Amsterdam Russ

Thank you for the extended reply, Robb. I appreciate that as a writer words flow easily for you. I, as a magazine editor, often favour brevity. I think they're still in relatively common usage, mainly among older people, and in those parts of the UK that are not London and the south. I spent the first half of my childhood in Scotland before moving to Kent in the south east of England. After a while in the Garden of England I began to realise that my use of all four of the words you highlight was pretty unique. In speech and in writing I still favour them. Curiously, the Dutch — who often think they know more about the English language than native speakers (and sometimes they do) — tend to pick me up on my supposed erroneous use of these words in texts. Naturally, I try to explain how certain words are spelt, but they, being Dutch, still assume that they are correct.

Thanks to Paul (Soul Shrews) for the loan of not just the copy of Tracks to your MInd magazine, but also a pressing of "Burning Sensation"/"I Have Searched". Listening to the disc confirms that the acetate version of "I have searched" is not the same one that appears on the Robby Lawson 45. This is confirmed in the magazine by Paul Kyser, who states: "'I Have Searched' is just a pretty song. I re-recorded that by someone else but the record never came out, nothing happened to it..." The label on the acetate is for Broadway Recording Studios, and in the first part of the magazine interviewee Earl Morgan, a colleague of Paul Kyser, states that they did use these studios occasionally, which were part of what is known as the Ed Sullivan Theater. So, according to the Sweet Soul CD, both "I Have Searched" and the dance track "Poet" are sung by someone called Renee White. Who this is appears to be a mystery. I mentioned that it could be useful to find out who put out that CD. After a bit of checking online it came as no real surprise to learn that it was in fact put out by Paul Kyser himself. Perhaps time to drop him another email.

There's a spelling of spelled you don't see very often these days. It's almost archaic, in fact. You got Scottish or Northern English ancestry?

You're right about the Del Capris acetate - it's trashed, but for less than 18 bucks, and not knowing the actual ID of the track or artist, it was worth a bid. Likewise with the 2nd disc, it was worth a punt . That there was so little interest in it was surprising, and I certainly didn't expect to get it for the price I did. Even better, after much argument with the seller over the mailing costs, I managed to get a 10 buck refund into the bargain. Still looking for a soundfile of the "Burning Sensation" flip that's taken directly from the Kyser disc. Surely someone on here must have the 45...

A-ha! I assume you didn't read the thread from the beginning and so missed Sebastian's crucial post. You witnessed the acetates go for next to nothing? Out of interest, why did you not think them worth bidding on?

That's a thought, Benji. I'm going record hunting with Paul (Soul Shrews) tomorrow and he's bringing along the issue of the Tracks to your mind magazine with the Paul Kyser interview in it. We'll have a read of that over a good curry in Amsterdam. I did send an email to Paul Kyser using the email address he gave out when he was posting here a few years back, but I've no idea if that's still active, and I haven't had a reply. What might be useful is to find out who put together the CD comp. Whoever is behind that should know more about the tracks and who Renee White is (and isn't).

I downloaded "I have searched" from iTunes. Two files are available there, one of which is from the CD Comp. Both the digital versions are the same as each other (the one featured on the CD Comp is obviously taken from disc because you can hear number clicks and pops, and the sound quality is not as good). Although the digital version & acetate may sound alike from the samples here (with you suggesting that one is a faster/higher version of the other), they are completely different tracks. They have completely different arrangements and it is a different singer. That's immediately obvious if you have the complete songs to hand. So, if the digital versions are the same as appear on the Robby Lawson 45, then it seems likely that the acetate version is by someone else. That someone else is definitely the same singer as can be heard on the song "Poet" (where both the digital and acetate versions are the same), and that points us back to the mysterious Renee White. So, if Renee White isn't Robby Lawson, who is he? Or is it a case of will the real Robby Lawson please stand up?

Ok, so here are two snippets of Robby Lawson "I have searched". This is the snippet from the CD comp linked to by Mick. Does this sound like the Robby Lawson/Renee White who sings the "Poet" on the same CD comp? It doesn't to me. https://soundcloud.com/harveysoulfinger/robby-lawson-i-have-searched This is the snippet from the acetate. It's a different version from the clip above. To me this does sound like the Robby Lawson/Renee White who's singing the "Poet" track on the CD comp - and that's the same version on the acetate. https://soundcloud.com/harveysoulfinger/robby-lawson-i-have-searched-1 The most obvious answer is that one is Robby Lawson and the other isn't. Perhaps Renee White isn't Robby Lawson at all. To help matters can someone confirm which version of "I have searched" is on the flip to the "Burning Sensation" 45? All thoughts welcomed!

