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Reissues

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Scroll down for reviews of : - Stax Profiles; Atlantic Unearthed – Soul Sisters/ Soul Brothers; Diana Ross – Blue; Sparks Made to Measure; Groove on Down 2: JR Bailey- Just Me N You; Soul Legends Series; Out of Sight – more sounds from the In Crowd; The Shadows of Love – Jon Savage’s Intense Tamla 1966-68; Music from B-Boy; Keeping the Faith (40 Years Of Northern Soul); Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston – It takes two

Love Collections: -Smokey Robinson & Miracles – You must be love; Diana Ross & Supremes – Love is in our hearts;

The Kaygees – Masterplan, complete recordings 1974-1978, Detroit’s Invictus, The Elgins Motown Anthology, The Birmingham Sound – The Soul of Neal Hemphill Vol 1, All Platinum Girls – The Belles of New York - Power to the Motown People Civil Rights

The Urban All Stars

A series of Urban 12” single reissue series including soul and funk classics like Jackson Sisters- I believe in miracles, Bobby Byrd – I know you got soul and Hot Pants, Marva Whitney – Its my thing, Kool and the Gang – Hollywood Swinging, James Brown – Cold Sweat, Myra Barnes – Message from the soul sisters, Maceo & the Macks – Soul Power and Cross the Tracks, JB’s – The Grunt, Roy Ayers – Everybody loves the sunshine.

Also some rather messy remixes like James Brown – Give it up and turn it loose, She’s the one and Payback, and JTQ’s Starsky & Hutch. The UrbanAll Stars remix is ok.

Soul Resurrection – From Deep inside the Playground Vault

From the same stable as The Birmingham Sound comes another fine and varied selection of Southern Soul Gems of all varieties, lovingly assembled with excellent sleeve note by John Ciba and his team. This time a selection of all previously unissued rare tracks from the lost tapes of Playground Studios in Florida.

The Reuben Howell tracks are simply sublime, Bad Habit Baby upbeat and oh so soulful. No need to worryis typical southern funk but with that slightly lighter melodic miami edge. How can I prove is a strong Southern Soul allad with punchy horns and lilting strings. Just Call Me Darling is emotive, dead slow and a pleading love song of the highest order. All that variety and only one artist so far!

I'll Keep On Loving You by Doris Allen is powerful and bluesy. Heavy In My Mind is more moody. Also featured on a duet with John Hamilton - So Good To Be Together, which is pretty standard fare.

The Jimmy Gresham story is a sad one which ever way you look at, but concentrating only on the voice and the soul, one only thinks of the waste of what he could have become. No Way To Stop It is gravelly and soulful. Chasin A Rainbow is more instant, midtempo with vocals more to the front

Watch Yo Step by Jimmie Nelson is bluesy yet funky, feelgood blues where horns and vocal interplay and compliment.

I'll Keep On Lovin You by Big John Hamilton who maybe is the best known of the artits featured, is probably one of the top cuts, and in a different life this could have been the one that everybody remembered when thinking back to soul classics of 40 years earlier.

Count Willie With Leroy And Dukes contributes a couple of good time funk tracks The Funky Muscle and Disco Nights, probably too funky for their day as the hard funk market was moving on into a different and dsicofied arena.

Len Wade has to be one of my favourite names on the album, Everybody's Clown is simple yet strong, laid back groove, distinctive vocals, yet the track contains horns, backing harmonies, bluesy guitar. Wonderful and powerful. Love Comes & Goes is no less strong, more straight bluesy southern soul, vocals stronger on this track than the previous one

Leroy's Blues by Leroy Lloyd And The Dukes is a blues jam really, but with a mood. Sundown is similar, with a late night groove. Sang This Song by Johnny Soul is a pretty standard Stax Soundalike. Missin Piece Of Me by Johnny Lee Hamilton is a stormin’ Blues.

