The later years of the Sound Of Memphis studio – cuts from a
time when the legendary deep soul powerhouse was trying on some of the newer
modes from the end of the 70s! The work here is a real lost slice of Memphis
soul – music from a time when the heyday of Stax and Hi Records had long
passed, but smaller indies like SOM were going strong – and able to capture the
shifting sound in the great soul city – as singers worked in the sorts of funky
club and boogie modes you'd more regularly associate with New York or Chicago!
The quality level is surprisingly great – especially since there's a nicely
indie vibe to these cuts – not polished disco rehash, but the sort of
underground club material that we've always loved from reissues on labels like
Numero or Soul Cal – coming here from the surprising source of Memphis. Even
more importantly, almost all this material never saw the light of day at the
time – since the SOM connections to bigger labels had faded – so the whole
thing's like a time capsule, taking you back to some real under-exposed days on
the Memphis scene! Titles include "Dream Girl" and "Groove With
A Feeling" by Freedom Express, "You Can Bet I Can Get You Yet"
and "What You Do For Love" by Lee Moore, "Ridin" and
"Attraction" by Erma Shaw, "Cold Blooded Sally" by Fran
Farley, "New Lang Syne" by Kannon, "I'll Be Around" by The
Jacksonians, "Gone" by Vision, "We Need Love" by Donald
O'Connor, "Tighter Tighter" by Demetrius & Takelia, and "Don't
Fight It" by Louis Williams. ~ Dusty Groove
DORE L.A. SOUL SIDES VOL 2: 20 YEARS WORTH OF ELUSIVE WEST COAST DANCERS SWEET SOUL BALLADS & ALL POINTS IN BETWEEN
Loads and
loads of great group soul sounds from the LA scene of the late 60s and early
70s – a mix of upbeat groovers and laidback harmony tunes that show that the
west coast city was every bit as great at handling soul groups as the scenes in
Detroit or Philly! Apart from The Whispers – who were the big Dore label stars
at the time – many of these other acts didn't break big east of the Rockies –
which makes this whole collection a real treasure trove of great discovery –
stunning vocals supported by superb arrangements and production, and a
selection of tracks chosen with the usual Kent Records care! There's a few solo
artists on the set, too – but the main focus is on groups, and titles include
"Nothing Lasts Forever" by The Natural Resources, "Getting Back
Into Circulation" by The Entertainers IV, "I'm Givin You Notice
Baby" by The Fidels, "I Wanna Chance" by The Vows, "I Only
Cry Once A Day Now" by The Puffs, "The Girl That I Loved" by
Bobby & Eddie Unlimited, "Saigon To San Francisco" by Toussaint
McCall, "Just A Little Ugly" by Gail Anderson, "Wind In My
Sails" by The Superbs, "I Want YoU" by Dee Torres, and "My
Pillow" by The Darlings. ~ Dusty Groove
WALT WEISKOPF - OPEN ROAD
Walt
Weiskopf is a hell of a tenorist, and one who's getting more and more of our
attention with each new release – able to open up and really blow at a
fast-riffing level of creativity, yet always with a sense of focus, soul, and
strongly rhythmic approach! We might dub Walt as the heir to a legacy that runs
back to Tubby Hayes, and includes the work of Eric Alexander – and there's a
creative crackle to this album that reminds us of Alexander's early material –
a quality that's further emphasized by the wide range of original material
penned by Walt, which really keeps things interesting. The group's a quartet –
with Peter Zak on piano, Mike Karn on bass, and Steve Fidyk on drums – but
Walt's dexterity often makes it feel like there's a lot more going on, too.
Titles include "Premonition", "Chronology",
"Tricycle", "Leaves Of Grass", "Electroshock",
and "Open Road". ~ Dusty Groove
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