Westender

Good horns. The vocals....er,...not really up to much frankly.

Right up my street. Enjoyed the first volume and this has "essential purchase" written all over it.

Good stuff. Ann was a real soul singer, very much in the Betty Swann mould I thought. She never had the success her talent deserved. The Beginning is a top notch album.

Aretha made a string of great albums in the 70's - Spirit in the dark and Young, gifted and black are superb. Most of Womack's 70's output is top class. Latimore's first 4 albums are very high quality. What about the Temptations 70's output? All directions is a standout. Staple Singers Be what you are and City in the sky are terrific. Others worth consideration - Don Covay Super dude, Johnnie Taylor Tailored in silk, James Brown The Payback, Maze's first 2 albums, Wilson Pickett Pickett in the pocket, Margie Jospeh Makes a new impression, Donny Hathaway Extensions of a man, Bobby Bland Dreamer, Al Green Living for you, Tower of Power Back to Oakland, Curtis Mayfield Never say you cant survive, DJ Rogers Love life and music, Isley Bros 3+3, Candi Staton Self titled and Stand by your man.....and many more. It's when you think back to this time that you realise what a glorious treasure trove of music was left for us. We were spoilt by the quantity and quality.

Absolutely love this. Outstanding modern soul music, brilliantly delivered by a very good singer. The back ups and piano are just top notch too.

Spiral is one of my favourite instrumentals. the Crusaders were brilliant in the 70's. Wilton also played bass to some effect. Really sad he's passed.

Linda was certainly a bit intense. She could overdo it, as could Patti and Lolleatta at times. They had wonderful voices but you just wonder if the producer might have asked them to take it down a notch or two. Charles Bradley is a contemporary singer that I struggle to listen to for more than a few tracks. Some light and shade would be welcome. Most of the time less is more with music and its what is left out can be just as important. For understatement yet maximum soulfulness you couldn't do better than Betty Swann.

8th Day - Shes not just another woman. Just love that track but there were plenty of other good ones.

Here it is.And terrific it sure is. Jill in great voice. She really is one heck of a singer.

Richard Searling on his show today played an hour of classic Motown and featured two sublime Marvin duets, When we're together with Kim and Your precious love with Tammi. Both tracks are so utterly beautiful and pretty much perfect down to the last note.

That is a cracking selection. Many personal favourites, none more so than Love gone bad by Mavis Staples. What a track!

Simply has to be this one.......

Almost impossible to narrow it down given the sheer quality and quantity of the music produced. I'll go for a Temptations double. Two truly great records in completely contrasting styles, My Girl and Papa was a rolling stone.

Enjoying this one very much. I like the vocalist who has a really pleasing delivery. The song does sound very familiar.

Its nice enough and refreshing to hear proper instruments including some real horns, but its hardly Otis, Wilson or James Carr. The golden era has passed and though its welcome to hear some new artists recreating the sound, you will never recreate the place and time that gave rise to this magical period in our music. I would just mention Ryan Shaw as a new singer worth listening to. He wipes the floor with Bridges and Harding.

Oh heavens, another great passes. Love Mighty Sam's 60's work. His rendition of Sweet Dreams is one that still leaves me rooted to the spot marvelling at his majestic pipes. What a singer. His move to a more blues orientated music in the 80's and 90's shouldnt be overlooked. He could still sing and combined with an impeccable band, produced a run of very fine albums.

Interesting and enjoyable. Laura very obviously influenced by Nina but thats no bad thing. Simone really was an intense artist, wasn't she? I'm convinced that in every choir, in every church across the USA there is one or more talented singer.

Only caught part of it, the dreadful New York Dolls through to Tom Petty, so only saw G S-H. That was good, though. Reminded me just what a great track Johannesburg is. Liked BM & the Wailers. Of the rock acts Argent were tops with me but I do have a bit of a soft spot for them. You could tell when the miming stopped around 1974!

Conventional CD cases. I picked up 3 this week at a mere £3 each from a shop in the high street. Nice to have, no frills just the basic album on CD. There's plenty of good ones to choose from.

Some nice ones for sure. Sherman Hunter does a bang up job on Sweet thing. Rufus meets Curtis!

Just a thought, but if it really is all about the music, then format should be irrelevant. Shouldn't it?

I've never understood the disdain some people have towards digital formats. We all know that vinyl played over a good sound system is the best way to listen to music, but cd and mp3 have their place and can happily co exist with vinyl. It really is all down to the music. I'd rather hear a digital version of a great track, than not hear any version at all as the rare vinyl wasn't available.

"I may be down and out and got holes in my shoes but I still feel as rich as Howard Hughes" Love that line from Home is where the heart is by Bobby Womack. "I got sunshine when the clouds are gray, when its cold outside I got the month of May" Not too many better opening lines that that I reckon.

Another giant has passed, leaving an astonishing and enduring legacy. We wont see his like again.

It simply says that the lack of sales (and I daresay a recording contract) saw her drifting away from the business. Apparently she has not been heard of since her final recordings. Its a bit vague unfortunately but it does look as if she simply took herself out of the music business completely. Pity but not unique in the 60s and 70s, when there were so many great singers making so many great records that not everyone could break through.