Great compilation and great to see material like this hitting the streets rather than the usual regurgitated stuff

Track Listing
01. Bad Habit Baby - Reuben Howell
02. I'll Keep On Loving You - Doris Allen
03. No Need To Worry - Reuben Howell
04. So Good To Be Together - John Hamilton And Doris Allen
05. No Way To Stop It - Jimmy Gresham
06. Watch Yo Step - Jimmie Nelson
07. I'll Keep On Lovin You - Big John Hamilton
08. The Funky Muscle - Count Willie With Leroy And Dukes
09. Everybody's Clown - Len Wade
10. Chasin A Rainbow - Jimmy Gresham
11. Leroy's Blues - Leroy Lloyd And The Dukes
12. How can I Prove - Reuben Howell
13. Sang This Song - Johnny Soul
14. Heavy In My Mind - Doris Allen
15. Missin Piece Of Me - Johnny Lee Hamilton
16. Disco Nights - Count Willie with Leroy And The Dukes
17. Sundown - Leroy Lloyd & The Swingin' Dukes
18. Love Comes & Goes - Len Wade
19. Just Call Me Darling - Reuben Howell

Power to the Motown People Civil Rights http://www.motown45.co.uk/

I don’t really associate Motown with Civil Rights music and the like but this CD proved me wong. Having siad that it is mostly pretty well known , and some of it is calassic essential music, like Whats going on, and this Detroit Remix is actually quite tasty, adding a little bit butretaining all the essential ingredients of the original.

The Undisputed Truth’s 10 minute epic of Ball of Conclusion is Epic and well worth evisiting in its entirety. Bobby taylor’s Dos your Mama I have had like forever but hadn’t played it for years and am so glad it features here, as it is a truly wonderful track, and indeed not one I had really associated with the Power movement.

Lots of social commentary covered, world views and more localised like Diana’s Living in Shame. Reuben Howells Help the people is a great lesser known funky addition. Eddie Kendricks did some wonderful, often underrated material and the afro centric My People is such a track.

On CD2 Smokey’s Just my soul responding is just sublime.. More Marvin and rightly so, but another classic deserving of greater recognition is Willie Hutch’s Brother’s gonna work it out. And Life’s no fun living in the ghetto.

Quite a bit of Temptations and that whole Norman Whitfield period, with Undisputed Truth as well, and Slave is a top lesser known cut of that style.

Some great material and a very worthwhile comp.

Info & Tracks:-

CD1
01 Marvin Gaye: What’s Going On (detroit mix)
02 The Undisputed Truth: Ball Of Confusion
(That’s What The World Is Today)
03 David Ruffin: Flower Child
04 Bobby Taylor & The Vancouvers:
Does Your Mama Know About Me
05 Martha Reeves & The Vandellas: I Should Be Proud
06 Diana Ross & The Supremes: I’m Livin’ In Shame
07 Edwin Starr: Cloud Nine
08 The Temptations: Plastic Man
09 Reuben Howell: Help The People
10 Eddie Kendricks: My People... Hold On
11 Diana Ross & The Supremes: The Young Folks
12 Syreeta: Black Maybe
13 Marvin Gaye: What’s Happening Brother
(Detroit MIx)
14 The Temptations: Message From A Black Man
15 The Undisputed Truth:
Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite The World)

CD2
01 Stevie Wonder: Do Yourself A Favor
02 Smokey Robinson: Just My Soul Responding
03 Marvin Gaye: Inner City Blues
(Make Me Wanna Holler)
04 Willie Hutch: Brother’s Gonna Work It Out
05 Gladys Knight & The Pips with Jerry Long: Friendship Train
06 The Undisputed Truth: Smiling Faces Sometimes
07 The Temptations: Slave
08 Junior Walker & The All Stars:
Right On Brothers And Sisters
09 Marvin Gaye: You’re The Man (Pts. I& II)
10 Willie Hutch: Life’s No Fun Living In The Ghetto
11 The Temptations: War
12 Edwin Starr: Stop The War Now
13 The Miracles: Ain’t Nobody Straight In L.A.
14 Diana Ross & The Supremes:
Shadows Of Society
15 The Temptations: Masterpiece

Two conflicts racked America during the 1960s and early 1970s. The war in Vietnam consumed thousands of US lives and billions of dollars. It also provoked a protest movement that nearly split the country in two, and forced a President out of office. More importantly, perhaps, it cast America as a global villain in the eyes of students and radicals around the world, turning the war into an international cause celebre.

