Agentsmith

it's great setting eyes on a new arrival, usually in a brown cardboard package, getting a knife to slit the cellotape then pulling out the interior packing to reveal what you bought off ss via sales or from jm or tim or henry or kieth or sean or pat or pete.....shall i go on?...it's a definite adrenaline rush, particlularly sweeter when it's a tune you've possibly been chasing for half your life..in that case it brings a satisfying end to a long drawn out saga....

pm'd you

i'm not going to go through all 125 quotes( so far ) other than to say i don't believe valuations of original vinyl will be affected by re-issues that are legit...and legit re-issues have a place on playlists.....despite the fact. in the 70's it WAS a different scenario.....it was originals v bootlegs and because the latter appeared in vast quantities, records values DID suffer and also, in a lot of cases, stopped them from getting played, though that was probably the dj's choice as much as anything...to stop complete overkill...BUT,...that was then,...almost 40 years ago...that same 40 year gap has added to the value of these discs, and as ive said before...what we have now is SECOND ONLY to the art & antiques market because,...northern soul is a global business and whereas back then it was a style subject to this country only, every man jack on the face of the planet wants a piece of the collecting action. AND because the diversity of black music that's played on the scene, is completely different from how it all started out, it's lessened the chance of any particular record suffering from overkill. the irony is.... some of the "original" boots from the 70's now command silly figures...so it's probably just as well that there are people out there, who are willing to issue stuff legitimately...it ain't gonna screw the OVO market.

love(d) this thread......just goes to prove.."SOUL PEOPLE DO WHAT IT SAYS ON THEIR TIN"

as white singers go, with a genuine feeling for soul music, len is as close as damn it, probably moreso than paul anka...but then these guys got to hang with the best black america had to offer and it obviously rubbed off....len got to mix with the guys on the philly block and the result is a collection of tunes with a fair representation of the sound of soul. love "you can't sit down" with the dovells, big mod tune way back when as was "hearts are trumps " & "little white house", cut for cameo....then came all the brunswick stuff, all worthy club sounds through the 60's into the 70's.....then lo and behold, we get his unreleased version of "when you call me baby"...i think he knew what he wanted and even if it didn't make a hit, he wanted quality production...that's exactly what he got...you can never really believe that bobby goldsborough had any affinity with soul music, though his "northern" contributions owe much to the fact they made the right sound....so that, in effect, puts len firmly in the soul camp...do we argue about dusty then?

i agree with the last post, wholeheartedly....richard is the only person who could be bothered to put together a box set like this, that's not to say, of course, that other people haven't the nous. i'm pretty much sure adey is the type of person who could, from a purely northern point of view, that would be something awesome...a box set of completely unreleased tracks but that would defeat the object of his particular exercise, which is to feed people the goods one at a time with sufficient emphasise on keeping the punters salivating for more. motown, on the other hand is an indivualistic project and in this case, is a first because of the northern slant. LET'S BE CLEAR HERE.... frank wilson & possibly marvin accepted, THEY ARE ALL LEGITIMATE, FIRST TIME 7 INCH SINGLE RELEASES......GET OVER IT!! just what the hell has the fact, that there are lp tracks amongst this collection, got to do with anything????....YES, you've been playing these lp tracks for years because that was the ONLY way to play obviously good and deserving music....NOW you have the option to play a legit single release AND NO-ONE, AND I REPEAT NO-ONE CAN ARGUE THE TOSS....HOW MANY MORE YEARS ARE WE ALL GOING TO ARGUE OURSELVES INTO POINTLESS CORNERS WHICH ARE EVER DIMINISHING??...i agree with debate when it's LEGIT but going round and round in circles trying to make a mountain out of a none existant molehill really demeans our overall love for the music, first & foremost.....ONE THING IS FOR CERTAIN......COME THE SPRING, AND THE ANTICIPATED 2ND BOX SET.....NONE OF US WILL BE ABLE TO PUSH THIS STUPID & PATHETIC ARGUEMENT...BECAUSE EVERY SINGLE TRACK WILL BE A FIRST TIME RELEASE......BLOODY WELL GET A GRIP OF YOURSELVES!!

