Daved

Indeed it is. 21st century, the year 2002 and all that. Life is very complicated these days and that includes the modern soul scene. What was seen to be a variation of the northern soul scene in the late 70s/early 80s, i.e. rare recently released soul, is now a mixture of many different sub-genres. The good news is that if you’re broad minded and like variety then there’s lots of good stuff out there to listen or dance to. The not so good news is that if you only like a certain type of modern soul, you are going to disappointed at a chunk of the night’s music – unless you go to a specialist modern do that caters for your type of music. If you go to a typical modern soul do, you can expect to hear crossover, two-step, boogie, house, r’n’b, jazz, gospel and even soul from all eras. It certainly can be diverse but, to me, this is the wonder of it all. Rarity does not play a part these days. Although rare records are played, they are alongside new release CDs or 12 inches available at regular prices from HMV or maybe even local record shops. You can pick up most new stuff from specialist shops even if it is on an obscure Japanese import CD. In fact there is so much good new stuff being released it is difficult to keep up with all. Tunes are turned over very quickly and you can miss out on some very good music if you turn your back over a couple of months. I can’t help thinking that some new releases that aren’t getting much recognition at the moment, because they are just swamped under a lot of other stuff, will be the big expensive in-demand tunes in years to come. Get them now while you can, I say. Here today, gone tomorrow tunes is a phrase I’ve heard attributed to new releases several times recently. How many of these will in fact be classics in years to come? God knows. As long as quality new stuff continues to be recorded then maybe not too many. The tunes that will become classics in years to come will probably be those that were underplayed or not spotted at all at the time of release. However, I think that this is a good thing. It keeps the scene fresh, moving and more accessible for new blood to enjoy. You see the modern scene shouldn’t be a retro scene but one that keeps moving forward with the times whilst still paying respect to its heritage. The clue is the word modern in modern soul. The modern soul scene today also encompasses a wider group of people than it did twenty years ago. There is no longer a north/south divide. Some people who enjoyed Caister and The Goldmine now turn their backs on McFadden and Whitehead and Slave and the other classics they used to enjoy. In the search of something different, whilst still keeping it soulful, they travel countrywide in order to dance to records that were never popular on the “southern” soul scene years ago and the new music. In fact, many of them venture into the northern room to see what it’s like and develop a taste for that too. Music policy is similar countrywide too - all the way from Brighton to Winsford. Wherever you live a quality venue shouldn’t be too far away. DJs also come from all over the country and have a variety of different backgrounds. Also, some of the records that were played down south 15 or 20 years ago are finding favour to a relatively new audience up north. Something familiar and something new for everyone then. Amongst the glut of new releases there are, unfortunately, only a minority of CDs that I think are good all the way through. Many are one or two trackers making it an expensive business to buy many of the big tracks. I have listed below my top ten CDs which I think are strong as a complete package without the need to press the skip button more that once or twice, if at all. At least with vinyl, you either like the track or don’t. Even if you find out it’s not the track or mix you were after, at least you’ve only lost ten pounds as opposed 19 quid for an import CD. The British soul labels do a particularly good job. FER, Café de Soul and Grapevine, in particular, put out a consistent number of good quality of releases that you can’t go far wrong with. There is also a constant stream of good quality US house coming out. Releases on King Street, Soulfuric, Yellorange, Naked, MAW, Soulshine and Shelter tend to be strong. Whilst I struggled to write a list of ten strong CDs, I could have written a list of 30 vinyl releases. Anyway, here’s my top tens for the year, one for CDs, the other for vinyl: CDs Ray Chew and the Crew – Feelin’ It – Charu CD Maysa – Out Of The Blue – N-Coded CD Jaheim – Ghetto Fabulous – Warner Bros CD Ann Nesby – Put It On Paper – Universal CD Miguel Migs – Colorful You – Naked CD The Spirit Of Philadelphia – Various Artists – Expansion CD Peggi Blu – Livin’ On Love - Expansion CD The Rance Allen Group – All The Way - Tyscot CD Café De Soul Vol 1 – Various Artists – Café De Soul CD California Flight Project - California Flight Project II – CD Vinyl Big Moses feat, Ambrosia – Trust Yourself – Shelter 12” Masters At Work feat. India – Backfired (Joey Negro mix) – MAW 12” Jamecia Bennett – If I Go Boy –FER 12” King Ernest – Must Have Lost My Mind – Grapevine 12” Earth, Wind and Fire – Can’t Hide Love (MAW remix) – White label 12” Yvonne Gage – So Good – Slang 12” Arnold Jarvis – Where Has Love Gone – KIF 12” Cornell Stone – Never Get Enough Of Your Love – FER 12” Stephanie Cooke – I Thank You – King Street 12” Blaze – What We Need Is Love – Shelter 12” Hope you’ve enjoyed reading this. If you’re one of those people who pops their head in the modern room (to go to the bar or eye up the crumpet) and thinks “actually this is not bad, after all”, I hope this has given you a few pointers.