America’s other heartbreak during that tumultuous era was con�ned to its own borders, although it had echoes around the world. Ever since the abolition of slavery after the American Civil War in the 19th century, the issue of race relations, and in particular discrimination against the African-American population, have been an open sore in US society. Gradually, inch by painful inch, black citizens had managed to win a limited amount of freedom. But racism was still an everyday part of American life, and as the 1960s dawned the push towards liberation and equality had gathered unstoppable speed.

During the following decade, politicians attempted to solve the problem with legislation, but they always reacted too slowly. America’s black community was aflame with righteous indignation: sometimes it reacted with impatience, other times with rage. The result was a remarkable period of history in which the entire country was sucked into the drama of civil rights and black power. It was the time of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali and James Brown, the Freedom Riders and the Black Panthers. And it was also the golden era of a record company that became one of the largest black-owned businesses in America: Berry Gordy’s Motown Records Corporation.

Motown never set out to be a political force; it was simply a stable of incredible musical talent, which earned its reputation as Hitsville USA, the Sound of Young America. But during that time of civil rights marches and ghetto riots, liberation armies and black martyrs, all African-Americans were inevitably sucked into the conflict. Motown Records was no exception. Berry Gordy himself was a strong supporter of the prince of the non-violent civil rights movement, Martin Luther King; Motown even issued several albums of his speeches. As the racial heat increased, and Motown’s home city of Detroit erupted into blazing riots in the summer of 1967, it became impossible for Gordy and his artists to avoid the call of the times. Over the next six years, Motown not only founded a subsidiary label entirely devoted to the struggle for black power (Black Forum Records); it also allowed its artists to comment directly on the situation of black people in contemporary America. For the first time, you could hear the nation changing shape in the sounds that came out of Hitsville USA.

One of the ironies of Motown’s involvement with politics and civil rights is that a record the company had issued years earlier as a classic summertime anthem – Martha & The Vandellas’ ‘Dancing In The Street’ – took on a darker meaning as each summer brought the anguish of rioting to America’s biggest and most prosperous cities. So it was probably �tting that Martha Reeves and her group should also have recorded Motown’s first overt criticism of the Vietnam War. ‘I Should Be Proud’ was not exactly a militant call to arms, but its mixture of bereavement and bewilderment summed up the reaction of so many black families who had lost a loved one on the senseless battlefields of South-East Asia.

Motown’s first tentative steps towards commenting on the changing world outside the recording studio inspired a flurry of late 60s tracks that weren’t political, as such, but were inspired directly by current events. David Ruffin’s ‘Flower Child’, for example, came from the same counter-culture that was leading the protests against Vietnam. When Diana Ross And The Supremes complained ‘I’m Living In Shame’, they were re�ecting the deprivation of modern ghetto life. The Supremes also recorded two slightly uncomprehending accounts of the generation and race gaps that were opening up in American life, ‘Shadows Of Society’ and ‘The Young Folks’. The fact that Berry Gordy was allowing his flagship act to make even the most tentative comments on politics proves how unstoppable the thrust towards change had become.

Another taboo was broken by Bobby Taylor And The Vancouvers with their 1968 hit, ‘Does Your Mother Know About Me’. Like the Hollywood smash ‘Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner’, the song revolved around the scenario of an inter-racial romance. (Songwriter Tommy Chong, a member of The Vancouvers, later found fame as half of the Cheech & Chong comedy duo.)

Two seismic events shook Motown during the summer of 1967 – one from outside, one within. The Detroit riots caused devastation across the city, as young black men who were impatient with the racism of the local police department, their appalling living conditions, and the snail-like speed of change, clashed with police for days on end. Along the way, hundreds of buildings were destroyed by fire, scores of shops were looted, and many people were killed. The unrest undoubtedly encouraged Berry Gordy to think about moving the Motown headquarters to a safer location in Hollywood.