Fabulous pictures.......this scene is a tremendous learning curve...i'm 56 and still living the dream...i see these images and it's hairs standing up on the back of the neck stuff ( in my case, not a lot left! ) most of you are probably aware of the post i put up, a couple of years back now about we as a collective, putting together a book of reference, purely from a pictorial point of view...its been done before...there was a motown book ( american publication only ) that documented the happenings via photographic evidence..quite spectacular...northern soul is now a history lesson for those conscious enough to learn about musical styles and their attributes...photography illuminates the world of music and none better than our wonderfully diverse scene....WE'VE JUST CELEBRATED A 40TH ANNIVERSARY...we've had a double cd, a documentary courtesy of the bbc and a forthcoming film that will attempt to cast our image in a better light, even though it's already been accepted by mainstream as an essential and serious genre. we've had the personalized accounts dedicated to paper, many of which are now gospel, for want of better words, and adorn our shelves. BUT a picture book, solely pictures, with no social comment would say and speak for itself all at the same time..or do we go on forever viewing these portals to the past on here?,...NEVER altogether in one place?...SO WHAT if it would be an epic tome?...we've given our lives to this music, it's held sway in our houses for decades, we've worshipped at the alters which are the scene's venue's,...we've collected the vinyl as if they were holy grails and we've immortalized ourselves in all of these places via monotone & colour pictures. they are our keepsakes and it's right that we should share them with a wider audience, nonemoreso than the growing generations that are sharing our scene and our love of the music, they don't just want to Experience the NOW, THEY WANT TO SEE THE PAST and how we best represented it.......great pictures that have come to light as we reach the close of 2013.....another year gone...so many of those unknown faces captured there may no longer be with us....WALTER JACKSON sang where have all the flowers gone?, those pictures and the people recorded on them need a permanent preservation......this IS the only book we do not possess...so....do we carry on "clicking to view" OR DO WE FEEL THE PAGE AS IT TURNS?

great sets again there bri & dave, love reading em, one of the highlights of any month,...this is on my list of must do's,...weather i do is another question./deffo have to have a monday off though.

i'm not arguing with that len, or what markw wrote...i know it's quite innocent but the headline is about the future and enough folk across the GLOBE, have, are and WILL assure the scene's continuation and the love of the music. the scene is so diverse now that the classic oldies scenario is just ONE section in the evolving playlist for the generations who have caught on to what we have preached for so long......SO WHY, BLOODY WELL KEEP HARPING ON ABOUT WHAT IS THE FUTURE???...THE WORD DIVERSITY SAYS IT ALL,...THAT'S WHY THE SCENE HAS AND WILL SURVIVE...BECAUSE IT EVOLVES AND RE-INVENTS AT THE SAME TIME...NO OTHER MUSICAL GENRE CAN EVER LAY CREDIT TO THAT.

why are we raking over old coals again?.....THE SCENE WILL STILL BE HERE, LONG AFTER OUR GENERATION ( 50 somethings ) ARE GONE. the future of northern soul is safe...AND YES, THE LATTER SENTENCE ALSO INCLUDES at least 2 generations in front of us and at least 2 behind us who have taken up the quest. i haven't got time for the doom mongers, I DON'T SEE THE MUSIC OR THE SCENE DISAPPEARING UP IT'S OWN BACK PASSAGE...IT'S AS ALIVE TODAY AS IT WAS 45 YEARS AGO or longer if you want to add the seminal 60's. IT'S THE GREATEST MUSICAL PHENOMENON TO HIT THIS PLANET,....IT'S OUTLASTED EVERY OTHER STYLE & CULTURE...IT'S REAL MUSIC, IT COMES FROM THE SOUL AND IT CONSTITUTES SENSIBLE BUT SPECTACULAR DANCING.....THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT.......WHY THE NEGATIVE WAVES MORIARTY?? FOR F*** SAKE.......CHANGE THE SUBJECT!!

very sobering pictures, brings home the harsh reality of what a devastating storm can unleash..confirmation that death dosn't make choices, what keb's depiction does confirm is that somebody will stand up when the going gets tough and put their safety on the line without hesitation to attempt to help less fortunate. i would imagine that taking those most harrowing of pictures must have been acutely distressing...they're not images that have been portrayed readily on national tv....it seems even we in britain move on quickly to the next headline grabber and for us, this disaster has disappeared into the background, but for the people of this island every day is a living nightmare..we think we're currently caught between a rock and a hard place what with poverty and everything....these people have had their lives and livelihoods totally destroyed...what promises have they got that things will get better??...they'll probably be largely dependant on big brother u.s.a. to try and sort out the mess, though many goverments including ours are giving aid...but justice is not being seen to be done unless the scandalous corruption that keb has witnessed is brought to the attention of the world and the people committing these crimes. are brought to book.

