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Best Label For Quality Northern ?

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Just want opinions of which labels are considered the most important from the Northern scene as it has developed, as I said a top 5 or 10 maybe. I am talking about labels that have supplied the greatest percentage of top quality, so not just one-off small companies which may a 100 percent record, I'll suggest the should of pressed at least 20 soul singles to qualify :thumbsup:

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Just want opinions of which labels are considered the most important from the Northern scene as it has developed, as I said a top 5 or 10 maybe. I am talking about labels that have supplied the greatest percentage of top quality, so not just one-off small companies which may a 100 percent record, I'll suggest the should of pressed at least 20 soul singles to qualify :thumbsup:

Thelma, Ric - Tic, Okeh, many of the majors, RCA, Decca, Verve, MGM etc. the list is endless.

Mark Bicknell.

Thelma, Ric - Tic, Okeh, many of the majors, RCA, Decca, Verve, MGM etc. the list is endless.

Mark Bicknell.

MGM & RCA as per Mark above, some great stuff on there, many dancers of course. Also Epic, UA, Phillips, oh and er Grapevine & Kent (for a lot of unreleased stuff)

MGM & RCA as per Mark above, some great stuff on there, many dancers of course. Also Epic, UA, Phillips, oh and er Grapevine & Kent (for a lot of unreleased stuff)

not forgettin' ABC/ABC Paramount :thumbsup:

For me its the Chicago stables of M-Pac, One-Der-Ful etc, also the Soulville label put out a consitent array of tunes.

MIRWOOOOOOOOOOD :thumbsup:

It's Okeh, Brunswick, RCA and Ric Tic.

Let's all agree not to mention Shrine shall we? ;-)

It's Okeh, Brunswick, RCA and Ric Tic.

Let's all agree not to mention Shrine shall we? ;-)

& SHRINE shout.gif

Just want opinions of which labels are considered the most important from the Northern scene as it has developed, as I said a top 5 or 10 maybe. I am talking about labels that have supplied the greatest percentage of top quality, so not just one-off small companies which may a 100 percent record, I'll suggest the should of pressed at least 20 soul singles to qualify :lol:

In my opinion (and my record boxes):

Peacock

Veep

Chess

:thumbsup:

J.

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& SHRINE shout.gif

Personally not a big fan of the stuff on this label, but Revilot is a quality label imo. :thumbsup:

Thanks for the opinions, keep 'em coming.

Dave.

Karen.gif label karen_bridges_anime02.gif

Absitively, posolutely Mirwood.

Other labels might have put out more records that subsequently found acceptance on our scene, but on a release-for-release basis, no other label even comes close. Not even one....

TONE :thumbsup:

Duke,Backbeat,Peacock

LaBeat, and many other Detroit labels :lol:

How many great records were released on LaBeat ??

Detroit labels..... No one going to mention Motown then ? :thumbsup:

"which labels are considered the most important from the Northern scene as it has developed"

Motown, Chess, Brunswick, RCA, MGM, Verve all had 20+ great northern records.....

Edited by Awake 502

How many great records were released on LaBeat ??

Detroit labels..... No one going to mention Motown then ? :thumbsup:

"which labels are considered the most important from the Northern scene as it has developed"

Motown, Chess, Brunswick, RCA, MGM, Verve all had 20+ great northern records.....

Labeat, well Lou Beatty release a fair few quality records that have gone on to become northern classics :yes:

Motown, much of it MOR pop :lol:

LaBeat, Thelma, Groovesville and many other Detroit labels :thumbsup:

DITTO>>>GOTTA BE DETROIT !!!

Labeat, well Lou Beatty release a fair few quality records that have gone on to become northern classics :thumbsup:

Motown, much of it MOR pop :ohmy:

So a handful of northern records on LaBeat makes it a more important than 100's on Motown ? :lol:

So a handful of northern records on LaBeat makes it a more important than 100's on Motown ? :ohmy:

well I listen to the Labeat cd more than I do motown cds so in this house probably yes :thumbsup:

Edited by chalky

Never heard a bad record on Romark.

Okeh is obviously up there with the best as is Mirwood as Barcaloooona said.