Meanwhile, Motown’s internal organization was thrown into chaos when the label’s leading production and writing team, Holland/Dozier/Holland, announced that they were leaving, and sued Gordy for alleged underpayment of royalties. Into their place stepped writer/producers Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong (the man who wrote and recorded the R&B standard ‘Money (That’s What I Want)’ at the start of the decade). Whitfield masterminded a new Motown sound, tougher and more rock-influenced than the classic Holland/Dozier/Holland style. His trademarks included the heavy use of fuzz and wah-wah guitar effects, James Brown-inspired funk rhythms, and songs that reflected the reality of American city life at the end of the 1960s.

Another Whitfield innovation was more controversial. Having penned some of the hardest-hitting R&B songs of all time with Barrett Strong, he recycled them amongst many of the Motown acts he was producing, subtly varying the arrangements every time. As a result, artists such as The Temptations, The Undisputed Truth and Edwin Starr often recorded the same songs. Although contemporary reviewers complained that record buyers were being shortchanged, in retrospect Whitfield’s methods offered a fascinating array of different interpretations of classic material.
Many of Whitfield and Strong’s most famous and politically potent songs are gathered on this album, but not always in their most familiar versions. It was Edwin Starr who scored a worldwide hit with the unforgettable ‘War’, for instance, but the song was actually first recorded by The Temptations. Both acts also recorded the equally powerful sequel, ‘Stop The War Now’, which was a smaller hit for Starr. He also recorded a version of ‘Cloud Nine’, a controversial portrait of psychedelic drug use which was a smash for The Temptations. As narcotics flooded America’s ghettos at the height of the late 60s black power movement, many activists blamed the government for trying to subdue militancy by getting a generation hooked on heroin, giving ‘Cloud Nine’ its political edge.

Riots, war, drugs – they were just part of the landscape of ‘Ball Of Confusion’, a Temptations hit that was revamped by Whitfield for another of his acts, The Undisputed Truth. Their shining moment was ‘Smiling Faces Sometimes’, a study in paranoia that struck a chord with anyone involved in black politics, as FBI informers did their best to provoke discord and violence between rival groups of activists. The Undisputed Truth also recorded a medley of The Temptations’ ‘Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite The World)’ and Gladys Knight & The Pips’ equally idealistic ‘Friendship Train’ – the original version of which is included here as well, to demonstrate how widely Whitfield’s productions could differ from one act to the next.

The Temptations were Whitfield’s most successful act, and they recorded two of the most uncompromising statements of black power issued by Motown in the late 60s, the Sly Stone-influenced ‘Slave’ and the self-explanatory ‘Message From A Black Man’. In the 70s, the group went through several personnel changes but retained their musical identity. ‘Masterpiece’ reworked the style of their smash hit ‘Papa Was A Rolling Stone’ to create a stunning panorama of ghetto life, while the more concise ‘Plastic Man’ also demonstrated Whitfield and Strong’s vein of social commentary.

Their musical and lyrical innovations encouraged other Motown artists to take similar risks. Nobody made better use of the new climate at Gordy’s label than Marvin Gaye, whose ‘What’s Going On’ album remains soul’s classic statement about the turmoil in American society at the start of the 70s. Three tracks from those sessions are included on this set, two of them presented in their original form before Gaye remixed and overdubbed the tracks one last time. As the 1972 presidential election neared with little sign of positive change, Marvin recorded the non-album single ‘You’re The Man’, a sardonic look at the emptiness of the candidates’ political promises.

His torch was carried on by Willie Hutch, who followed Marvin into the territory of blaxploitation soundtracks for films such as ‘The Mack’ and ‘Foxy Brown’. Sadly under-rated as an artist and songwriter, Hutch captured the black street experience of the early 70s on tracks such as ‘Life’s No Fun Living In The Ghetto’ and ‘Brother’s Gonna Work It Out’. By now the new mood of social questioning had touched the entire Motown roster of artists. R&B saxman Junior Walker recorded his own black power anthem, ‘Right On Brothers And Sisters’, while former Temptations frontman Eddie Kendricks cut the more desperate ‘My People... Hold On’. Reuben Howell, one of the lost voices of Motown during the early 70s, tapped into a similar vein with ‘Help The People’. Stevie Wonder collaborated with his wife, Syreeta Wright, on two magnificent albums during this period – and a highlight of her debut LP was ‘Black Maybe’, a questioning look at the long history of African-Americans’ struggle to survive.

