEST COMPILATIONS OF 2014-PART 2.

THE FIFTY BEST COMPILATIONS OF 2014-PART 2. DISCO: A FINE SELECTION OF INDEPENDENT DISCO, MODERN SOUL AND BOOGIE 1978-82. After the death of disco in 1979, boogie and Modern Soul provided the soundtrack to dance-floors. This includes the music on Soul Jazz Records’ compilation Disco: A Fine Selection of Independent Disco, Modern Soul and Boogie …

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THE FIFTY BEST COMPILATIONS OF 2014-PART 3.

THE FIFTY BEST COMPILATIONS OF 2014-PART 3. KENT’S CELLAR OF SOUL VOLUME 3. Eight years after the release of Kent’s Cellar Of Soul Volume 2, Kent Soul have belatedly released the followup, Kent’s Cellar Of Soul Volume 3. It’s been well worth the wait. The Kent’s Cellar Of Soul seems to mature like a fine …

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THE FIFTY BEST COMPILATIONS OF 2014-PART 4.

THE FIFTY BEST COMPILATIONS OF 2014-PART 4. NEW ORLEANS SOUL: THE ORIGINAL SOUND OF NEW ORLEANS SOUL 1960-1976. Over the past ten years, Soul Jazz Records have been documenting the history of New Orleans’ funk. They’ve released a number of lovingly compiled, and critically acclaimed compilations. These compilations were some of the best compilations of …

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THE FIFTY BEST COMPILATIONS OF 2014-PART 5.

THE FIFTY BEST COMPILATIONS OF 2014-PART 5. STRANGE BREAKS AND MR. THING III. One of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed compilation series made a welcome return in May 2014. That’s Strange Breaks and Mr. Thing III. It’s been a long time coming. Five years in fact. So, after a five year back, Mr. …

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THE GRITS-MAKE A SOUND.

THE GRITS-MAKE A SOUND. Five long years have passed since The Grits released their debut eponymous debut album. Recently, however, The Grits have released their long awaited sophomore album, Make A Sound. It essentially, is The Grits’ comeback album. As comeback albums go, Make A Sound which was recently released on BBE Music, is like …

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CRYSTAL WINGS-FIRST FLIGHT.

CRYSTAL WINGS-FIRST FLIGHT. For many people, their introduction to the music of Crystal Wings was on BBE Music’s 2011 compilation, The Real Sound Of Chicago and Beyond: Underground Disco and Boogie. It featured It Ain’t Easy, a track from Crystal Wings one and only album, First Flight, which was a private pressing released back in …

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CRAIG PEYTON GROUP-PYRAMID LOVE.

CRAIG PEYTON GROUP-PYRAMID LOVE. For Craig Peyton, the founder member of Band X, 1976 was the most important year of his nascent musical career. It was the year Band X released their debut album The Best Of Band X. However, The Best Of Band X a private pressing, wasn’t a commercial success. Instead, this innovative, …

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BOMBAY DISCO VOLUME 2.

BOMBAY DISCO VOLUME 2. 1979 was a landmark year in the history of disco. Suddenly, after being the musical flavour of the month for several years, disco sucked. In the space of a year, disco went from hero to zero. Disco’s downfall started on Christmas Eve 1978,  That’s when Steve Dahl was fired by Chicago …

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BO KIRKLAND AND RUTH DAVIS-YOU’RE GONNA GET NEXT TO ME-THE COMPLETE CLARIDGE RECORDINGS.

BO KIRKLAND AND RUTH DAVIS-YOU’RE GONNA GET NEXT TO ME-THE COMPLETE CLARIDGE RECORDINGS. By 1976, disco was providing the soundtrack to dance-floors worldwide. Originally, however, disco was an American phenomenon. Gradually, though, the rest of the world succumbed to the disco sound. Around the world, dancers danced to the pulsating disco beat. However, disco’s popularity …

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SATISFACTION GUARANTEED-MOTOWN GUYS 1961-1969.

SATISFACTION GUARANTEED-MOTOWN GUYS 1961-1969. During the sixties, Berry Gordy Jr’s Motown Records, was a musical colossus. Between 1961 and 1969, seventy-nine of the singles released by Motown reached the top ten in the US Billboard 100. It seemed Motown could do no wrong. That’s not surprising. Look at the artists signed to Motown.  This included …

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GOOD ALL OVER-RARE SOUL FROM THE WESTBOUND RECORDS VAULTS 1969-1975.

GOOD ALL OVER-RARE SOUL FROM THE WESTBOUND RECORDS VAULTS 1969-1975. It was in late 1968, that music veteran Armen Boladian founded Westbound Records, in Detroit. This was a boost for Detroit’s ailing independent music scene. During the previous years, Motown had put most of Detroit’s independent labels to the sword. Gradually, Detroit’s independent labels fell …

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THE LONDON AMERICAN LABEL YEAR BY YEAR 1965.

THE LONDON AMERICAN LABEL YEAR BY YEAR 1965. For a generation of music lovers, their introduction to American pop, rock ’n’ roll and soul was the London American label. It released the latest American hit singles. This had been the case since the mid-fifties.  London American had been licensing singles by Atlantic, Chess, Dot, Imperial, …

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BRING IT ON HOME-BLACK AMERICA SINGS SAM COOKE.

BRING IT ON HOME-BLACK AMERICA SINGS SAM COOKE. By the time of his death on 11th December 1964, Sam Cooke was soul’s first superstar. Throughout his career, it seemed Sam could do no wrong. You Send It, Sam’s 1957 debut single, reached number one in the US Billboard and US R&B charts. This was was …

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