Everything posted by Mickey Finn
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That's a strong line-up, only Trina Broussard is missing from my collection. Some others in my top list include Change - Miracles Charles Jackson - Passionate Breezes Walter Jackson - Good to see you Bobby Womack - Someday we'll all be free & Roads of Life Nancy Wilson - Lady with a song Sister Sledge - We are family George Benson - Give me the night -
They are beautifully produced and well worth the pennies. Much appreciation to David Nathan and the team for these excellent reissues.
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They are beautifully produced and well worth the pennies. Much appreciation to David Nathan and the team for these excellent reissues.
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The Guardian has a decent obituary: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/aug/15/maurice-williams-obituary
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All the best to you, Mark
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This is despite her recording a duet with Elton John, "Act of war", which made it to 32 in the UK singles chart in 1985. Once again, maybe not the best choice for her to be taken seriously more widely ... it was a fun pop record that took advantage of her theatrics vocally and in the video, which was the whole point (I vaguely remember Tina Turner being asked first, rather like Dusty Springfield was first choice before Kiki Dee got "Don't go breaking my heart". Tina would have probably got more airplay.) The following year Millie released a decent LP on Jive Records, "An imitation of love". That was an effort to be serious as it had none of the smutty stuff, but she was maybe let down a little by the production which is very much of its time. Some very good tracks on the album though.
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Great album, produced by Jerry Ragovoy. Not long after he produced Dionne Warwick's "Then came you" LP, which is just a masterpiece to these ears. Norman Jay hammered "Move me no mountain" deservedly for many years, and there's a terrific version of "I can't wait to see my baby's face", but this is a track that doesn't get enough recognition:
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Totally agree, the releases by Bobby, Johnnie Taylor and Chapter 8 also outstanding. A shame that Otis Smith wasn't as above board as he should have been. Re Anita, I rate her 1990 "Compositions" album very highly - one side was recorded live but the whole thing is just a masterpiece of musicianship and artistry. Her last collaboration with Michael Powell, unfortunately.
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Has Millie ever explained the change in direction? Was it a strategic choice to move away from emotional heartbreak to more risque material? If she has been underrated, maybe her later career direction disguised her true talents for a lot of people, although there were always flashes of it, despite poor choices like "Back to the sh%t".
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Hi Peter, you asked for favourite artist doing an unusual duet ... the favourite artist is too dependent on time and circumstances but I'd count Jimmy Ruffin as someone very respectable. I first heard this before I heard the original and bought it within 24 hours, lovely version of Luther's My sensitivity by Jimmy, backed and produced by Heaven 17:
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The album also appears in a special reissue set from 2006, commanding an even higher price: https://www.discogs.com/sell/release/1038390?ev=rb The set is a beautiful production and unlikely itself to be reissued. Alternatively, there's always a chance that another reissue of "Right on" will appear at some point, most likely out of Japan.
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As with most things it depends on the condition and the seller. If you don't mind whatever passes for "VG" (not always what I would call very good) then you can usually find stuff under a tenner. Some of the Mint copies are also headlining at that price, although check the postage for some creative mark-ups. Here's an example: https://www.discogs.com/release/3454343-Various-That-Driving-Beat-60s-70s-Northern-Soul-Stompers Some decently priced copies of varying nick, and some chancer offering a VG copy at $54 plus postage that takes it up to $72, plus whatever import VAT. That's stupid money. I can't claim to have done a comprehensive study, but I've been filling some gaps in the collection in recent months and was surprised to see what some people are charging for what was originally the ultimate in budget series. Another surprise was discovering that this was blocked on Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/release/5490631-Various-They-Call-It-Crossover-More-Mid-Tempo-Soul-Gems Sean Hampsey compiled it and explains the situation in the notes there. I found a copy in Italy for a reasonable 12 euros plus postage making it about 20 overall. Fantastic comp, and indicative of the care with which the series was put together.
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These deserve recognition. Ian Dewhirst was involved in putting together the series and he and various others compiled the various volumes. The concept was basically starting a great collection on a budget, so ironic that some are now fetching stupid money, but a good sign of their quality.