That struggle continues to this day, but by the mid-70s it was possible at last to recognise the advances that had been made on civil rights issues over the previous decade. Poverty remained a fact of life for many African-Americans, of course, and it was the unlikely figure of Smokey Robinson – usually a chronicler of romance, not social issues – who recorded Motown’s most affecting study of ghetto deprivation. ‘Just My Soul Responding’ cleverly linked the African-American experience to the treatment of American Indians a century earlier. Times were changing, however, and no track on this album illustrates that fact better – in musical and political terms – than The Miracles’ playful ‘Ain’t Nobody Straight In LA’. Taken from their ‘City Of Angels’ concept album, it’s an exercise in dance music rather than funk, and it wouldn’t necessarily pass all the political correctness tests today. But it marks the end of a radical decade in which America’s most important black-owned label slowly came to terms with the growing militancy of the African-American community, and helped to shape its attitudes with soul music that remains as powerful today as it was more than thirty years ago.
Peter Doggett

Review:-

The Elgins Motown Anthology http://www.motown45.co.uk/

Info & Tracklist:- CD1
1 Darling Baby (stereo)
2 In The Midnight Hour
3 Heaven Must Have Sent You (stereo)
4 I Understand My Man (stereo)
5 Good Lovin’
6 It’s Gonna Be Hard Times (stereo)
7 Put Yourself In My Place (stereo)
8 634-5789
9 No Time For Tears
10 How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)
11 Stay In My Lonely Arms (stereo)
12 When A Man Loves A Woman
13 It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World (But It
wouldn’t be without a woman)* (mono)
14 For Your Precious Love*
15 I Still Love You* (mono)
16 That’s The Night The Love Died* (mono)
17 Love (Is The Answer)* (mono)
18 It’s Been A Long Long Time
(A long time) (stereo)
19 All For Just Lovin’ You* (mono)
20 My 2 Arms – You = Tears
(Cellarful Of Motown Version – mono)
21 Thank You Love* (mono)
22 Let’s Give Love Another Chance* (mono)
23 Another Hurt Like This* (mono)
24 When You Are Available* (mono)
25 Life Can Be Beautiful
When You’re In Love* (mono)
26 My Love For Your Love* (mono)
27 Love Where Are You Hiding*

CD2
1 Request Of A Fool The Downbeats (mono)
2 Don't You Know I Love You Baby
The Downbeats (mono)
3 Your Baby's Back The Downbeats (Alternate Mix – mono)
4 All I Got saundra mallett (mono)
5 Boo Hoo (You got me cryin’ over you)
saundra mallett (mono)
6 First Try At Love saundra mallett (mono)
7 Party Time The Downbeats (mono)
8 Until I Lost You The Downbeats (mono)
9 Camel Walk saundra mallett & The Vandellas (mono)
10 It's Gonna Be Hard Times
saundra mallett & The Vandellas (mono)
11 Lonely Boy The Downbeats (mono)
12 I Feel So Fine The Downbeats (mono)
13 I Want To Be With You The Downbeats (mono)
14 Let The Groove Roll On The Downbeats (mono)
15 You Say You Love Me The Downbeats (mono)
16 They Say You Don't Care The Downbeats (mono)
17 Do You Know What I'm Talking About
The Downbeats (mono)
18 PUT YOURSELF IN MY PLACE
The elgins - Single Version (mono)
19 DARLING BABY The elgins - Single Version (mono)
20 HEAVEN MUST HAVE SENT YOU
The elgins - Single Version (mono)
21 STAY IN MY LONELY ARMS
The elgins - Single Version (mono)
22 I UNDERSTAND MY MAN
The elgins - Single Version (mono)
23 IT'S BEEN A LONG LONG TIME (A long time) The elgins - Single Version (mono)

