John Reed

South Texas Rhythm ‘n’ Soul Review 2 is Kent’s second dip into Huey P Meaux’s rich RnB back catalogue. Much has been written about Meaux’s insalubrious business activities and his abhorrent personal life, so I’ve tried to look past the man and focus solely on the music. Meaux had no colour boundaries and was equally comfortable recording; black, white or hispanic artists in search of a hit and this current offering as with its predecessor reflects this. This CD also contains a broad spectrum of musical styles, ranging from Pop and R&B dancers, through to Blues and Deep Soul with much more in-between. The CD starts strongly with The Traits – Too Good To Be True, a storming horn driven “Blue Eyed” dancer and one of my favourite Meaux productions, a proper up-tempo soul recording. As an accompaniment to the Traits, is a previously unreleased track by periodic member and lead singer of the aforementioned track, Dean Scott. It’s a strong traditional “Northern” styled dancer with great burping horns and good girlie backing vocals and I wonder how well this would go down played loud at one of today’s venues. Another traditional “Blue Eyed” Northern styled dancer is David “King” Thomas – You Better Investigate, a cover of the similarly titled Major Lance Okeh release from a few years prior. It’s revealed in the sleeve-notes that Pete Smith identified that Thomas and Jay D Martin of “By Yourself” fame are one and the same. It has a good driving beat, but doesn’t do much for me as I find it a bit too poppy. Saying that I’ve never really liked “By Yourself” either, maybe it’s just his voice that doesn’t gel with my particular taste. Another one of the more “Northern” tracks and one that people will be familiar with is the exceptional “Total Disaster” by professional baseball player Lee Maye. It’s a top mid-tempo 60’s soul and one I never tire of hearing. Margo White is represented by two offerings, the first; “I Got The Right To Cry” is a lovely sax laden early ballad, showing what a good singer she was. The other is a competent version of “Neighbor Neighbor” and sounds like it was originally recorded in the 60’s but was only released on her 1978 Crazy Cajun LP. I do keep comparing it to the rendition by Jimmy Hughes or even by the songs original artist Charles Berry and for me those versions pip it to the post. Mentioning Charles Berry leads me onto his track included here. “Half A Man” is a lovely gruff toe-tapping mid-pacer, as with the Margo White track was originally released as album track on one of the many tax efficient Crazy Cajun album projects Meaux did in the late 70’s. Moving onto a slightly more up-tempo mode is the very catchy “I’m Losing You” by Chet McDowell and this is one of my favourites on the CD. A couple of artists better known for their country and pop recordings are Warren Storm and Ronnie Milsap. Storm, represented here by “The Bad Times Make The Good Times”, does nothing for me and I find it quite twee. Conversely, Milsap hits us with the up-tempo “Wish You Were Here” a great 634-5789 clone that just oozes 60’s soul. Two people who had more R&B success than many of the others included here are Jean Knight and Jo Jo Benson. Jean Knight recorded for Meaux in the mid 60’s, with little success and “T’aint That The Truth” (a cover of an Ernie K-Doe song), is one of those recordings. As with quite a few of Meaux’s projects, this was retrospectively released to cash-in following her success with “Mr Big Stuff” on Stax. The song was enhanced with overdubbing to give it a similar feel, but I think it just makes an ordinary recording, worse. Jo Jo Benson along with Peggy Scott did surprising well duetting together, which included hits on Shelby Singleton’s SSS International label. As well as recording them as a pair Meaux recorded them individually as solo artists and included here is Benson’s previously unreleased cover of the Barbara Lynn classic “You’re Losing Me”. Now this is one of my favourite records by one of my favourite artists, so this was a “big ask” for me to like it – But I Do!!! Moving onto the R&B side; Joe Medwick’s “After Hour Man” was originally previously unreleased and saw the light of day on an Edsel CD in 2000. Big Sam’s “All About Love” is a rockin’ piano lead dancer, Johnny Adams’ “Spunky Onions” is a great funky dance craze number and Prince Charles’ “Sick”, makes you want to nod your head in time with the beat, all very nice indeed. Onto a couple of Blues numbers with Jackie Paine – Skid Row Blues & Joe Fritz – Good Doctor Sweet Soul, both are rolling guitar lead Blues and good additions to the set. Moving onto the Ballads and Deep soul and there are plenty here to please those with a liking for the morose. Representing the Chicano element of the Texas music scene is Rocky Gil and the Bishops, with a wonderful cover of the Georgie Boy song “The Pleasures Of My Woman” and for me it stands shoulder to shoulder with original version. Jackie Payne’s “At Your Wedding” is classic Deep Soul and tells a sad story of lost love (don’t they all) and Henry Moore’s “I’m Losing You” is another highlight of the CD and this recording should be in every collection, it’s that