Source Team

The Pretenders - A Broken Heart Cries / For The Rest Of My Days - Kent Repro 19 When we accessed Joe Evans’ master tapes in the mid-90s we were pleased to find the superb ‘A Broken Heart Cries’ by the Pretenders as it had never been released. Over time enterprising Crossover DJs picked up on it from our CD, causing demand for a Kent Select release in 2007. Once that had sold out demand continued, making that original Kent 7” so in demand that prices are now into the low hundreds of pounds. We took the opportunity to add the group’s beautiful harmony ballad ‘For The Rest Of My Days’ for its debut UK vinyl release. View full store item

The Capitols - Don't Say Maybe Baby (Rehearsal Take) / Up On Top Now - Hayley Records 'Don't say maybe baby' (Rehearsal take) features two vocalists - group members Sammy George and Donald Storball, unlike the released version that only had Donald. The flip sees the storming 'Up on top now' gain its first release on a 7" single, having only ever been available on a 1984 Solid Smoke album released in USA. View full store item

Larry Atkins - Ain’t That Love Enough / Lighten Up - Kent Repro 25 The stomping intro to Larry Atkins’ ‘Ain’t That Love Enough’ leads into an excellent soul song by R&B stalwart Kent Harris. His mid-60s soul productions were as good as they come. The pairing repeated the formula on ‘Lighten Up’ a backing track that Kent also used on his partner Ty Karim’s ‘Lighten Up Baby’. Both sides here are recognised as Northern Soul classics. View full store item

Hank Jacobs - Elijah Rockin’ With Soul / East Side - Kent Repro 24 Hank Jacobs was an accomplished West coast keyboard player who had an instrumental hit with ‘So Far Away’ in 1964. He became a Los Angeles session man who worked on many recording sessions with arranger Arthur Wright with whom he had four releases on Alton Scott’s Call Me label. ‘Elijah Rockin’ With Soul’ created a buzz on the UK soul scene and its urgent beat was perfect for Northern Soul dancefloors. The recording session was augmented by the cream of LA’s musicians. The uber-cool ‘East Side’ with its mid-tempo groove was initially his best-known track, having been appreciated by the Lowrider and Popcorn scenes since its release. View full store item

Eddie Parker - I’m Gone / Crying Clown - Repro 23 Regarded as the epitome of Northern Soul by many aficionados, ‘I’m Gone’, by Detroit’s Eddie Parker, captures the adrenalin and anger of a busted relationship and he tells of his determination to start again - elsewhere. The pulsating rhythm matches that anger and producer Jack Ashford, one of Motown’s key Funk Brothers, utilises his percussive know-how to produce such a vital track. The flip ‘Crying Clown’ is musically and thematically miles away - with heartbreak and sorrow to the fore over a beautiful ballad backing. These are two of the greatest soul recordings from the 1960s. View full store item

The Devonnes - (You’d Better) Straighten Up And Fly Right / Doin’ The Gittin Up - City 100 Larry Banks worked a lot with girl groups in the late 60s, Kent accessed the master tapes some twenty years ago and released all four of their performances. The catchy dancer ‘Doin’ “The Gittin’ Up”’ first came out on a 100 Club anniversary 45 in 2005 and has been in demand ever since. ‘(You’d Better) Straighten Up And Fly Right’ was issued on CD in the same year, but has never made it to vinyl until now. The song was recorded by Terri Bryant on Verve in 1967 and is highly regarded; this new coupling will be a popular choice. View full store item

Jon Lucien - Search For The Inner Self / We've Got Love - City 099 Search For The Inner Self’, Jon Lucien’s 1971 ethereal, soul masterpiece has gained admirers constantly since its 1971 release. ‘We’ve Got Love’ is more of an “old school” 60s soul dancer, recorded around the same time, that was not heard until a self-released CD in 1999. It has remained under the radar to all but a few of the cognoscenti. T his vinyl debut will earn it many more fans. View full store item

Terry Callier - I Don't Want To See Myself (Without You) - Acid Jazz 45 The rediscovery of Terry Callier is of the high points of in the history of Acid Jazz Records, who present the reissue of the 7” version of the song that started it all - ‘I Don’t Want To See Myself (Without You)’. A true classic of the modern soul scene. ‘I Don’t Want To See Myself…’ was the final release from Callier, whose career encompassed recording for Prestige, Chess’s Cadet label and Elektra, before this one- off single on the independent Erect label. Despite the record fetching huge sums by the 1990s, his career had been largely unexplored, until Acid Jazz founder Eddie Piller decided to track him down. After several attempts, Eddie finally found him working as a computer programmer, and in July 1990 Acid Jazz reissued the single. Over the next decade Terry resumed his recording and performing career, releasing new music, and was finally recognised for his brilliance as an artist. In 2006 Eddie found himself once more in conversation with Terry and they agreed on releasing a 7-inch version of the single, with an edit created by Andy Lewis. This single is long since deleted, and now sells for upwards of £30, so with the full co-operation of his daughter Sundiata and licensed from Terry Callier Music, it is set for reissue in March 2025, backed with ‘If I Could Make You’. All copies sealed View full store item

Tobi Lark - True True Love / Instrumental - Kent City 103 ‘True True Love’ was released as the first Kent Select single in 2006 and original copies sell for £300 plus − if you can find one. Ace are delighted to re-issue ‘True True Love’ on vinyl paired with an unreleased instrumental version by the Dave & Darrell Band. The single comes in a picture sleeve featuring a still from Dean Chalkley’s amazing film along with liner notes written by Ady Crosdell. View full store item

