THE VIPPS-Mercy Mercy/That's My Woman US Phillips 40387 1966 |
THE VIPPS-Mercy Mercy/That's My Woman US Phillips 40387 1966 |
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LIFE N' SOUL-Here Comes Yesterday Again/Dear Paul US Mainstream 705 1968 |
1. BOBBY JONES AND THE PARA-MONTS-"Beware A Stranger" U.S. U.S.A. 864 1967
Kicking off with some horns borrowed from "Dancing In The Street" this uptempo groover is backed by female backing vocals and a frantic music backing. As expected it's another impossible one to snag owing to it's popularity among pensioners across the ocean...
2. THE CHECK MATES-"Hey Mrs. Jones" U.S. Arvee A 5030 1961
Made famous by Jimmy Witherspoon, this tale of adulterous behavior was covered shortly after by The Check Mates. It has a Latin back beat and double tracked male/female lead vocals that give it an interesting feel considering the lyrics. The arrangement with congas, bongos and brass give it an excellent Latin meets uptown soul feel.
3. OBIE PLENTY-"Beef Stew" US Verve VK 10516 1967
This groovy little organ driven go-go groover is punctuated by the annoying high pitched voice of "Ma" (reminding me of Flip Wilson's "Geraldine") and a lead singer doing a hip speak/rap about having beef stew for breakfast, lunch and dinner 24/7. Regardless it's quite a funky little tune with a solid groove to it.
4. LEE MOSES-"Reach Out, I'll Be There" U.S. Musicor MU 1227 1967
Speaking of instrumentals, this ragged instrumental take on the Four Tops hit is a pure gas! Gritty guitar, vibes, combo organ and a drummer intent on beating the living shit out of his kit propel this one forward and make it sound like a bargain basement/frat rock Booker T and The MG's, but don't let the lo-fi production fool you, these cats are cookin'.
5. SYLVIA ROBBINS-"Don't Let Your Eyes Get Bigger Than Your Heart" U.S. Sue 805 1964
This brilliant Sue 45 is backed by organ and has a great "girl group" sound that's not as soulful as one would expect for Sue, but the wailing organ solo and nifty brass backing make it worth checking out even if the vocals aren't the track's strong suit!
6. THE VIBRATIONS-"Gonna Get Along Without You Now" U.S. Okeh 47-7249 1966
The Vibrations cut a host of amazing 45's when they switched to Okeh from Checker. This was their eighth single for the label, delivered at 100 mph with brass and vibes it's an uptempo stormer, and of course huge in that genre we hate naming....
7. NINA SIMONE-"Do I Move You?" U.S. RCA Victor 47-9120 1967
This smoking bluesy number is found on the flip of Nina's "Day And Night" 45. She smoothly belts it out over a dirty, dirgy blues beat with subtle harp blowing and boisterous male backing vocals and barroom piano, bass, drums and twangy guitar giving it an almost "live" feel.
8. JIMMY BAILEY-"Keep On Running" U.S. Columbia 4-43530 1966
I could do an entire post of version's of this Jackie Edwards penned tune (made famous by the Spencer Davis Group) but this one is one of the handful of U.S. soul covers of the track (along with Billy Prince's which followed this a month later). This take is more uptempo than most that you'll hear but it's interesting because it's primary musical backing is a piano with added horns and the obligatory fuzz guitar.
9. PRINCE AND PRINCESS-"Stick Together" U.S. Bell 637 1966
Any one have any clue who this duo were? Both sides of this 45 were written and produced by Larry Fallon and Jimmy Miller and it was originally released in the U.K. the previous year (on the primarily ska/reggae imprint Aladdin as WI 609) leading me to suspect that maybe they're British?! Either way it's an uptempo male/female soul duet with some hand claps and it's a 101 mph octane dance party (which explains why there's a copy on Discogs right now for $271)!1
10. JIMMY LIPSCOMB-"Pow Pow Pow (Mas Que Mada)" U.S. Monique 150 1966
Here's a funky little elevator jazz reading of "Mas Que Nada" with a vocalist giving it the full on Mel Torme meets Sinatra feel. Musically it's a cross between full on supper club and more commercial jazz. I've no idea who Jimmy Lipscomb, any takers?