Review - Togetherness Modern Side By Dave Dixon I went to Togetherness on Saturday and was really looking forward to it, especially considering the aggro I had getting prepared to be able to make the journey. I walked in about 11pm during Soul Sams spot and thoroughly enjoyed it. I didnt know a single record he played but it was fantastic rare modern soul including a Timeless Legend record I hadnt heard before. It seemed pretty quiet at this stage - no record dealers and bar was quiet too. However, Mike Stephens set up a stall later on. Next up was Richard Searling, an hour earlier than usual becuse Dean wasnt there, starting off with Donny Hathaway/Roberta Flack to get people up. He also played Angie Stone and OJays back to back which went down quite well. I dont think he played anything too dramatic. Andy Davies was also on earlier than usual and said at the beginning of his set that hes going to play some big tunes to get everyone going. His set included Janita, Dennis Taylor, Drizabone (Real Love) and Llorca. He did the job as stated but I couldnt help thinking that he was being under-utilised. So after a set of stuff we all know, I was looking forward to Mike Stephens but he basically carried on in the same vein - Jon B, Shabazz (Glad Youre In My Life), Jaheim, Rahsaan Patterson. I started to wonder if the DJs had been told to play it safe. Mikes a top man but his set was very unadventerous and he is capable of playing all sorts of obscure promo stuff. I dont think it wouldve been his choice alone to play that set. So far no soulful garage and next up is Colin Curtis. I prepared myself for an entire set of it, in view of his recent comments and that the previous djs hadny played any. Instead we had Kenny Lattimore, Luther Vandross, Harold Melvin & Bluenotes and some other 70s stuff for the first 30 mins and then it was Joi Caldwell, Lenny Fontana, Jon Cutler and others for the last 30. I must say he had the place rocking during his garage bit. It would have been so easy for Terry Jones to continue where Colin left off. After all, hes been playing soulful garage in his sets for the last few years anyway so its nothing new to him. But, top marks to the man, he starts of by slowing it down by playing Maxwell and then Maysa Leak, The Dells, Main Ingredient, Donnie (Youre The One - record of the night) and other soul stuff. He finished off by playing crossover stuff like Melvin Moore and Karen ? (Make Love Last Forever). Easily the best set so far. Gary Dennis then started off with Ollie Nightingale & Chuck Cockerham and played some great older stuff. Unfortunately, I was in danger of nodding off at the end of his set as Id been up since 6.15am on Saturday so as much as I tried to keep myself going I was marched off the premises by my wife so I missed Gavins final set. Overall verdict - In comparison to the high standards its set itself over the last four years, it was average. I enjoyed myself, had a good dance and it was great to bump into folks again. However, I usually walk away wanting lots of tunes or to dig out some old ones but not this time. I thought too many of the djs were playing it safe. Perhaps its always like this but Im just getting fussy because Im more up to speed these days and have been out a lot more this year. There was also a lot of duplications - Angie Stone, Jo Jo, Marvin Gaye, Maurice J, Dante, Jaheim (Just In Case someone didnt play it earlier on) & Rahsaan Patterson. Sets of the night were Soul Sam, TJ and Gary. Ive been pretty loyal to Togetherness - Ive been to 10 out of 12 of the allnighters and the recent weekender (which I thoroughly enjoyed) but it may be time to spend my hard earned at different venues next year. Lets face it - theres a lot of good competition these days. There seems to be a policy change from a progressive modern allnighter to a twice a year party night. Then again, maybe its me. Also, the sound quality was not good. The volume caused some significant distortion - a view shared by many people. Cheers, Dave

Going back a couple of Fridays and here's a review by Dave D of his adventures at the Winsford All nighter, complete with modern room playlists...... Liberation - Winsford 18.8.2001 It was my first trip to Winsford and one I had been looking forward to immensely since the beginning of the year as I promised myself that Id pay it a visit. My main reason for visiting was to establish if the recent rave reviews about the modern room, titled Liberation, were substantiated. After a lengthy but trouble free drive from Chatham, I checked into a b&b, got changed and arrived at the warm-up at The Queens pub at 9.15. It was not very busy at that time and northern soul was blaring out to get people in the mood. Said hello to Roger Williams who was, I suppose, warming himself up for the long night ahead. Also had a chat with a few others until a minibus full of the Soul Down South crew with Terry Jones arrived at about 10.30 and seemed to take over the place. They missed the brief modern spot and was back to northern. I enjoyed The Queens - the music was good, it wasnt too busy and it was a good opportunity to have a few pints and a laugh before the allnighter. Over to the allnighter. Poked my head in the northern room. its huge - sound system is good playing Terry Callier and John Bowie. Oh no - its gone silent; technical hitch so Im off into the modern room. Theirry Boulanger, over from Belgium for the weekend, is playing Sunshine Anderson. My wife walks straight into the room and onto the dancefloor. In fact, quite a lot of people are dancing, and its only 11.15. The modern room is