By the time The Downbeats walked through the doors of Hitsville back in the early 1960s, the group had already released two 45s under the name The Five Emeralds for the Detroit based S-R-C label, and also four singles as Sonny Woods And The Downbeats, for the Duke Record Company in Texas, on the Peacock label.
Robert Fleming, Johnny Dawson, Cleotha Duke Miller and Tommy Salisbury collectively knew Motown label boss Berry Gordy, as did their manager at the time, Robert West, the owner of the Lupine set-up, where further recordings are also rumoured to have taken place. Between them they set up an audition with Mr Gordy, who signed them to a contract as The Downbeats, recording their debut single ‘Your Baby’s Back’ on 5th November 1961, released with its B-side ‘Request Of A Fool’ (recorded 19th September 1961) in February 1962.
The 45, despite being one of the most soulful sides of its time, did little to dent the charts. For many years, certain discographies have persisted naming two releases for these sides. Catalogue numbers have been stated as 54026 and 54056. Given that the �rst listed reference falls some two years before the songs were recorded, it would app-ear this listing is an-other Motown Myth and indeed, no one involved in this compilation has ever seen a genuine 54026 pressing (or label scans for that matter) showing these two tracks. If 54026 does exist with these titles then the most likely explanation is a simple label misprint.
This obviously didn’t deter either the group members or label bosses as the group went onto record around a further dozen unreleased tracks. Rumours of an early LP planned for the Tamla label have yet to be proven. However, recent research has revealed that another release by The Downbeats in the all-male formation was contemplated for the VIP label in 1964. ‘Do You Know What I’m Talking About’ b/w ‘You Say You Love Me’ was originally scheduled for VIP-25007, a catalogue number later allocated to a certain girl group masterpiece. The majority of those vaulted recordings (including the two above) are to be found here.
At the same point, a solo female artist Saundra Mallett, aka Saundra Edwards, was recording her very own debut 45 in the studio with Berry Gordy, who drafted in Martha And The Vandellas to add weight to his quirky self-written and produced dance number ‘Camel Walk’. Saundra recalled many years later how she and Berry were sitting in the studio one day and he had this little tune running through his head. “He started playing around with it, he said one thing, I said another, and before I knew what was happening he had set up a recording session”.
How could that record not have been a huge hit? Marvin Gaye was on piano and the groove was tight. Its �ipside, the soulful ‘Its Gonna Be Hard Times’, would later resurface on The Elgins VIP long player ‘Darling Baby’. A further three recordings by the solo Saundra, locked away in the Motown Vaults, feature here.
With The Downbeats struggling for hits, Robert Fleming and Tommy Salisbury had departed. Saundra was too young to go out on the road to promote recordings on her own, so a get-together and change of name was suggested. The group re-emerged now including Norbert (aka Norman) McClean, a long-time pal of Dawson from their gospel days, and Saundra, using her married name of Edwards. Johnny Dawson came up with the name The Elgins which The Temptations had used, albeit brie�y, prior to recording for Gordy’s Miracle label. According to Johnny, the name, which is pronounced El-jins (and not with a hard ‘g’!), was adopted from his favourite brand of wristwatch.
United in the studio, the group now came under the watchful eye and production regime of Holland/Dozier/ Holland – the Hit Factory – how could they fail?
Their debut 45 under the new line-up was the now timeless Motown classic ‘Darling Baby’ (a track that took just 15 minutes and two takes to complete), coupled with ‘Put Yourself In My Place’, on the VIP imprint in December 1965. Things were moving apace – �rst pressings of this disc were credited to ‘The Downbeats’ then hurriedly over-labelled ‘The Elgins’.
With session musicians including Earl Van Dyke, James Jamerson and Benny Benjamin in the house, and the trio with the Midas touch at the helm, this 45 should have been a massive hit. Although both sides sold well regionally in the US, stardom didn’t beckon. Sandwiched between The Monitors ‘Say You’ and The Velvelettes ‘A Bird In The Hand’, both sides became �rm UK favourites, but it was to be their next single ‘Heaven Must Have Sent You’ that was to ultimately to become an all-time Motown evergreen. Released here in the UK on TMG 583 in November 1966, the track was not an instant success to say the least.
Almost seven months later, TMG 615, one of my favourite Elgins tracks ‘It’s Been A Long, Long Time’ did little to put their name up in lights, but the UK Motown of�ce were not giving up that easily. Early 1968 saw their �rst UK single on TMG 551 become TMG 642 with the re-release of ‘Put Yourself In My Place’ and ‘Darling Baby’, again to little or no success.
By now Saundra Mallett was in the process of leaving the group. She had decided that it was time to leave the business and concentrate on raising her family. She did not return to the recording studios until the Motorcity project in the late 1980s.
Three barren years passed until Tamla Motown UK decided it was time for one more push with the 1971 re-release on TMG 771 of ‘Heaven Must Have Sent You’, which �nally grabbed the UK record buying public’s attention and shot up the British charts, prompting US Motown to re-release the track in a remixed form in America, and also prompting the hurried reformation of the group with Yvonne Vernee Allen (a former Donay) to tour and promote the single and its UK follow-up on TMG 787, yet another airing of ‘Put Yourself In My Place’, this time with ‘It’s Gonna Be Hard Times’ on the �ip.
Despite high hopes for the new line-up, no further hits were to follow. The new Elgins toured the UK successfully several times, and in the 1980s were tracked down by Ian Levine for the Motorcity project, recording two LPs and several singles.
It has always been suspected that new recordings of The Elgins took place after Saundra had left the group, and here for the very �rst time we present three such tracks, the scrumptious typically Motown, ‘Life Can Be Beautiful When You Are In Love’, the delightful ‘My Love For Your Love’, and a version of ‘Love Where Are You Hiding’ so eloquently recorded by Martha Reeves And The Vandellas and recently released on their ‘Lost And Found’ album.
Along with two Shorty Long covers, where Johnny Dawson con�rms the group provided the backing vocals, a trio of tracks that have circulated for years on poor sounding tapes, the whole of the stereo ‘Darling Baby’ LP and the mono alternates, this collection substantially represents the Motown recordings from one of its longest surviving groups.
Paul Nixon, 2007.