That's really interesting. Thanks a lot, Mick. That's the song all right. So Renee White and Robby Lawson could be the same person. One thing though, Renee is a girl's name (Rene being the masculine version, of course). That makes me think that someone's made a cock-up either in the cataloguing or elsewhere. Alternatively, perhaps it should have been credited as Rene rather than Renee. That though begs the question of why Robby Lawson would want to change his performing name. To add to the possible mystery, the song on the flip of the acetate, "I have searched" is not the same song or singer as features on that cd comp. They've got the same words, but the arrangements are totally different. And, listening to the snippets, the singer of "I have searched" on the CD comp doesn't sound like the same person singing "Poet" or even "Burning Sensation" on the same disc. However, relative to the acetate, the singer of "Poet" is the same person singing the version of "I have searched" on the flipside - and that person is the same as the one singing "Poet" on the CD comp. So, if Renee White is Robby Lawson, then who's that singing the version of "I have searched" on the CD comp — because it sure doesn't sound like either singer — and is that the same version as appears on the Kyser 45? Confused? I am... Perhaps I might put up a sound clip of both of the acetate tracks side by side and see if a more discerning ear can offer some insight.

The track is from 2008. It came out on the Michigan label, I believe. Zamali is a Belgian dj/producer - one of those who remixes and creates their own beats using samples, overlaid instruments and rhythms. There might even be a real instrument in the mixes, somewhere. There's a bit of background here courtesy of the label Timewarp music, which has released his stuff: https://timewarpmusic.org/zamali.html He has a SoundCloud channel here where you can listen to many of his tracks/mixes - if you want to: https://soundcloud.com/zamali

This one?

You are welcome. That's what Soul Source is all about.

Thread here about record shops in Amsterdam: And another one here: Happy hunting...

Non-Mac users could use Skype's video calling to contact one another. Same difference...

It must be love - Ila Vann/ Ila Govan: https://youtu.be/Ct4gMv81--4

I doubt there'll be much interest in these recording here, but for the sake of history/posterity, I thought it worth sharing to a wider audience these two rehearsal/demo takes of what would eventually be Ila Vann's 1961 Arnold-label 45 "What's the matter baby" and "It must be love". Ila (Govan and then Vann) doesn't remember these recordings (I shared these songs with her just before Christmas) or why she was singing them so differently to the versions that were released. What's not in dispute is that it's her singing. Listening through the crackles and the hesitancy of the demo session the one thing you can't help but hear is that even in its raw, unproduced state, she has a wonderfully soulful voice. https://youtu.be/q-mFnEcT-QY

I paid with magic jumping beans, but it wasn't to Mr Kyser…

Always so difficult to pick a top 3, top 10, or top anything. It all depends on the day, the mood, etc, etc. Having said that, I reckon these three are doing it for me at the moment... Mr Lucky - Freddy Hill & the Reno-Bops - Ru-Tee Hit Cookie Jackson - Do you still love me - Progress Carrie Grant - Take all of my life - New-Art

Here are pics of both sides of the 'Robby Lawson' disc. As mentioned, one side has the track "I have searched", which is the flip to "Burning Sensation". The other side has a track with the title "Poet". "Poet" is a nice dance track although the lyrics are a bit cheesy in places. Is it by Robby Lawson, did it get released - and if so, on what label? All info appreciated.

Also available as a fine and probably much rarer French release... https://youtu.be/GBGkf3bE8GQ

Eureka! It's not a version of the Del Capris - it is the Del Capris. Thanks for the swift ID, Sebastian One down, one to go...

Got hold of three tracks on acetate, one of which is called "I have searched", the flip to Lawson's "Burning sensation" on Kyser. That sounds like a different take/arrangement from the only clip I could find of the track, which was a snippet in the iTunes store. Soundfile anyone? On the flip of the "I have searched" acetate is a dancer titled "Poet". On another, single-sided disc is a sweet soul number called "Love ain't the same anymore". Anyone tell me what label they came out on? Thanks.

You prompted me to have a further trawl online and I saw that on a Soulful Detroit thread (from 10 years ago) you mentioned that there could be interest in an Airwaves comp cd and that "There might also be some curiosity value in the Art Posey... [tracks]". Curiosity value? And did you have any contact with Posey back then? Further digging reveals that he's still making music, primarily through collaborations with an established poet/songwriter by the name of Theresa Haffner. They perform as a duo known as PH Factor. Songs in the main seem to be reworkings of standards such as "Stormy monday", "God bless the child", etc, along with Haffner's own material, all of which can be found on YouTube should anyone feel so inclined. There's even a 13-minute 'improvisation' of Jaggers/Richards' "Satisfaction".

Not him, I'm afraid. Bill Berry the jazz trumpeter died in 2002. https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/19/arts/bill-berry-72-jazz-trumpeter.html