good. The organ intro and muted horns on Luvenia Lewis’ “Tender Loving pain” complement her voice to perfection, another winner in my book. Joe Hughes – The Rain Came is simple in its production, but hits all the right spots when it comes to soul. One of my last comments is reserved for Eugene Gamble’s “Strange Love”. This previously unreleased gem sat in-the-can for nearly 50 years and it’s a crime that something this good should only see the light of day in 2015. Musically, this is a very good CD and highlights the many facets of Meaux’s R&B back catalogue and is a good companion to Kent’s previous Meaux CD of a few years back. As with the previous CD, compilation honours go to Tony Rounce and as always the sleeve-notes packed with pictures, label shots and interesting backstories. Start Rating: 4 out of 5 John Reed March 2016 Tracks 1. Too Good To Be True - The Traits 2. I'm Losing You - Chet Mcdowell 3. Half A Man - Charles Berry 4. The Bad Times Make The Good Times - Warren Storm 5. I Got A Right To Lose My Mind - Margo White 6. You'd Better Investigate - David King Thomas 7. T'ain't It The Truth (Remix) - Jean Knight 8. Strange Love - Eugene Gamble 9. You're Losing Me - Jo Jo Benson 10. At Your Wedding - Jackie Paine 11. Wish You Were Here - Ronnie Milsap 12. Neighbor Neighbor - Margo White 13. Total Disaster - Lee Maye 14. I'm Losing You - Henry Moore 15. All About Love - Big Sam 16. The Pleasure Of My Woman - Rocky Gil And The Bishops 17. Please Pass The Soul - Dean Scott 18. Skid Row Blues - Jackie Paine 19. Sick - Prince Charles - Prince Charles 20. Good Doctor Sweet Soul - Joe Fritz 21. Tender Loving Pain - Luvenia Lewis 22. After Hour Man - Joe Medwick 23. The Rains Came - Joe Hughes 24. Spunky Onions - Johnny Adams Video Trailer http://acerecords.co.uk/south-texas-rhythmn-soul-revue-2

Various Artists - Harmony Of The Soul Vocal Groups 1962-1977 – CDKEND 409 This is the fourth instalment of Kent’s “In Perfect Harmony” Series, which concentrates on the sweeter side of group soul spanning the length and breadth of America, highlighting lesser known artists as well as including higher profile acts like; The Pretenders, Brothers Of Soul, Bobby Moore & The Rhythm Aces and The Mad Lads. The CD contains 24 tracks of which, nine are previously unreleased (including two demo’s from the Stax vaults) and one which first saw the light of day on the Golden State Soul CD (CDKEND 179) in 2000. The CD starts off the proceedings with The Pretenders falsetto offering, a great record. Next up is Vernon Green’s 1973 Doontone outing, which is a nice laid back track and as I’m a sucker for telephone conversations in songs, it gets a thumbs up from me. Following on is Special Delivery’s first release on Mainstream, with Terry Huff’s sumptuous lead supported beautifully by the rest of the ensemble. The Determinations Girl, Girl, Girl (flip of “Bing Bong”) gets an airing on this CD, although to me it’s a bit pedestrian. The unreleased Why Can’t It Be by The Windjammers, starts off with a nice spoken into, but also doesn’t really do much for me. More unreleased material with Whatcha Gonna Do Baby by The Lovers, which is a great Impressions influenced song and I’m indebted to Ace/Kent for bringing these songs to the general public, a winner in my book 01 For The Rest Of My Days - The Pretenders 02 Can You Talk (Is Your Old Man At Home) - Vernon Green & The Medallions 03 I Destroyed Your Love Pt 1 - Special Delivery 04 Girl, Girl, Girl - The Determinations 05 Why Can't It Be - The Windjammers 06 Whatcha Gonna Do Baby - The Lovers . The Smith Brothers release on Shield shows off the greatness of Jack Ashford’s Just Productions. With strong vocals and swirling strings it’s thoroughly enjoyable, it’s a shame they didn’t record more. When Wee Gee and Elbert Wilkins left the Dramatics, they toured for a while using the Dramatics name. They eventually signed to Mainstream and released the dancefloor favourite “No Rebate On Love”. Following legal proceedings they changed their group name to The Dramatic Experience and released their second single “Sho’Nuff Good Feeling” and tucked away on the flip side was “Someday Somewhere”. The official A-Side probably wasn’t as standout as it could have been, compared to similar songs at the time, which meant that the superior flip sadly got lost in the wash. 07 Let Me Take Care Of Your Heart - The Smith Brothers 08 Someday Somewhere - The Dramatic Experience More unreleased material follows, this time from the Webb People and is a pleasant laid back recording, which sounds similar enough to have come from the same session as “Who’s The Biggest Fool”. The Superbs Dore recording of the Rodgers & Hart show-tune “Where Or When” is a bit MOR for my taste and Shady Lady by Choice Of Colors (another unreleased track); to me sounds like it wouldn’t be out of place if it was on the Grease soundtrack. The Imaginations “Strange Neighborhood” on Fraternity is a classic piece of group soul and it’s the flip “I Can't Get Over Losing You” included here and has a very throwback feel. Continuing in that vein is The M-Ms & The Peanuts’ “Without A Word” which shows how the throwback vibe should be done. 09 Let's