One that has a fantastic selection of oldies on, that may well get me a bit of grief.

RCA

I noticed no one has mentioned WAND,

One that has a fantastic selection of oldies on, that may well get me a bit of grief.

RCA

Ah yes, mate, know what you mean, can't ever get enough of those Perry Como, Elvis Presley and Jim Reeves gems myself :ohmy::lol::yes:

TONE :thumbsup:

Edited by TONY ROUNCE

Ah yes, mate, know what you mean, can't ever get enough of those Perry Como, Elvis Presley and Jim Reeves gems myself :yes::D:D

TONE :yes:

And the likes of Lorraine Chandler, Dynamics, Roy Hamilton, Percy Wiggins, Faye Crawford, Willie Kendrick, Nancy Wilcox, Metros, Judy Freeman etc. etc. not to mention the other stuff Paul Anka's, Trade Martin's, Derek And Ray, Bobbettes, Rose Valentine, Susan Barrett, Michael And Raymond, Barons, Nina Simone, Laura Green, that bloke Rufus Lumley....lol, Herb Ward, Exciters, H.B. Barnum, that other bloke Don Ray...lol, Cavaliers, Tony Mason, Dean Courtney, The Celestrals,Sharron Scott, Kenny Carter, The Insiders, Carolyn Cooke, The Geminis, Sonny Til, that bloke Big Boris English RCA Oh and that woman Sue Lynn English RCA...lol and many more i suspect!

Regards - Mark Bicknell.

And the likes of Lorraine Chandler, Dynamics, Roy Hamilton, Percy Wiggins, Faye Crawford, Willie Kendrick, Nancy Wilcox, Metros, Judy Freeman etc. etc. not to mention the other stuff Paul Anka's, Trade Martin's, Derek And Ray, Bobbettes, Rose Valentine, Susan Barrett, Michael And Raymond, Barons, Nina Simone, Laura Green, that bloke Rufus Lumley....lol, Herb Ward, Exciters, H.B. Barnum, that other bloke Don Ray...lol, Cavaliers, Tony Mason, Dean Courtney, The Celestrals,Sharron Scott, Kenny Carter, The Insiders, Carolyn Cooke, The Geminis, Sonny Til, that bloke Big Boris English RCA Oh and that woman Sue Lynn English RCA...lol and many more i suspect!

Regards - Mark Bicknell.

....Never heard of any of 'em Mark, but I've got a nice Karnkies demo and Anthony Newley singing "Why Can't You Try To Didgeridoo", both on RCA, so that'll do for me :yes::D:yes:

TONE

:D

Personally not a big fan of the stuff on this label, but Revilot is a quality label imo. :yes:

Thanks for the opinions, keep 'em coming.

Dave.

yeah some pretty awful stuff on Shrine Dvae but also 2 of my all time faves :-

Eddie Daye & Four Bars - Guess Who Loves You

Cautions - No Other Way

both pure class :yes:

And the likes of Lorraine Chandler, Dynamics, Roy Hamilton, Percy Wiggins, Faye Crawford, Willie Kendrick, Nancy Wilcox, Metros, Judy Freeman etc. etc. not to mention the other stuff Paul Anka's, Trade Martin's, Derek And Ray, Bobbettes, Rose Valentine, Susan Barrett, Michael And Raymond, Barons, Nina Simone, Laura Green, that bloke Rufus Lumley....lol, Herb Ward, Exciters, H.B. Barnum, that other bloke Don Ray...lol, Cavaliers, Tony Mason, Dean Courtney, The Celestrals,Sharron Scott, Kenny Carter, The Insiders, Carolyn Cooke, The Geminis, Sonny Til, that bloke Big Boris English RCA Oh and that woman Sue Lynn English RCA...lol and many more i suspect!

