Category Archives: Soul
THE BEATLES-RUBBER SOUL.
THE BEATLES-RUBBER SOUL. It was fifty years ago, The Beatles made a breakthrough in America. This was when they released Introducing…The Beatles on 20th January 1963. It reached number two in the US Billboard 200. The Beatles had arrived. Ironically, Introducing…The Beatles proved to be the least successful album The Beatles released in America. After …
BREAKAWAY-BREAKAWAY AND STRAIGHT TO THE TOP.
BREAKAWAY-BREAKAWAY AND STRAIGHT TO THE TOP. BBE Music’s latest release sees two of the rarest albums make their CD debut. For years, both of Breakaway’s two albums have been prized assets among record collectors. Copies have exchanged hands for ever increasing sums of money. Despite this, no record company decided to take the plunge and …
KC AND THE SUNSHINE BAND-KC AND THE SUNSHINE BAND.
KC AND THE SUNSHINE BAND-KC AND THE SUNSHINE BAND. Imagine this scenario. You’re part of a band whose just released your debut album which fails to chart. A year later, you release the followup which not only reaches number one in the US R&B Charts and is certified triple-platinum, but features two singles that reach …
MAJOR HARRIS-HOW DO YOU TAKE YOUR LOVE.
MAJOR HARRIS-HOW DO YOU TAKE YOUR LOVE. Two years after the release of his 1976 sophomore album Jealousy, Major Harris returned with How Do You Take Your Love, which was rereleased by Funkytown Grooves on 21st January 2014. How Do You Take Your Love found Major Harris’ career at a crossroads. His 1975 debut album …
T-CONNECTION-T-CONNECTION.
T-CONNECTION-T-CONNECTION. By December 1978, disco was at the peak of its popularity. So should T-Connection. They should’ve been riding the crest of the disco wave. They weren’t. That age old problem, the difficult second album had tripped them up. Their had career started so well. Magic released in April 1977 reached number 109 in the …
LOLEATTA HOLLOWAY-QUEEN OF THE NIGHT.
LOLEATTA HOLLOWAY-QUEEN OF THE NIGHT. Having signed Loleatta Holloway to Gold Mind Records in 1976, Loleatta’s producer and mentor Norman Harris set about giving Loleatta a makeover. He started transforming the Southern Soul singer in the a disco diva on her debut album Loleatta. After her Sasloul debut Loleatta was released, Loleatta Holloway’s makeover to …
CHARO AND THE SALSOUL ORCHESTRA-CUCHI-CUCHI.
CHARO AND THE SALSOUL ORCHESTRA-CUCHI-CUCHI. Having been discovered by bandleader Xavier Cugat Maria del Rosario Mercedes Pilar Martinez Molina Baeza, or Charo as she became, went on to become one of the highest paid performers in America during the early seventies. Reputedly, actress, singer and guitarist Charo was paid as much as Rat Pack members …
CANDI STATON-YOUNG HEARTS RUN FREE.
CANDI STATON-YOUNG HEARTS RUN FREE. Having released a trio of albums of Southern Soul for Rick Hall’s Fame Records, Candi Staton signed to Warner Bros,where she released a song that’s become synonymous with her, Young Hearts Run Free. Released in 1976, Young Hearts Run Free saw Candi Staton transformed into a disco diva. This was …
AFRO-BEAT AIRWAYS-WEST AFRICAN SHOCK WAVES 1972-1978.
AFRO-BEAT AIRWAYS-WEST AFRICAN SHOCK WAVES 1972-1978. Without doubt, one of the best compilations of 2013 was Analog Africa’s Afrobeat Airways Return Flight To Ghana 1974-1983. It was the perfect introduction to Ghanaian music and featured thirteen slices of Afrobeat and highlife. This was music that’s irresistible. Uplifting, joyous, spiritual and infectiously catchy, it’s also funky, …
BLO-CHAPTER ONE.
BLO-CHAPTER ONE. The first thing that strikes you about BLO’s Chapter One, the latest vinyl rerelease from Mr. Bongo Records, is the cover. Naive, psychedelic, lysergic and surreal, it’s a min-masterpiece. It’s up there with some of the best album covers in music history. So good is the album cover, that I’m sure many people …
DAN HARTMAN-RELIGHT MY FIRE.
DAN HARTMAN-RELIGHT MY FIRE. Nostalgia it seems is the future. Everyone it seems wants to relive the music of their youth. So a few years ago, major record companies started releasing classic albums. Now it’s no longer just classic albums being released. A whole host of new reissues labels have been founded. They’re digging deep, deeper than before. Every …
SWAMP DOGG-RAT ON!
SWAMP DOGG-RAT ON! It’s not the music that Swamp Dogg’s 1971 sophomore album Rat On! is remembered for. Instead, it’s remember for having one of the worst album covers of all time. Rat On! features Swamp Dogg sitting on the back of an oversized white rat. That epitomises Swamp Dogg since his lysergic awakening. As …
PETER KING-MILIKI SOUND.
PETER KING-MILIKI SOUND. It’s almost ironic that Peter King, one of Nigeria’s best musicians, is better known in Europe and America than in his home country. Peter King’s is widely regarded as one of Nigeria’s most talented musicians. His name is synonymous with his Miliki Sound, a captivating fusion of African musical genres and influences. …
EBO TAYLOR-CONFLICT.
EBO TAYLOR-CONFLICT. When the history of Ghanian music is written, one man will loom large, Ebo Taylor. He is a colossus of Ghanian music. Ebo is best described as an innovator who went on to influence further generations of Ghanian musicians. Nearly forty years later, Ebo’s influence is still being felt not just in Ghanian …
THE A-Z OF THE BEST REISSUES OF 2013 PART 1.
THE A-Z OF THE BEST REISSUES OF 2013 PART 1. As the year draws to a close, I’ve been compiling my lists of the best releases of 2013. So far, I’ve chosen the thirty best box sets of 2013 and the fifty best compilations of 2013. Now I’ve decided to turn my attention to reissues, …
THE A-Z OF THE BEST REISSUES OF 2013 PART 2.
THE A-Z OF THE BEST REISSUES OF 2013 PART 2. DAMON- SON OF A GYPSY. For any collector of psychedelia, if they’re lucky enough to find a copy of Damon’s Son Of A Gypsy, it becomes one of their most prized possessions. Finding a copy is another thing. Copies are rarer than hen’s teeth and …
THE A-Z OF THE BEST REISSUES OF 2013 PART 3.
THE A-Z OF THE BEST REISSUES OF 2013 PART 3. GEORGE JACKSON-OLD FRIEND-THE FAME RECORDINGS VOLUME 3. Prolific. That’s the best way to describe George Jackson. As a songwriter, he wrote over three-hundred songs. This includes penning tracks for James Carr, Wilson Pickett, Eddie Floyd, Clarence Carter, Z.Z. Hill, Candi Staton, Bettye Swann, Ann Peebles, …
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