the international press couldn't invent a story as stark as this, let alone print a real one, nobody wants to dig deep enough for fear of what they may find..it takes a scot, tough as old boots to expose the animosity with which mankind treats itself, not that we should really be surprised...were it not for the fact, we know who is telling this story in such graphic detail, one could easily think it had been borrowed from the pages of a novel. it certainly don't make nice reading so whatever's coming next, might need a stiffening of the resolve.

well having said what ive said, against adversity and having opened the box, which i really didn't want to do, i find the complete set there...i wouldn't be at all surprised if there were people working at universal, who've never seen a vinyl record in their lives, let alone heard one...what a bloody shambles!!, it's contemptible that they could even be thinking they're dealing with teenagers or twenty somethings in refusing refunds or any other spin they put on their calamity...worse that they may even be disrespecting those age groups, as a good number are soulies who are just as interested in this product...right now they should justifiably be drowning under a tidal wave of seething anger, getting their arses well and truly kicked and getting the production line rolling again to put right what they've done wrong, limited edition or not. "take what yer can, give nothing back" springs to mind?

you've echoed my sentiments mark, quality control has gone out of the window and those numbskulls at universal simply don't "get it" about the beauty of vinyl...it has to be treated with respect and produced with the utmost professionalism, especially of the reproduction kind...what a disasterous oversight and you're also right.....there are people who will make gains from this, which we should all find totally repugnant, especially if it's done through evilbay. this box set really should have been received with a massive fanfare but the party is falling flat on it's face. i for one, am completely gobsmacked that it is going pear shaped in an alarming manner, what sort of people are we, the tax payer, employing in this industry?.

i still haven't opened mine, though i am now considering it necessary....i wouldn't hold out much hope that universal will re-press, not with volume 2 on the drawing board,...dilemma definitely is the word...across the century of posts, the thread has turned from excited optimism to undisguised frustration which, in the broader scheme of things,will no doubt turn to anger. universal need to address these issues promptly. richard put a great box together here, it appears he's being let down by discrepancies that should have been thoroughly checked ( quality control ) before the finished package left the pressing plant. i think we all understand the implication of a limited run:....a sustained rise in value over an increasingly short period of years....alright, even i'd deem it as a sort of nest egg and i wouldn't be the only one, but i'm not going to resort to getting people over a barrel, so to speak...it's all too common in the northern soul auction rooms and this box set won't be treated any different...unfortunately universal have already created this scenario, whereby if they are not in the position to replace duff/missing discs, the only sets that will maintain genuine value are the one's that ARE complete...anyway, i'm still looking at mine and trying to figure out if i can cheat and get it re-shrinkwrapped!!

couldn't agree more ian, if you had to put a project in anyone's hands, it would be richard....everything he has been involved in over the decades has been of value, be it vinyl, live acts or cd...nice to go "back to black" though isn't it?...s.o.s. band at the hilton??.....say no more!!

a box set of demo's?......i don't think even richard would let on about that!

ian, as i've already hinted, the next one is already under way and knowing the man as we do, it should be equally as good but i certainly wouldn't expect to see that on the horizon much before june of next year...universal will want to witness the response to this release...let's face facts...they would have to be completely dumb if they didn't think it would walk off the shelves!...and with the guidance & research involving "the oracle" harry weinger, they must know it's gonna prove to be something of a unique and justifiable sales pitch. can't worship the four tops track enough, just one of the best crossover tunes EVER! ( can you imagine if motown had added a string section to it? )

it's ironic, but even richard, who put this thing together, has a copy himself,.......and HE CAN'T BRING HIMSELF TO OPEN IT!!

this is the dilemma, isn't it?.......DO YOU OPEN IT OR NOT?.....the "fors" will say, of course you do, you've just spent 40 odd pounds on it, it's there to be played and enjoyed...RIGHT!...the "againsts" will say once you take the cellophane wrap off....devalued, once played...devalued...IT IS INSTANTLY A COLLECTORS ITEM SIMPLY BECAUSE THERE ARE BUT 2200 COPIES and it won't get a second run " due to demand". of course, we can see an opt out in the use of a download....BUT IT'S STILL NOT THE VINYL IS IT?.....decisions, decisions!!....( sigh ) should have bought 3 COPIES, one to open & play, one to keep for the sake of having it, and one to sell later on when its value has zonked!!...but i didn't, so TOUGH!!