Goldwax Records - Memphis Soul Rarities 1964-1969 - 7 x 45 Box Set Goldwax was the ultimate southern soul label. Here are some of the finest discoveries from their vaults, on the 7” vinyl they were intended for. This is the third in our series of limited edition 7x7" Box Sets. The renowned Memphis 60s soul label Goldwax was a medium-sized operation with just short of a hundred releases. Though it ran a tight ship, inevitably some of their recordings fell by the wayside. The label is revered by fans of the classic age of soul music around the world. In the late 70s the Japanese Vivid Sound label contacted Goldwax owner, Quinton Claunch and accessed his tapes. They found a dozen excellent, previously unheard, tracks and issued them, along with Goldwax favourites on a short series of LPs in 1977. In 2000 Ace Records purchased the label from Claunch and his partners gaining full ownership of the tapes, which lead to more musical discoveries. Our releases on Ace and Kent over the past twenty plus years have seen most of these recordings featured, primarily on CD - the medium of the early years of the 21st century. More recently the renewed demand for vinyl has led to new 12” compilations and to augment those we have come up with a neat, boxed collection of seven singles that will appeal to the soul collectors who live for this format. Of the 14 tracks, only three have been singles before - the sublime harmony vocals of the Vel-Tones and the Lyrics with their mid-60s Goldwax releases and Barbara Perry’s R&B explosion ‘A Man Is A Mean Thing’ first released on Kent but now long gone and craved for. Goldwax’s star James Carr kicks us off with ‘Your Love Made A U-Turn’, a funk groove from 1969. This would surely have prolonged his and the label’s lifespans had it been issued at the time. Our flip however would have needed to be an underground hit; it is doubtful that any radio station would have entertained such smutty lyrics in the 60s. Connoisseurs of the mid-60s Detroit soul sound will be thrilled to have the Ovations ‘I Miss You’ on a 45 at last; it really has all the ingredients of a Motor City classic. ‘What Did I Do Wrong’ makes a great stomping B side - complete with virtuoso harmonica. The label was known for its gritty southern sound, so ‘To Me It’s Storming’ is an atypical, softly melodic, mid-tempo song sung by, but oddly not penned by, George Jackson and Dan Greer. George does get to sing his own, tougher, composition ‘Let The Best Man Win’ on the flip. Apart from her aforementioned New Breed classic, Barbara Perry’s 45 features the charming, country-soul beat ballad ‘Welcome Home Baby’, which is a real grower. We do have one exclusive debutant with Willie Walker’s original take on the Homer Banks written ‘Lucky Loser’. This version is in the classic Goldwax southern sound and groove, recorded two years before his funked-up version was released on Chess. James Carr’s rendition of this song was recorded at the same session but did not have the splendid brass section Willie’s boasts. The flip is a southern rave-up from Chicagoan Lee “Shot” Williams who regularly visited Memphis and was given a two-song contract and recording session which didn’t earn a release until we belatedly found the tape. The Lyrics/Vel-Tones original releases make up our sixth disc. The “ender” is a dramatic big city-style ballad from Phillip & The Faithfuls, which was clearly inspired by the Righteous Brothers. It is coupled with a beguiling oddity from an unknown artist. ‘It’s Really Alright’ is as catchy as they come and despite its limited orchestration makes a wonderful 45 and a mystery to be solved. View full store item

Jimmy Conwell - The Exits - Let It All Out / I'm So Glad - Soul Harmony SH 03 Jimmy Conwell is a big name in Los Angeles soul music, either as a solo singer on 4J, Gemini and Mirwood or as lead singer of the Exits on Gemini and Kapp, the Tripps on Soundville or with Smoked Sugar on Teri De. ‘Let It All Out’ was written in conjunction with his two main producers Len Jewell Smith and Hank Graham, though Jimmy couldn’t remember Hank’s contribution. It is a stunning ballad that was originally overlooked by Northern Soul fans for the stomping 'Too Much' flip. A similar situation has occurred with his Kapp 45, the mid-tempo ‘Another Sundown In Watts’ attracting much of the attention and the superb ‘I’m So Glad’ ballad only recently picking up deserved admirers View full store item

87th Off Broadway / Larry Sanders - Instant Replay / I'm In Love - Kent Town Harmony SH 01 Soul Harmony label is launched with a fabulous tape discovery from Golden State Recorders. At the time of recording, 87th Off Broadway lived in the small town of Seaside, California and were based in Monterey. They wrote their own songs, four of which were recorded at an April 1972 session, arranged by Los Angeles Rene Hall. The tape lay dormant for decades. ‘Instant Replay’ is the final of the four to belatedly be issued; the others being funk released on Ace’s BGP label. The group morphed into another outfit called Welfare who had ‘What About The Child’ released (with a name change to Gold) in 1977 on the MRC label. This song is of the highest quality as are the intricate harmony vocals. Advance plays on the Lowrider scene have been very well received. Larry Sanders ‘I’m In Love’ is already revered by that California soul ballad crowd, which has caused the cost of an original Modern copy to rocket. It is another harmonious sweet soul ballad, redolent of a lovers’ tryst on a lazy summer’s afternoon. View full store item