a nice small square shape. There are big potted plants and nice comfortable seats set in an almost complete rectangle shape in two corners creating a lounge bar type of environment but there was no lounging going on. The DJ and decks are on the ground, not elevated which all goes to create a intimate party atmosphere. The music was very good ranging from 70s to brand new, rare to very easy to find but the emphasis is on good modern danceable soul music. Roger Williams and Terry Jones played their sets back to back for what seemed a marathon three hours because the music was so good. Ive listed Rogers set below and Terry played lots of different things from Vivian Reed to the new Ollie Woodson cut due out on Expansion soon. Tony Dawber also played a very good set of recent big tunes including Bob Sinclair, Darwin Hobbs, Freddie Jackson and Cynthia Biggs/Sharon Bryant. The occasional tune did not do it for me but I think thats to be expected for an allnighter lasting nine hours. There was one 30 minute stint where the music was a bit eclectic for my taste but overall 95% did do it for me and thats an excellent hit rate. An excellent crowd also made for an enjoyable night and it was well worth the long trip. Recommended. Theirry Boulanger GWEN McCRAE - Winners together (Together LP) G.C. CAMERON - Im gonna give you respect (Love songs LP) BETTY WRIGHT - Keep feelin (Explosion LP) BEN TANKARD - N-da-spirit (15") (Git yo praize on CD) C + C MUSIC FACTORY - Searchin (Same CD) DRAMATICS - Shes my kinda girl (New dimension LP) ANDRE DE LANGE - A friend (C&J R&B Mix) (Worth the wait CD) ATLANTIC STARR - All because of you (All because CD) RONNIE McNEIR - The good side of your love (Rare McNeir CD) III FRUM THA SOUL - My body (Same CD) HAROLD WHALEY - Playthang (Simply Soul 3 CD) ZHANE - Request line (Saturday night CD) SUNSHINE ANDERSON - Heard it all before (18") (Your woman CD) LATANYA - Why you acting shady (19") (Same CD) OLU - Dont cry (Soul catcher CD ROBBIE DANZIE - Summer (Best Of CD) Roger Williams Sweet & Wonderful - Jean Carn/Glenn Jones Love Town - Booker Newberry III Circles - Atlantic Starr Dont Let Love Get You Down - Archie Bell & The Drells Didnt Know About Love Til I Found You - Lenny White Share The Night - World Premiere Dont Let It Go To Your Head - Jean Carn Seventh Heaven - Gwen Guthrie What Am I Gonna Do - Akwaaba People Ribbon In The Sky - 2 Men 4 Soul Wilder - Stargate featuring Tyler A Miracle - Dez I Should Be Groovin - Mr. Alexander Find A Way - Trey Lorenz Spread Love - Messengers featuring Lisa Millett We Are One - Urban Blues Project featuring Bobby Pruitt By Your Side - Greg Gaulthier & Tony L featuring Michelle Weeks Learn To Give - Arnold Jarvis Wishing On A Star - Randy Crawford Oh, and a little forthcoming Expansion eksclooosiv!! - twice, again!! Everybodys Talking - Rance Allen Everyday Love - Dazz Band Here With My Best Friend - Stephanie Cooke Keep It In The Family - Leon Haywood Syreeta & GC Cameron (cant remember the title!!) Dave D

Review of Terrys Chocolate Soul Nite Always good to get stuff from the man on the street and heres a good one a review of last Fridays - Terrys Chocolate Soul in London town - by Dave Dixon sounds like a good one -read on...................... I arrived at 9.30pm, walked up the stairs of the Catch bar where Chocolate Soul is held. I paid the an at the top of the stairs and I was in. My first thoughts were that its much smaller than I imagined it would be. The room is L shaped, with a bar to the left and the DJ stand and dancefloor at the back. There was also, for the first time, a record/CD dealer positioned at the front. Very reasonable his prices were too. There were not many people in at this time but this was probably due to the football still being on. I knew it was going to be a packer as it was Terry Joness birthday, Gavin Paiges wet the babys head night and also several other regular punters birthdays. In fact, there were a variety of cards at the front door for signing. The music at the beginning was great modern soul i.e. new stuff from the last couple of years. TJ came on afterwards and it was suddenly very busy and played his usual very high quality set that included brand new sounds (Janita) and old classics (George Benson - "Love Ballad"). Mike Stephens was the nights guest DJ and played a set that most people would normally expect from - mainly brand new stuff, most of it not very well known although he did slip in a few very popular tunes. I did hear some people say they felt that the tempo of the stuff he played was a bit slow and verging on RnB (Im talking Jaheim here, not Charles Sheffield). Having said that, the dancefloor was still bust throughout his set. He also got more than the customary hour that guest DJs seem to get. I reckon it was 90 minutes which I thought was good because theyre are usually the most interesting sets of the night. TJ finished off the last hour with a storming set of northern and modern classics including The Constellations, Voices of East Harlem, Ace Spectrum, Tavasco, B.G.L., Drizabone, Barbara Acklin, Jackie Wilson, Bobby Reed, Beloyd and 4 Below Zero. The place was absolutely rocking with hardly any room to dance anywhere. There were people there from different soul backgrounds but all appreciated the same fantastic music and really enjoying themselves in a very friendly atmosphere. . I had a great time. It was my first visit but it wont be my last. . Dave Dixon . . Event details . Terrys Chocolate Soul. Last Friday every month. . 9.00pm-2.00am. £5 + usual concessions. . Terry Jones, Sourmash and monthly special guests .