Make Love (Our Favorite Pastime) - The Webb People 10 Where Or When - The Superbs 11 Shady Lady - Choice Of Colors 12 You Better Believe It - Brothers Of Soul 13 I Can't Get Over Losing You - Imaginations 14 Without A Word - The M-Ms & The Peanuts Onto the first of the Stax demos and this Del-Rios track is the earliest recoding on the CD. It seems the vocals of Louis Williams are an acquired taste and his similarities to Sam Cook are striking, personally I love his voice and this is a really nice addition too. As a demo, it’s sparse with a basic guitar accompaniment, but that doesn’t detract from what is a good song, well sung. Ace/Kent have done wonders bringing Louis Williams work back into the limelight with their Goldwax/MGM Sound Of Memphis projects and this song is a worthy accompaniment to those. The discovery of the “Turn Arounds” unreleased recordings has been a revelation and this is another fantastic song. 15 Won't You Call (Demo) - The Del-Rios 16 I Want You To Know - The Turn Arounds The Steelers “Crying Bitter Tears” has been a favourite of mine for many years and as it’s a Chicago recording there are again Impressions influences. Luckily for vinyl collectors this came out twice (with different flips), so it can be picked up quite inexpensively on Glow Star. The Perfections “Since I Lost My Baby” is a cover of the Motown classic and is another Jack Ashford production. The addition of a spoken into really gives it a different dimension and adds to what is a really nice recording. Jesse Johnsons & Chocolate Fudge’s Thank You Girl was recorded in 1973, but previously unreleased and is a really good example of the genre and I’m glad this recording has finally seen the light of day. 17 Crying Bitter Tears - The Steelers 18 Since I Lost My Baby - The Perfections 19 Thank You Girl (For Being You) - Jesse Johnson & Chocolate Fudge The San Francisco TKOs track was previously released on CDKEND 179. I’m a fan of Bobby Moore’s work at Fame and this ballad is fine addition to that suite of music. Initially when I listened to The Natural Resources Unpolluted, I thought it was and okay, but after listening to it a few more times I now find that I really like it, a real grower. The Fabulous Determinations “Don’t You Make Me Blue” is a good mid 70’s bit of sweet soul and “very” Stylistics to me. Finishing off the CD are The Mad Lads with the second of the Stax demos. This a great acapella offering with the lead vocals supported by strong harmonising and gets me thinking that its structure is very similar to some Gospel recordings of the time. 20 Send My Baby Back - The San Francisco TKOs 21 Is Love For Real - Bobby Moore & The Rhythm Aces 22 Don't Bite The Hand That Feeds You - The Natural Resources Unpolluted 23 Don't You Make Me Blue - The Fabulous Determinations 24 It's My Fault (Demo) - The Mad Lads In summation it’s a very good CD, and sits well amongst the previous releases in the series. This CD also contains enough new material to appeal to both those who do or don’t have the original recordings. As with previous editions, the compilation duties are shared by Ady Croasdell and Tony Rounce and as usual with ACE/Kent releases, the accompanying booklet is full of pictures and liner notes to keep anyone’s “inner chin stroker” satisfied and gives the reader some insight as to why many of these great songs sank without a trace after initial release. John Reed March 2016 Video Trailer Track Listing: 1. Shady Lady - Choice Of Colors - Choice of Colors 2. I Can't Get Over Losing You - Imaginations - The Imaginations 3. Thank You Girl For Being You - Jesse Johnson & Chocolate Fudge - Jesse Johnson & Chocolate Fudge 4. Without A Word - The M&Ms & The Peanut - The M&M's & The Peanuts 5. Don't Bite The Hand That Feeds You - The Natural Resources Unpolluted - The Natural Resources Unpolluted 6. Since I Lost My Baby - The Perfections - The Perfections 7. Send My Baby Back - San Francisco Tkos - The San Francisco Tko's 8. Whatcha Gonna Do - The Lovers - The Lovers 9. For The Rest Of My Days - The Pretenders - The Pretenders 10. Where Or When - The Superbs - The Superbs 11. Why Can't It Be - The Windjammers - The Windjammers 12. I Want You To Know - The Turn Arounds - The Turn Arounds 13. Can You Talk (Is Your Old Man At Home) - Vernon Green & The Medallions - Vernon Green & The Medallions 14. Let's Make Love (Our Favorite Pastime) - Webb People - The Webb People 15. Let Me Take Care Of Your Heart - The Smith Brothers - The Smith Brothers 16. I Destroyed Your Love Parts 1 & 2 - Special Delivery - Special Delivery 17. Don't You Make Me Blue - The Fabulous Determinations - The Fabulous Determinations 18. Someday Somewhere - The Dramatic Experience - The Dramatic Experience 19. Wait For Me - The Brothers Of Soul - The Brothers of Soul 20. Girl Girl Girl - The Determinations - The Determinations 21. Won't You Call (Demo) - The Del Rios - The Del Rios 22. It's My Fault (Demo) - The Mad Lads - The Mad Lads 23. Crying Bitter Tears - The Steelers - The Steelers 24. Is Love For Real - Bobby Moore And The Rhythm Aces - Bobby Moore & The Rhythm Aces More info via http://acerecords.co.uk/harmony-of-the-soul-vocal-groups-1962-1977