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I share your frustration with the repetition and sameness of a lot of sets, especially when, by definition, there has never been as much music to choose from as today. The choice gets bigger as the playlists get smaller, or so it seems. Those niche venues and the punters, deejays and radio presenters still looking for that next great tune are what will keep the scene going.
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Who can possibly know every record? Maybe there are people who know the vast majority of known records, but there are still deejays out there spinning tunes that only they seem to have and these are the spinners I make the effort to hear out and about when I can. Despite the internet and all the short cuts available to finding and acquiring records, there are still proper deejays who are somehow able to dig deeper and find new or possibly rediscover forgotten sounds that pass the quality test, play them out, and make their sets always unique and enjoyable. That's my motivation.
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Hi Mick, I'm unlikely to be nearly enough qualified to answer your question but (a) I like the question and (b) I like the way you say there's nothing wrong with any of the options available as you define them. So here goes ... Option 1: Most likely something that comes and goes, depending on fashion. Pubs have to compete for every penny so a lot of them will follow whatever seems to be fashionable. The genuine veterans of the scene who are happy with this type of event can most easily switch to the other two if needs be, although they might tone down the outfits a bit and risk hearing something less familiar. Option 2: This appeals to me more, musically at least, as long as the best dj arguments are not taken too seriously. The collector angle complicates it a bit because these precious rare pieces of vinyl are objects in their own right with values not totally connected to the music on them. That will attract people who are more interested in the investment than the sounds. But if that keeps the new discoveries coming then that's good. Option 3: I like this too but am too young to claim any connection with the original scene, coming to it way too late anyway. But the hunger for new sounds definitely appeals and this is what will keep the scene going more than anything - willingness to enjoy the new so that the old and familiar stays fresh and doesn't get stale like it would (for me at least) in option 1. Option 2 might suffer a bit from music police depending on who the experts are. Open music policy is the key, so ultimately this gets my vote. It also means that anyone in the early stages of a collection has a decent chance of avoiding bankruptcy if they get their hands on an underplayed, forgotten or even undiscovered record. That's got to be good for the scene. I'd like greater flexibility so that music can be enjoyed more on all legal physical formats without taking anything away from the serious collectors - I'm in this for the music first and for the chance to enjoy it over big sound systems with like minded people.
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Would be nice to have this on cd also. Looks very tasty indeed.
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Would be nice to have this on cd also. Looks very tasty indeed.
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My sentiments exactly. This looks like a compilation for readers of Q magazine rather than anyone likely to subscribe here. As such, not illegitimate, but compared to the compilations of Van McCoy and Thom Bell productions, for example, this is a very different proposition that won't be finding its way into my collection. For which Mrs Finn is very grateful.
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My sentiments exactly. This looks like a compilation for readers of Q magazine rather than anyone likely to subscribe here. As such, not illegitimate, but compared to the compilations of Van McCoy and Thom Bell productions, for example, this is a very different proposition that won't be finding its way into my collection. For which Mrs Finn is very grateful.
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Many thanks for this. You have answered a question I posted on another thread some months ago about whatever happened to Joe Cobb - "Around '72 Joe Cobb decided he wanted to go off and learn piano ... and that's what he's still doing." That certainly seems to be the date when Cobb's name almost completely disappears from McCoy productions and compositions. Given Van's skill as a pianist he might not have had much need for another piano player.
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There's clearly a book in all this ... Just to underline your point that the vocal could have been Van himself, here's Bobby Eli paying tribute to him in a post from Soulful Detroit in 2004: Van was a great friend and colleague of mine. I had the esteemed pleasure of playing on many of his productions in Philly and witnessing first hand his incredible virtuosity. He was truly a gentleman and a scolar to the nth degree. Just watching him work in the studio was a marvel to behold. The way he stacked his own background vocals to make it sound as if it were different people with different timbres was pure magic. Thats mostly him on Right on the tip of my tongue! If I remember correctly the only other backing vocalist was Diane Destry. Vinnie barrett and I have been to his home in DC and he was the gracious host. One time it was a party for then mayor of DC, Walter Washington. His passing was truly a shock to us all. Van...RIP https://soulfuldetroit.com/archives/6593/7298.html?1092991229
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This is from Discogs, where it also says that Chris Jackson was an alias used by Marke. https://www.discogs.com/artist/2158104-Marke-Jackson
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