1. FRED PARRIS & THE RESTLESS HEARTS-"No Use In Crying" Checker 1108 1965
This impassioned soul ballad sounds like a cross between the vocals of Jackie Shane and the backing vocals of The Kelly Brothers. The musical structure is not dissimilar from a late 50's doo wop number (like The Flamingos maybe?).
https://youtu.be/EWoDeEUnVyc?si=AWa0WYDl9A9gb60B
2. THE FABULOUS PEPS-"With These Eyes" Wheelsville 109 1966
This mega obscure number is 101% high octane soul with strong horns, hip hand claps, fantastic brass and some great falsetto vocals bringing to mind The Impressions.
https://youtu.be/QqdJzxXi_WY?si=pxN26iVfwc4Lfgmc
3. BILLY YOUNG-"Glendora" Original Sound OS-29 1963
I had long assumed that Brit r&b mavens The Downliners Sect had covered "Glendora" from the Pewrry Como original, that was until I recently heard this! It's moody, soulful and almost doom laden and clearly is where Don Craine and the boys took their version!
https://youtu.be/DprSxokWqD0?si=gSvFjpEKOTcckOCe
4. BIG MAYBELLE-"Oh Lord What Are You Doing To Me" Scepter 1279 1964
Big Maybelle is one of my favorite female soul vocalists and nothing tops her delivery on this ballad that reminds me of a husky Baby Washington. The powerful orchestration and lush backing vocals just adds to the heavy weight of this powerhouse belter!
https://youtu.be/kaYzNbnqQkI?si=8cUdHNrGtfs34kYE
5. MITCH RYDER AND THE DETROIT WHEELS-"Come See About Me" New Voice 828 1967
I've always been sort of ambivalent about Mitch Ryder as I sometimes feel like a lot of his stuff is kind of "samey"? I don't know why but I really dig this Supremes cover. The musical backing is minimal and sounds like a frat rock band and interestingly there's no backing vocals just Mitch's gravelly voice which is where it's charm lies!
https://youtu.be/RVMPQjZrNyk?si=tVlBJGmrI3eJwzt3
6. BRENTON WOOD-"Baby You Got It" Double Shot 121 1967
From it's quirky little combo organ and Brenton's falsetto double tracked vocals and rapid fire/catchy deliver this one always grabs me, especially the chorus. Not to be confused with the Maurice & The Radiants tune of the same name.
https://youtu.be/BDTFxK-ssnk?si=4_65GyTCeaM6Yy9c
7. TWISTIN' KINGS-"Congo Part I" Motown M-1023 1961
This is hot!! An incredibly catchy drum heavy instrumental augmented by some neo classical ivory tinkling clashing with the heavy and hypnotic beat. Pure Afro-Cuban rhythm guaranteed to stop you dead in your tracks.
https://youtu.be/j116_-blXak?si=WL0-vgMkgoYx3ExH
8. GLADYS KNIGHT AND THE PIPS-"Stop And Get A Hold Of Myself" Maxx 334 1964
This mega pricey 45 is a Van McCoy composition that is power packed with catchy breaks, an infectious groove and some incredible call and response vocals. It's easily one of the bands strongest pre-Motown releases in my estimation.
https://youtu.be/KjLKKLu-eP8?si=n1FHTzdWFK9-2Yiv
9. DONNIE ELBERT-"Along Came Pride" UK CBS 2807 1967
This storming number was not released in the US for some reason. It was recorded in the UK and it's powerful musical backing was care of none other than the legendary Keith Mansfield. It's uptempo groove made it mandatory on the (ahem) Northern scene.....
https://youtu.be/zenjWuZGaT0?si=ka8sphtpnTZY6N8u
10. REX GARVIN AND THE MIGHTY CRAVERS-"Believe It Or Not" Like 45-302 1966
This little gem is an interesting PSA about the horrors of L.S.D. on top of a soulful groove. Curiously there seems to be a lot of references about monsters in the lyrics ("Did you hear about the girl who tried it, she thought she was outta site till she looked out her back window and saw vampires flyin' through the night" or "Did you hear hear about the man who tired it, he wanted to leave his troubles behind, he wound up goin' crazy, you know he thought that he was Frankenstein")! Regardless of how ridiculous it sounds lyrically the number is a gas!
https://youtu.be/1c5UAJ-s46w?si=2qqHPIBghxA2RVMD
All scans c/o 45cat.com
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