1. DESTINATION SOUL-"Ease My Mind" Tower 753 1967
With a 1967 release date you'd expect this to sound funkier but it's a weird track. The vocals remind me like an even more "white" Righteous Brothers but I love the driving beat and though some would argue it's not remotely "soul" I beg to differ. And I love the cheezy little Farfisa solo too. Listen...
https://youtu.be/WXKGtujglZg?si=o8QC9i3RVDEPff_p
2. DON COVAY-"The Popeye Waddle" Cameo C-239 1965
Don Covay recorded for at least half a dozen imprints in the U.S. in the 60's. This one from '62 is incredibly tacky and but I dig the "Do You Love Me" rewrite that's going on in it. Strangely enough Covay is barely on the record as most of the vocals are by female session singers with him periodically injecting his improvisational vocal bursts after each chorus!
https://youtu.be/GAy91XBz-EU?si=HbUQ2uMOUj0kGBoj
3. JIMMY BURNS AND THE FANTASTIC EPICS-"It Use To Be" Tip Top 213 1966
This slow burner has been #1 on my soul wants list for almost two decades now and seeing as the last copy went for $350 on Discogs last year the chances my owning it are slim. All griping aside this number is a killer from start to finish. Starting with some moody organ, it's down trodden vocals are a tour de force in full blown soulful misery!
https://youtu.be/gT2A-BwO19A?si=IhO7P6d-EqI9kPi
4. BIG MAYBELLE-"Quittin' Time" Rojak ROJ-118 1967
I love pretty much everything Big Maybelle did on Rojac and this one is probably my favorite alongside her renderings of "I Can't Control Myself" and "96 Tears". It's uptempo vibe and frantic beat is a perfect vehicle for her husky voice punctuated by some nifty blasts of horns. It reminds me a bit of "I Don't Need No Doctor", and dig the "Get Ready" lick injected mid song during the break.
https://youtu.be/3LWyhuQyvlw?si=TKGh5LBpvnZw9ufE
5. TONY CLARKE-"The Fugitive Kind" Chess 1935 1965
I'm a sucker for anything Tony Clarke released on Chess so.... This number reminds me a bit of The Manhattan's "Searchin' For My Baby" with it's slow delivery and call and response vocals and like all of Tony's releases on the label it has an air of sophistication and top notch production/backing.
https://youtu.be/dMv-wEBGZcc?si=sy5iP0bB0m9_LoZu
6. EARL KING-"Come On Part One" Imperial X5713 1960
I love this variation of "Let The Good Times" (copied part and parcel five years later by Alvin Robinson), it's got these greasy horns, funky/bluesy guitar and this suave/cool laid back vocal style that's just right and conjures images of a smoke filled, low lit dive bar with this band wailing over in the corner with their shades on while the whiskey flows.
https://youtu.be/60qqN6B3gSY?si=z2pj3IkdVPTTIvJO
7. THE SOUL SISTERS-"Flashback" Sue 140 1965
I just realized that a in lot of my posts today I have espoused lots of material by quite a few artists and I'm not going to deviate from that pattern on the subject of the duo The Soul Sisters and their Sue records output. This was their seventh of eight singles released on the label and this one is far more uptempo than any of their other releases for the label, like Betty Everett's "Can't Hear You No More" on a handful of speed (dig the exultation's of "Oooo oooo Pow!" periodically throughout the song)
https://youtu.be/7LO5MG8eSSk?si=fQMBq0n8LeKxE1UV
8. JEANETTE WILLIAMS-"All Of A Sudden" Back Beat 568 1966
Delivered with a melody not dissimilar to an uptempo "Take Me For A Little While" this in demand 100mph stormer was penned by Don Robey (under his moniker of Deadric Malone) and doesn't quit. The subtle brass, vibes and frenetic pace of course has rendered this unobtainable thanks to it's popularity on the pensioners soul scene.
https://youtu.be/MS9mBARvTEs?si=vG06RaXxtKkYAuNR
9. BILL BUSH-"I'm Waiting" Ronn 17 1968
I really dig this one. It's a mid tempo tune with some jazzy sax and the tempo/beat that anticipates Terry Callier's "Ordinary Joe". The vocalist sounds a bit like Len Barry and I have no idea who was/is. Best of all there's these incessant organ that plays throughout the number that gives it an interesting feel.
https://youtu.be/GAL4KvjYGQk?si=V_9G9GY7sygUWGTG
10. THE CHARMAINES-"Rockin' Pneumonia" Fraternity F-931 1964
This Lonnie Mack produced number is in such demand there's not even a scan of it on 45cat so I had to nick it from Discogs! It's easily my favorite reading of "Rockin' Pneumonia", with some great vocals that remind me of a cross between The Shirelles and The Soul Sisters, but it's the greasy musical backing that really sweetens the deal here!
https://youtu.be/emW7XOKcxIU?si=mL91wK3JWqiMdTj6
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