Garethx

Not forgetting the great Wee Willie Walker. Is it true that Lil' Major Williams, like Little Eddie Taylor, was a person of restricted growth?

Thanks for the scan Dave. The first Atco-distributed issue of this I've ever seen. Wonder if it exists on a vinyl Atco-distributed stock copy?

Frank Giacobbe has championed this 45 for a long time so it's good to see others adding it to their sets. It's pretty tough to find and sounds great out. I had one which went to a very good home about three years ago.

Malcolm Baumgart had a pretty comprehensive collection of US Motown with amazing regional and promo/release variations of most of the various logos' output. If there had been a copy of Frank Wilson in a collection in London he would have known about it I'm sure but he was adamant that the only copies in collections were those we've already mentioned here.

I should point out that I don't think I was the first person to play it either. Think I got it from an Andy Dyson sales tape in the early 90s: listed for the other side (which is very good in itself) but when I heard Ruby it blew me away. I still think few records can hold a candle to it in terms of funk/soul crossover: it's so mean and powerful.

A great record Dave: I've never seen it on the more usual South Camp logo (the Atlantic/Atco distributed one) only a white demo which looks quite different to anything else on the label. I can't remember where it fits into the chronology of Quinvy / South Camp stuff: later than the main bulk of releases I think. It can still be bought for around fifty quid and is good value at that I reckon. I'd still love a copy of Tear Stained Face. Took me years to appreciate it fully but now I come to think of it aggro-soul gets no better.

There's also an absolutely brilliant previously unreleased track on one of the John Ridley-compiled Charly albums from the late 80s called When It's Over. Mid-to-uptempo and much more sophisticated in approach than Tear Stained Face. I've often thought this would be popular if spun at rare soul dances.

Sorry lads. I hate to blow my own trumpet but I was playing this years before Adam!

I've always assumed that The New Wanderers were connected in terms of personnel with The Wanderers themselves. As Dave says by the time of the Ready recordings Shep Grant had died and Ray Pollard was a solo recording artist, so maybe The New Wanderers were made up of the remaining members plus some new additions. I don't know if I agree with Tony on their releases sounding 'white': Let Me Render sounds pretty full-on soulful in the classic sense to me. I can't remember if their version of Ain't Gonna Do You No Harm predates the recording by the white group The Unlov'd or whether it is a cover of that track. An interesting thing about The Wanderers themselves is that the records by the group which received plays on the Northern scene over the years have been their best selling releases, those on Cub and United Artists (unlike a lot of 'known' groups whose scene plays have tended to come with more obscure reaches of their output). As a doo-wop group in the previous decade they were largely unsuccessful in terms of record sales.

Any chance of a soundfile Sebastian? I've never heard of this but am a big fan of Freddie North. He probably didn't make as many great records as his talents merited, but he was a hell of a singer.

Don't know that a True Image album exists as such. There is an album by one of their lead vocalists Clarence Mann on the Spirit label which has versions of a couple of their tracks.

Has The Inspirations on Breakthrough been mentioned yet? A 45 that surely has to be up there in terms of long-proven rarity and constant (unsatisfied) demand.

Tremendous record. Maybe Eddie & Ernie's best uptempo effort, but like others say, not really rare in the least. Does anyone have a soundfile of the alternate version released on the Kent CD Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities Volume 3?

Quite a difficult record to locate in pristine condition. Most you see, either DJ copies or issues, are generally pretty worn. I would be wary of a copy described as VG+ without actually seeing or playing it.

Should also mention Margie's fantastic Atlantic 45 Can I Be Your Main Thing. I don't know if it's been posted in the various Southern or Deep threads, but it deserves to be heard. It was a very popular spin at the George Jackson nights in London a few years ago, along with pretty much all her output.

This is a brilliant record: maybe one of the very best 80s indies. Like a Randy Brown record only better. Sad that he's no longer with us, but I'm glad that he managed to make a decent living with that strange classical rock group whose name escapes me at the moment: it was something like the Trans Siberian Orchestra.

Many thanks, Sean. I wasn't imagining it.

Well there you go. A quick bit of googling reveals that Melvin Ragin is Wah Wah Watson and was originally from Detroit. From wikipedia: Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin, better known as just Wah-Wah Watson, is an American guitarist and session musician famed for his skills with a wah-wah pedal. A Detroit native, he played on numerous sessions in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s for many top soul, funk and disco acts, including Motown artists like The Temptations, The Jackson 5, The Four Tops, Gladys Knight & The Pips and The Supremes as a member of the Funk Brothers studio band.

I can't be sure about the Florida location, Ady. It's been a long time since I've seen the actual records involved, but seem to remember other names on the label that linked them to other Florida indie releases: possibly the same people behind some of the Gene Middleton records on various labels. As you say, scans would be useful. Eye For An Eye is very rare, but Thank You Girl should be in a few collections.

Melvin Ragin produced Timmy Willis's Epic single I think. Early 1970s release and while Timmy himself was originally from Columbus, Ohio the other names on the label (Wah Wah Watson etc.) seem to suggest a Los Angeles recording session.

Some great choices so far. I'm with those who mentioned the Margie Alexander on Chi-Sound: a record so perfect that I've often played it ten times in a row and always been left wanting more. A few from me: Bettye Swann I'm Just Living A Lie Fame Usually a contender in any 'best soul record ever made' list I try to make. The ultimate collision of great singer, great band, great song; almost miraculous. Otis Redding My Lover's Prayer Volt Don't think Otis ever made a more heartfelt, honest and open recording than this. It's sometimes easy to miss the contributions of the real giants of soul music and this is one of his I keep going back to. Arthur Conley I'm A Lonely Stranger Jotis I keep blathering on about how cruelly under-rated this guy was (particularly as a ballad singer) and I'm convinced I'm right when I put the needle on this once-in-a-lifetime record. The ultimate Stax-recorded ballad.

Has anyone mentioned Johnny De'Vigne's I Smell Trouble on De-Lite yet? The old Johnny Sayles cover-up and a definitive example of Dirty Northern.

Am I right in thinking the Hank Hodge 45s are from Florida? I thought long and hard about buying Thank You Girl when it first turned up, but his voice sounded just a tad 'white' for me (that's not to say he was a white vocalist). Eye For An Eye is in a different league rarity-wise to this release.

edit.

Think demand for this will soar as more people get to hear it. I'm sorry that I don't have one for sale at the moment, but it does turn up on ebay from time to time and is usually very cheap when it does. Despite all that I don't think it's a particularly common 45.