this was posted up in comments bit under I think wrong section - as to me a worthwhile discusiion post, thrown up here for better exposure

On the debate about bootlegs a person said the following"bobby Cline was played because it was rare, its not a record you can dance to"..Great tracks like this made a lot of us realise that it don't have to be 150 mph to dance to it. One of the greatest tracks of all time for me and to be played on my death bed.You must be going to soul nights on the moon if you think this tune was never for the dancefloor. I like soulful music..60s/club soul/RnB/newies/some oldies plus a good few modern tracks and would like to hear them on the same night. Too many nights with men who don't smile and are locked into a small pocket of the soul scene. Over the past few months people have said to me, ooh they play too much northern, ooh i can't stand RnB, ooh i don't like this place, they play some stuff that i don't know,ooh not them slow ones, ooh too fast..etc etc etc.. what next??? ooh not that soulful stuff. ooh look at them over there smiling and chatting.. I and a lot of others like to hear soul from the whole menue.. Try a starter and the odd pudding it don't all have to be main course..

Steve... manchester

Right on Steve, a man after my own heart, if people think Bobby Kline ain't danceable they must be dead IMO. These type of tunes put the'SOUL' back into Northern.

The whole bloody shooting match R'n'B, Traditional Northern & Rare Soul, beat ballads, mid-tempo, xover & Modern, 6ts newies, the whole lot should be mixed up & played together, controversial......probably, possible,......definitly,......good Dj's are able to mix all genres with a little thought & effort, nobody is saying ditch the traditional sixties, just lets have some imagination.............it's all part of that big melting pot that we call Rare Soul........& if its good I'll dance, as will most people.

Happy New Year

Russ Vickers

I just have to support Steve and Russ on this one.....Bobby Kline for my money has to be one of the best ever mid tempo SOUL records of all time from any era on the Northern Soul scene, the record simply has it all, superb vocal, perfect pace, passion, emotion ........I could go on.

I've had this record in my DJ box since about 1981/82 and it still sounds good to me, still packs dance floors everywhere so the comments made are total bollocks.

I can think of dozens of top tunes which fall in the same quality bracket and tempo as Bobby Kline such as Sam Fletcher, Tommy Tate, Kenny Sheppard, Romance Watson, George Smith, George Freeman, Jimmy Wallace, Roger Hatcher etc. etc. then theres the so called classic oldies.... what about Ray Pollard - The Drifter for example very uptempo is that!!!!!!!!

Quality Soul is not about tempo it's about voice, production quality, emotion etc. you should check out hidden flips like the other side of The High Keyes on verve - Let's Take A Chance which is down tempo compared to the well known Living A Lie yet it leaves me totally floored as the tune is about heartache and pain which basically is the key to SOUL music.

So there must be two camps here those who have it and those who don't......SOUL that is, to suggest that the likes of Bobby Kline is a dud record is an insult to the memory of the man who discovered it Randy Cozens and to the talent of the singer.

I suggest that some people dismiss such records because they will never own one, I would trade a million so called classic oldies for the satifaction I/we get from real Soul records.................

If some people can't get into these records then sorry but you are on the wrong scene.

Keep It Real - Mark Bicknell.

mark

as much as i respect youre veiws you see things a lot differently from myself.

how can you sugest that people dismiss records cause they will never own one.

no disrespect but what a load of tosh.

if i dont like a record its because i dont like the sound of it,simple as that.dont matter wether its fast,slow,r,n,b,modern,oldie,rare,common as muck,ect ect.not because i cant own it

i cant get into certain records but to say im in the wrong scene.you really dont want an answer for that,do you.

the original posting was about it being to slow to dance to.nothing wrong with saying that.theres certain records that id class as great soul but id also class it as car music.ie its great to listen to in the car but thats it.its just personel veiws.

and its not an insult to anybodies memory by saying you dont like a certain record.

what a strange thing to write.

wayne

i agree with wayne on this one. it is a daft thing to say that somebody doesnt like a record because they dont own one! personally i dont like the likes of bobby kline and other dirges such as 'the pyramid', bobby sheen 'something new to do', to name but a few being played at a venue as yes i feel they are too slow, soulful - maybe?- to listen to in the car - great - yes i know its not all about 100mph dancers, but come on 10mph is a bit slow mate. its all about personal tastes and opinions, so not everyone is going to rate certain records, and certainly not because they are rare. a lot of comments have been made recently on soul-source regarding the so-called snobbery of playing rare records. some djs wont play a sound unless its worth a few bob, unfortunately one or two 'new faces' on the dj scene seem to think it has to be rare to be played, and fall over each other in the scramble to buy a lot of shite sometimes. bollocks - i have rare stuff and 10 bob stuff and have no problem in playing both. unfortunately a lot of great northern records arent played anymore solely because they aren't rare!!

In my humble but very correct opinion, Bobby Kline is a BOSS record. But whether you like it or not is down to taste, you either have it, or you don't. lol. Seriously though, it is undeniably a perfect soul record. You may not like it (that is down to your taste) but you can't deny that it is a master piece of musical genius.

But to say that it is 'too slow' to dance to!?!?!? Maybe you could try moving on the off beat or perhaps syncopate your steps into double time when the drums and vocals stab together? If that fails, go and buy a beer at the bar and give the propa dancers more room on the floor! ;-)

GIVE ME THE C.O.D.'S 'SHE'S FIRE' ANY DAY JT - HA! HA! THEN MAYBE FOLLOW UP WITH BOBBY KLINE AFTER ME LEGS FELL LIKE THEY'VE BEEN REMOVED FROM MY BODY!

GRANT

JTrouble and Grant...hit the nail on the head.

Peter

oops I forgot....Bob Hinsley, for his penultimate record at the Ritz last Sunday played a Jerry Butler track who's title escapes me, it was -100mph ( yes minus) the dance floor was packed and even though it was slow was very danceable.

Peter.

Respect Wayne, again my comments have been viewed or read the wrong way, Bobby Kline was sighted as being a bad record which Steve replied to I was simply agreeing with his comments that it is a class record and always gets a good dance floor reaction when played at most venues, perhaps my comment regarding people dismissing some records because they may never own one on reflection was totally out of order on my part, again it's a case of whatever floats your boat and personally I'm a Soul fan more rather than just an out and out Northern fan despite playing it at the gigs and on radio, if my comments offened or upset then it's simply the passion coming through rather than being hostile.

I guess sometimes it's pointless to debate about records being good , bad, fast, slow Soulful or otherwise as we all have different tastes in our huge musical banner and how boring it would be if we all liked and agreed on the same stuff, I take your points and comments in good faith and again as with everyone on here I voice opinion and do not exspect everyone to agree with me.

I rate Bobby Kline as an all time classic record, it's timeless, yes down tempo but all in all SOULFUL which is all I really aim for and judge a record by be it out and out Northern, slow or up tempo.

But solid point Wayne so forgive the last comments in the posting.

MARK BICKNELL.