Dayo

This was the first proper album I bought and it's still one of my faves. Always wondered what was meant by the expression "one the one"! Thanks

Don't know if this one is a chestnut, but does anyone have any thoughts on the origins of funk? Are there any seminal recordings prior to the well known James Brown records? Can we put a date on the birth of funk? 1968? Earlier?

Found this old list the other day from The Wax Machine in Gloucester. Dates from '73 at a guess. Will try and dig out some earlier ones from FL Moore if I get a chance. Colin

I heard somewhere he played sax on the Temps "Get Ready" - surely one of the most memorable and tasteful sax breaks of all time.

Absolutely brilliant - thanks so much for that. Fascinating! Colin

Bluepower Soul Don't know if any of you are familiar with this site but I just came across it and dipped in for half an hour. Very nice mid afternoon diversion. Colin

Should have been arrested for willful neglect of talent years ago! Shame on you Stevie. Virtually invented funk and then descended into schlock.

Thanks for all the tips everyone

Love Ramsey Lewis and always have, but my collection - a few singles apart - is a tad poor. I'm especially fond of the mid career stuff he recorded with a full orchestral backing, eg Hurt So Bad. There's just something so moody and atmospheric about almost anything that came out of Chess at that time. Question is this; which albums should I look out for from that period and in that style, as opposed to the groovy trio recordings? Are they on CD? Thanks Colin

Yes it was - see above - and welcome aboard!

I played it myself at 45 rpm - the US 12" was at 33 rpm. Thanks for the help anyways... I'll carry on looking. Anyone else got a stupid irrational affection for the even earlier Herb Albert stuff? I recall it was always played at the local flea pit during the interval between B picture and the main flick - things like Spanish Flea and Tijuna Taxi give me a stupid grin to this day.

Apologies for being off topic. My girlfriend's fave album of the 80's was Herb Albert's Rise. Seems to have been deleted. Any suggestions where I can start looking?

Agree with that!

You could try Aretha's Bridge Over Troubled Waters (or Simon and Garf if you prefer) Lyrically, seems like the perfect song to play for a new baby. At least, that's what I did when my two arrived.

Found this on another Forum - hope it's ok to repost here

Hard to handle - Otis Redding

Just been down the soul club jukebox. They've got about 10 Darrow Fletcher tunes on there. Absolutely awesome. So glad about this post. Can you believe I've just heard "What Good Am I" for the first time? How could I have missed this!!! Stunned. Truly perfect Northern Soul. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Part of me thinks this is an awesome post. I get that mood somedays too. Welcome aboard Zeb - you'll have fun here.

My almost ex wife used to think Colin Curtis so cool. We're treading different roads shortly.

Never heard a lot of his stuff - apart from the obvious. Will try and check out the rest of it now - thanks guys!

I think the thing to remember is that almost all of these records sounded "right" when they were played out. We've just become more sophisticated in our tastes. Back in the day, I feel there were a lot of people on the scene who were not soul fans as such - at least not how we might define it. They went for the people, the atmosphere, the dancing and the gear. If it was the Shakers or Eddie Parker, it really didn't matter - so long as the beat was right. Nothing wrong with that. Climate was different back then. The scene was organic, just as it is now. No-one "invented" it as a soul scene - it just grew that way driven by a bunch of post mods. If you'd been to the Wheel you'd have heard lots of pop records like Question Mark and the Mysterions. Even the odd bit of reggae or ska. Ramble over.

Good call. They were just known as "good disco records".

Terrible Tom was a massive record and spun by nearly all the leading names. I'm almost certain Curtis and Levine were on it; Searling too. I've always loved it. Probably couldn't summon the energy to dance to it now though!

Of course it was a compliment.

I'm guessing that many of us have got a huge soft spot for "You don't know where your interest lies". Stunning arrangement, oh-so-tasteful drum fills, and possibly the most thunderous bass that ever graced a Northern stomper. There's just one thing; I've never been quite sure if I consider it a soul record. What do you think? Granted, it's a Simon and Garfunkel song (and a bloody good one) - but that's not my issue; it's Dana's vocals. Are they a tad too strident to be soulful? Anyone agree she sounds a bit musical theatre? And who is Dana Valery anyway? Black? White? Seem to recall hearing she was from South Africa, but my memory is vague. Anyone fill us in on her career? Knowledge gap needs filling here. Many thanks! Colin