Garethx

The dictionary definitions on the funk board are some of the funniest of all forum postings on the entire internet.

I could be wrong, but the presence of the names Wells on the credits would seem to suggest these are the same group who recorded for Triple T in the 80s and 90s, which would make these Steelers some sort of continuation of the group who recorded for Crash, Epic etc. in the 60s and early 70s

The ballad sides of the Timothy Wilson Buddah, Veep and Blue Rock 45s are all magical NYC soul with the involvement of the likes of the Poindexter Brothers and the city's top session musicians. As a younger person I found Timothy's vocal style slightly cloying, but I must say his voice has really grown on me: he certainly finds the emotion in these great songs. This thread had me scrambling through the cellar looking for another of his Buddah singles that I couldn't get out of my head. Hours later I was perplexed that I still couldn't find a record I was absolutely sure I owned. Turns out I was thinking of Henry Lumpkin's Smokey Robinson clone If I Could Make Magic on Buddah, which is practically identical in every respect to the ballad sides of Timothy Wilson's sixties New York recordings, and another cheap goodie on the label.

I think The Soul of Flodavieur would be a very slender volume.

I mean from the Pye period. Obviously he's made far better records, but I don't think this is the correct place to discuss their merits. I Dig Everything is however, in my opinion, a clear example of an attempt to make blue-eyed soul and a pretty magnificent one at that. I don't know that I would necessarily have a problem with discussing these particular Bowie records here.

I think Bowie is a far more deserving case for debate here than (to give an example off the top of my head) Duffy. I've always considered his "I Dig Everything" to be perhaps the nearest thing to a genuinely indigenous 'mod' record. A truly accurate pastiche of the contemporary American R&B of the time with a wonderfully ironic London slant to the lyrics it really is a fantastic record. If Tony Colton, Ben Brown etc. can have received plays in the name of rare soul, then why not the young Bowie at his brilliant best.

A shame that the mastering is so poor on this potentially great record: the tinny reproduction makes it virtually impossible to play the record in a club.

This 45 is much harder to find than you might think at first, plus it's brilliant. I searched for years before getting one stupidly cheap on ebay, but I think £40 is a more than decent price.

You learn something every day!

The original WDV version on Roxbury still sounds fresh as paint, and strangely far less dated than Massive Attack's virtually note for note cover.

I was once told that the Diamond in the back was a reference to a particular type of earth-shaking loud speaker. Is this correct?

The scan above is definitely of the second issue. As Mel says, the crucial thing when buying an original of this (without hearing it) is the quality of the printing of the black type. On an original it should be strong with no fading as shown above. Steve G has an acetate of another mix entirely, which sounds very good when played out.

Audrey Royal's great Super Sexy Soulman on SRI has about a minute of ad-libbing at the end which is essentially a cover of Be Thankful.

The DeBrossard Rotations were from Cleveland, Ohio. Just as that record was taking off in the local area at least two of the group were put away for a very long time after being mixed up in an armed robbery. I think the Lawton group is a continuation of the earlier group, minus the personnel who had gone off to chokey. The credits on the Lawton 45 do point towards it being produced in Philadelphia.

Has anyone noticed the copy of Willie & Anthony's Sugar Sugar on Blue Candle that's been unsold on ebay with a ridiculously high Buy It Now price for the best part of a year? A great record (both sides), but surely not rare in any sense of the word. Has the world gone mad?

A very tough record to acquire, and a very good one.

Sad news. Nancy Wilson has always been a fine artist.

The price of Tiny Watkins seems to be dropping faster than a stone, though I must say this is now a realistic rate for a really good double-sider if you like quality southern soul.

It has been tried on various scenes. A very powerful piece of music which, over the years, I've come to actually prefer to Try My Love.

Thanks so much for a great thread: it's what a forum like this should be all about.

The film Penny Gold (nothing to do with the record, sadly) is actually a British 'thriller' set in the high octane world of stamp collecting (the eponymous stamp of the title) so strangely appropriate to our scene. I've never seen it but apparently it has been variously described on imdb as "dull", "dreary" and "dismal".

I realise this record gets an enormous slagging as emblematic of the white dross which came to pass as Northern Soul in the dark days, but I've always loved it. It's a really great song and worth a thousand Stormy Winters to me. I think the aspect of it which people don't like is the production: the strange scratchy guitar sound and the double tracked vocal. So what if she was a white pop singer.

It's on Cadet has and been on a couple of Kent CDs: one of the Dave Godin Deep Soul treasures and the album dedicated to Barbara and The Browns. Not super rare, it should be possible to pick one up for less than £40 (much less if you hunt around). Seldom seems to turn up in really mint condition, so I'm guessing it may have sold pretty well at the time of release. A wonderful record, as you say, from a great artist. Pretty much all her releases whether as Barbara and The Browns or Barbara Brown are well worth picking up and some, such as this and the XL, Sounds of Memphis and Atco singles are among the finest female soul ever recorded.

Bob A featured this in a Martin Luther King themed edition of his excellent Sitting In The Park Radio show. Well done for snagging one, Paul. I look forward to hearing it out nice and loud in a dance hall.

I picked one up in Oxfam, Marylebone High Street, London, last year. Mind you, being Marylebone HIgh St. it was expensive for a charity shop single at £5. The Rolling Stone side sounds very good indeed now.