All scans courtesy of the amazing website https://www.45cat.com/
THE ALAN BOWN-Story Book/Little Lesley US Music Factory MU 406 1968 |
Trade advert c/o 45cat.com |
SOUNDS, INCORPORATED-In The Hall Of The Mountain King/Time For You US Liberty 55789 1965 |
John St. John's "George Harrison" model Gretsch 12 string guitar. |
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Lionel does the town with Julie Driscoll, 1967 |
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JOE BROWN-With A Little Help From My Friends/Wontcha Show Me Around US Warner Brothers 7055 1967 |
Dutch 45 c/o 45cat.com |
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BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST-Early Morning/Mr. Sunshine US Sire 45-4105 1969 |
1. GATE WESLEY AND THE BAND-"(Zap! Pow!) Do The Batman" Atlantic 45-2319 1966
I first heard this number back in the 90's when it was the crown jewel of the indispensable CD comp "Pow City! FABulous Shakers Soul Party". For the uninitiated it's a funky soul instrumental punctuated by some hysterical impromptu lines like "Come on Robin get the Batmobile rollin'" and my favorite "Hey baby is cape on right?". Zap! Pow!
2. KENNY DINO-"Show Me" Columbia 4-43062 1964
A big shout out to long time reader and pal Joe Hedio for hipping me to this one. It's a raving stormer with a musical backing that sounds like it could be the Dave Clark Five (dig that beat and the sax!) with a frantic/frenetic groove that's 100 mph pure dance octane.
3. THE FIVE SPLENDORS-"Your Dog Hate Me" Stroll 106 1960
This tongue and cheek early 60's r&b groover reminds me of the Coasters but with hints of doo-wop but a gritty sax solo and faster paced tempo keep it from straying into that genre. And dig the groovy looking label it's on!
4. THE BLAZERS FEATURING DAVE "BABY" CORTEZ ON ORGAN-"Skins And Sounds" Winley 262 1962
This funky little obscure instrumental is an interesting number with the interspersing of Dave "Baby" Cortez's Hammond and some conga drums which makes for a different bag, but one that totally works! Incidentally it was released after Cortez's brief sojourn into the upper reaches of the charts with 1960's "The Happy Organ" and I suspect it was possibly recorded earlier?
5. CLARK TERRY AND CHICO O'FARRILL-"Spanish Rice" Impulse! 45-252 1966
Cuban born Latin band leader Chico O'Farrill and jazz horn legend Clark Terry cut this smoldering jazz instrumental with a talk over discussing the recipe for Spanish rice on top of an infectious Latin jazz groove! Smokin'! Anybody got a copy?
6. JO ANN SMITH-"Give A Man A Tree" Columbia 4-43330 1965
On top of a smooth groove laid down by organ, horns and chorus the breathy/husky Jo Ann Smith sings with some biting lyrics "Give a man a tree, he wants a forest, give a man a stream, he wants a river, give a man a hill, he wants a mountain, he cannot be denied, a man is never satisfied". Brilliant!
7. JOE DUKES-"Moohah The DJ" PRESTIGE 45-322 1964
This Jack McDuff penned instrumental number is credited to drummer Joe Dukes who played on this along McDuff on organ, Red Holloway on sax and Geo Benson on drums. Musically it reminds of something that The Graham Bond Organzation would have gotten up to across the pond, though far heavier on the accent on the horns than the Hammond.
8. THORNTON SISTERS-"I Keep Forgettin'" Cuppy C-102 1965
This obscure cover of the Chuck Jackson number from '62 is worth checking out. It's far more upbeat than the original and the soulful female voices come across as gritty and intriguing. Some jack ass has a copy for sale on Discogs for $3,767.12. I kid you not. It's amazing but....
9. CASH MCCALL-"You Ain't Too Cool" Thomas 307 1966
The flip of Cash's Motown inspired ballad "When You Wake Up" is this nifty instrumental track led by a sax with organ/guitar interplay that comes off like an upbeat Booker T. type groove with King Curtis style funky horns.
10. ARTHUR PRYSOCK-"I Must Be Doing Something Right" Verve VK 10620 1968
There's always a running gag about every type of performer having their "Northern Soul" number and allegedly this is Arthur Prysock's. I'm not sure how you get down to this baritone voiced track with loads of tempo changes but there's a cool groove punctuated by horns and atmospheric flute.
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CHRIS ANDREWS-Yesterday Man/Too Bad You Don't Want Me US Atco 45-6385 1965 |
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FEARNS FOUNDRY-Now I Taste the Tears/Love Sink And Drown US Parrot 45-40033 1968 |
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WARM SOUNDS-Birds And Bees/Doo Dah US Deram 45-DEM-85007 1967 |