in case i've been misunderstood, the david ruffin track appeared on a CD, courtesy of hip-oselect, a u.s. release only at one time deleted but due to demand a second run was instituted....still available and for anyone that dosn't have it...YOU SHOULD!, IT'S A BRILLIANT CD!! and as regards the four tops track, this also appeared on a hipo dbl cd comp of 48 previously unissued tracks......though it was not at my behest, richard included it off the back of the copy i sent him some 6 years ago...that's how long it's been known, now thankfully available as a well deserved vinyl release.

volume two in the planning absolute standout tracks ( imho ) fourtops & david ruffin...how these never made a release will remain a complete mystery...thankfully richard saw fit to redress the balance.

that's providing of course, you've got your order in pronto....THIS WILL SELL OUT AND AS FAR AS THE LITERATURE IS CONCERNED, IT WON'T BE RE-BOOTED, 2200 ONLY...WITH WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION....the already mooted vol.2 is looking very interesting....but i'll say no more!

pete's on the ball guys,....it's all about enduring popularity, and that exists in one form or another through generations..."postioning" certainly isn't something that should govern a books format...because that's exactly the argument you don't want but will be if you try....NO-ONE, no matter who they are, can truly say or decide what is the number 1 record of all-time...and by the same token, the 500th...kev's book IS truly based on popularity but he's not claiming that frank wilson SHOULD be number one because it's the greatest record ever,..it became to most, at the most PIVOTAL time of the scene, when wigan was in it's zenith, THE popular northern soul tune to dance to, AND AS WE'VE SEEN OVER THE NEXT 3 DECADES, it still commands attention.of course we don't have to like it, we're entitled to tire of it or despise it...but it's there, isn't it? and it can't be denied. eddie parker isn't down there at 485 because it's ONLY ranked the 485th best record ever....IT'S ONE of 500 genuinely popular records to be played on the scene.....it can just as easily be claimed to be the best, it's personal opinion and choice, isn't it? if you want to add REAL extenuating circumstances why a certain record/ records don't appear in the book...it's exact;ly the same reason that stops rare/connoissuers soul nights from being the norm.......RAREITY......how many influential djs own exactly what and how few copies there are to go round....THAT'S why so many don't make kev's book...a record CANNOT be popular in 50 places on the same night if there are only 3 COPIES doing the rounds...the term LEGEND, applies to this theory, because people get to hear ABOUT the tune, but won't hear it unless they go to a certain venue. in this day & age we are fortunate ( or are we? ) that there are so many gigs to go to in the calender year and thus, chances of hearing something unique and different, are greatly enhanced....BUT it still dosn't mean they will become popular enough to make a book's references about the most popular sounds to ever be played on the scene....BECAUSE THEY'RE STILL JUST TOO RARE!. if you also take into account that kev did orchestrate a reappraisal of the first book to include a 100 of the most popular tunes since the beginning of the millenium, then he did go someway to addressing people's concerns. if you catch my drift from the earlier entry in this debate...a book collating the top 500 most popular discoveries of the last 3 decades is your answer, i'm sure it wouldn't discriminate, because i suspect that a lot of undervalued/underplayed cheapies would register in there ( think totw, yes these tunes were throwaways back then ) along with the detroit "hoard" and the dedication of messrs croasdell & rix, to name but two for putting unissued gems on the map......or what the heck,......we'll all just carry on arguing about this til the cows come home!...i don't see ANYONE sticking their neck on the block to produce ANYTHING of comparison to kev's book in our lifetime's that can be referred to as DEFINITIVE....OR DO YOU WANT TO SPEND A LIFETIME DOING IT?

3 great tracks there, classic oldies to the vast majority, completely new to the young generations grasping the nettle and in no mans land with the handbaggers, the vast majority of whom want the clubby tunes they grew up with,never allowed theirselves to be subjected to change or progress and generally...from my viewpoint ( and it's only my view ) are the types who have NEVER ventured out of their own back yard and experienced what other venues have to offer. i think that the top 500 book addresses several generations,selecting tunes that have been popular at one time or another but with one thing in common...they have not been forgotten, they are memorable and that even includes the dire...nobody danced to them all of the time, but they're in the book because they caused people to dance. of course there's no reason NOT to have another book..perhaps the top 500 discoveries of the last 3 decades ( since wigan )?