Regards - Mark Bicknell.

yeah

I was actually thinking Perry Como etc :yes:

And the likes of Lorraine Chandler, Dynamics, Roy Hamilton, Percy Wiggins, Faye Crawford, Willie Kendrick, Nancy Wilcox, Metros, Judy Freeman etc. etc. not to mention the other stuff Paul Anka's, Trade Martin's, Derek And Ray, Bobbettes, Rose Valentine, Susan Barrett, Michael And Raymond, Barons, Nina Simone, Laura Green, that bloke Rufus Lumley....lol, Herb Ward, Exciters, H.B. Barnum, that other bloke Don Ray...lol, Cavaliers, Tony Mason, Dean Courtney, The Celestrals,Sharron Scott, Kenny Carter, The Insiders, Carolyn Cooke, The Geminis, Sonny Til, that bloke Big Boris English RCA Oh and that woman Sue Lynn English RCA...lol and many more i suspect!

Regards - Mark Bicknell.

I just GOTTA dip my toe into this one. Earlier comment referred to much of Motown being MOR pop. Have to agree on many levels. HOWEVER Motown, as a business, had a strategy to open out the appeal of Blackamerican music to a wider, predominantly white audience and, for this reason, much of the output certainly was MOR. When you dig a little deeper - B Sides, album tracks etc, you start to hit a rich seam of tunes which are far more aligned to what we would call 'Northern' in their production and arrangement.

What is obvious - and perhaps more pertinent - is the fact that the Motown session musicians were the people who the minor labels were trying to emulate when trying to create that 'sound-a-like' feel of a Motown hit. Looking over the credits on so many Detroit based logos (RCA, Kapp, Awake, Giant, etc etc) there is often a common denominator which is Pied Piper Productions.

You only have to listen beyond the vocal performances to hear that so many of these awesome records were Motown records in all but name. Detroit, Chicago, Philly, L.A The Carolinas, NY - all these major centres were awash with stunning solo and Group Soul talent. What made the difference in most cases was the quality of the track they sang over.

The principle difference from the typical 4:4 Motown Sound that Pied Pier aspired to was that Jack Ashford, along with L.Chandler, Joe Hunter and others were able to take their style to another level without having to conform to the mass market requirements of the Motown sides they were cutting. Why was this? Mainly because so many other label owners (black label owners with predominantly black markets to hand) wanted to copy that sound on the basis of first principles. It was fu**ing good and it sold records. Lots of them! It speaks for itself that there are 100 or more copies of any uptempo Stevie Wonder 45 for every one of, say, Willie Kendricks on RCA. This tells me two things. Berry Gordy had it dead-right commercially, but the Piep Piper team (and others like them) found a sound that would not clean up on home ground but would 'have it's day' and stand the test of time well into the 21st Century.

On that basis alone, Motown deserves to be up there, if not because of the entirety of its output, because of the way it influenced the way in which dance records were constructed and arranged by so many other logos. Most didn't cut the mustard and hey presto - we get ourselves a Rare Soul Scene!

Viva Motown for much of what it did, but more importantly, for what it led others to do.

I'll get my coat! blush.gif

Edited by burysoul

what about Twinight?

still after an Annette Poindexter if any kind person would like to let me look after there copy blush.gif

MUSICOR put out some top stuff,

Jive Five

S.O.U.L

Toys

Platters

Billy T Soul

Street People

Sammy Ambrose

Porgy & The Monarchs

J B Troy

Jimmy Radcliffe

To name but a few!

Easiest way to figure this out is, if you had to listen to a one hour spot consisting of records from only one label.....

RCA it is...... blush.gif

....Never heard of any of 'em Mark, but I've got a nice Karnkies demo and Anthony Newley singing "Why Can't You Try To Didgeridoo", both on RCA, so that'll do for me :shhh:thumbsup.gif:lol:

TONE

Classic reply Tony :shhh:

Mark Bicknell.

One of the first labels I collected was Loma, some quality 45s were released, many tracks that still do it for me.

Also Mercury & Blue rock, lots of great cheapies that can still be picked up for a couple of quid laugh.gif

In my opinion, SHRINE is one of the greatest labels to collect - all quality, lots of classic upbeat northern, heartwrenching ballads, fascinating history, rarity, and, of course, all tracks were SOULFUL.

However, the question remains, why have people brought it up in this thread? Methinks there is so much bitterness and resentment out there that (as usual!) people can't be bothered to read and/or respond to the actual question.

Briles said that there should be AT LEAST 20 releases on the label, and he gets to make the rules as it's his thread.

