Evening all.

Just had to give you a shout about this stunning new Bettye Swann compilation from Ace / Kent, featuring some of the finest tracks from right across her illustrious soul career.

Money - Capitol - FAME - Atlantic 1964 - 1975

Compiled with a great deal of love by Ady Croasdell it kicks off with the one track I vividly remember buying, on recommendation from my old friend Dave Godin, as he raved about it in Blues & Soul; the totally gorgeous 'Make Me Yours'. As we all know, a 24 carat soul music gem.

From there it includes the stunning slice of Muscle Shoals 'I'm Just Living A Lie' from FAME, the wonderful 'Today I Started Loving You Again' the recent massive spin 'When The Game Is Played On You' crossover monster's 'Kiss My Love Goodbye' and 'I Want Sunday Back Again' plus superior ballad excellence in the shape of 'Time To Say Goodbye' and the recently unearthed 'Either You Love Me Or You leave Me'.

Take a few minutes and feast your ears on the YouTube video with just a few snippets as a taster. Then tootle across to Amazon or Ace (or your favourite retailer of really great Soul Music) and, for less than a night at the pictures, grab yourself one of the finest female vocal compilations in a very long time.

Cheers,

Sean

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Edited September 27, 20159 yr by Sean Hampsey

A quick review of this release I did.....

For one with such a fabulous voice and given the quality of her output, Bettye Swann criminally failed to get the recognition she deserved. At least by the masses that is. For collectors of 60’s and 70’s Soul music she is highly revered and popular artist.

In a recording career lasting around fourteen years or so from 1964 to 1978 she recorded some 20 singles and three LP’s for Money, Capitol, Fame and Atlantic with very little recognition commercially.

Her music however lived on and not only are her 45’s highly collectable with some commanding a three figure sum her work has been reissued by a handful of companies due to Bettye’s popularity and the demand for Bettye’s music.

Kent give us the first compilation overseeing her career with all the four labels mentioned previously. Her most popular sides on the now worldwide Northern Soul dance scene are featured, “Make Me Yours” which was Bettye’s biggest seller, “Don’t Take My Love” & “I Think I’m Falling In Love” just three of her 60’s output that have found a home on the Northern Soul Scene. “Kiss My Love Goodbye” has been absolutely massive for the last ten years or so with dancers and in more recent times “When The Game Is Played On You” has found huge favour after receiving the attention from one of the world’s best DJ’s Mark Dobson.

Bettye is also hugely popular with Southern Soul fans who favour her Capitol and Atlantic output. Angel Of The Morning’ and her own “(My Heart Is) Closed For The Season”, “Today i Started Loving You” and “I Want Sunday Back Again” just some of the great soul music Bettye has to offer. As Ady says though Atlantic left the best number in the can but thankfully it has since been rescued and “Either You Love Me Or You Leave Me” is Soul Music at its finest.

Bettye all but disappeared after 1980 but thankfully Ady Croasdell came up trumps once again and managed to persuade Bettye to appear at Cleethorpes and I have to say it was a privilege to be there.

Again Ace/Kent do the business and give us a great compilation and as you would expect some excellent reading and this his one release that if it isn’t on your shelf now ought to be in your stocking come Christmas Morning.

Edited December 12, 20159 yr by chalky