AS ANY FOOL KNOWS, ON SHRINE THERE WERE ONLY 19!!!!

Attention to detail is everything!! Ha ha ha ...

Cheers,

'Pedantic' Pete

PS - in the spirit of the thread, my vote goes to Mar-V-Lus .... 21 releases!!! And again, all soulful with lots of great northern.

Ric-Tic, Mirwood and the Motown labels are the obvious choices because their typical releases pretty much defined what 'northern soul' is.

But if consistancy is considered you'd have to forget about MGM, Decca and RCA etc. because their soul discs represented just a miniscule proportion of their total output.

Paul Mooney

I just GOTTA dip my toe into this one. Earlier comment referred to much of Motown being MOR pop. Have to agree on many levels. HOWEVER Motown, as a business, had a strategy to open out the appeal of Blackamerican music to a wider, predominantly white audience and, for this reason, much of the output certainly was MOR. When you dig a little deeper - B Sides, album tracks etc, you start to hit a rich seam of tunes which are far more aligned to what we would call 'Northern' in their production and arrangement.

What is obvious - and perhaps more pertinent - is the fact that the Motown session musicians were the people who the minor labels were trying to emulate when trying to create that 'sound-a-like' feel of a Motown hit. Looking over the credits on so many Detroit based logos (RCA, Kapp, Awake, Giant, etc etc) there is often a common denominator which is Pied Piper Productions.

You only have to listen beyond the vocal performances to hear that so many of these awesome records were Motown records in all but name. Detroit, Chicago, Philly, L.A The Carolinas, NY - all these major centres were awash with stunning solo and Group Soul talent. What made the difference in most cases was the quality of the track they sang over.

The principle difference from the typical 4:4 Motown Sound that Pied Pier aspired to was that Jack Ashford, along with L.Chandler, Joe Hunter and others were able to take their style to another level without having to conform to the mass market requirements of the Motown sides they were cutting. Why was this? Mainly because so many other label owners (black label owners with predominantly black markets to hand) wanted to copy that sound on the basis of first principles. It was fu**ing good and it sold records. Lots of them! It speaks for itself that there are 100 or more copies of any uptempo Stevie Wonder 45 for every one of, say, Willie Kendricks on RCA. This tells me two things. Berry Gordy had it dead-right commercially, but the Piep Piper team (and others like them) found a sound that would not clean up on home ground but would 'have it's day' and stand the test of time well into the 21st Century.

On that basis alone, Motown deserves to be up there, if not because of the entirety of its output, because of the way it influenced the way in which dance records were constructed and arranged by so many other logos. Most didn't cut the mustard and hey presto - we get ourselves a Rare Soul Scene!

Viva Motown for much of what it did, but more importantly, for what it led others to do.

I'll get my coat! whistling.gif

What a tremendous reply Neil. Couldn't agree more.

Motown for me, followed by RCA, but the contribution of the lesser Detroit labels cannot be overlooked. What talent tyhere was outside Motown in Detroit, and clearly recognised by Mr Gordy.

What a tremendous reply Neil. Couldn't agree more.

Motown for me, followed by RCA, but the contribution of the lesser Detroit labels cannot be overlooked. What talent tyhere was outside Motown in Detroit, and clearly recognised by Mr Gordy.

Cheers Brian - I'm afraid I started out to post a short answer but the juices were flowing. Or rather, the Marstons Old Empire was flowing!! :yes:

Being objective though, 'Northern Soul' means different things to different people and threads like this are great at opening up peoples' minds to the tastes of others - all good clean fun and on topic as well!!! RESULT!

  • Author

Cheers Brian - I'm afraid I started out to post a short answer but the juices were flowing. Or rather, the Marstons Old Empire was flowing!! :P

Being objective though, 'Northern Soul' means different things to different people and threads like this are great at opening up peoples' minds to the tastes of others - all good clean fun and on topic as well!!! RESULT!

I certainly enjoyed your writing Neil, that Marstons must be fantastic stuff !!! :yes:

Thanks to everyone for their input. My personal faves are Okeh and RCA, some excellent stuff on them, don't think anyone mentioned Swan, so I have.

Best

Dave.

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