Review:- The Elgins are personally very high up on my own personal agenda having a couple of classic motwon hits that were strong in my formative years and still sound exciting and even underplayed even today. So a number of thoughts go through your head, lets have a compilation enabling those and the better tracks to be readily available on Cd, a wonderment as to whether there are any unknown or lesser known tracks deserving attention, and why did they not become massive like other outfits of their time who maybe never even had anything as good as Heaven, or my place.

Well this comp , a historical perspective, a fairly comprehensive review from the early days (as detailed above) answers some of those question. Yes the top tracks really were at the upper echelons of the Motown Sound, yes there are a few tracks morth digging out, but overall there is nothing particularly exceptional marking them out for superstardom.I am therefore left with the thought, would it be better to have been left with what I knew before, as at that point they were superstars of my own agenda at least.

Just picking out a few highlights that grabbed me. I love the simplistic beauty of Darling Baby the opening track with back up harmonies to die for, competing with horns and piano for attention. No time for tears is a sublime ballad with similar qualities, that is a strong emotive lead against some sweet harmonies. Sat in my lonely arms is also a stunner. That’s the night that love died is fairly typical motown fare, but is actually quite a nice dancer.

My 2 arms is a bit of a stomper. When you are available is mellow, midtempo and pretty wonderful. Love where you are hiding has that full motown sound.

CD2 is a mix of stuff for interest, thoroughness and for completeists. Until I lost you is a good ballad, and Its gonna be hard times is an excellent example of early soul. Much of the rest (up to about track 15) is R’n’B or even R’n’R. You say you love me as the Downbeats is an oddity, starting off very much like That Girl (Porgy and the Monarchs) and then drifts into a Jackie Wilson style Rock’n Roll break and then back again. They say you love me is a fantastic piece of midtempo Northern Soul. After track 15 we move into the classic Motown era and sound

Most of the rest is either fabulously well known and top notch, or pretty uninspiring.

The Birmingham Sound – The Soul of Neal Hemphill Vol 1 http://www.myspace.com/thebirminghamsound

The Birmingham Sound: The Soul of Neal Hemphill celebrates the body of work recorded at the original Sound of Birmingham and Hemphill Studios in the working-class suburb of Midfield, AL. Although the material from these studios crossed all genres this compilation focuses on the soul music produced from the mid ‘60s till the late ‘70s. Neal Hemphill was a plumber by trade with a deep passion for music. He opened a studio in the basement of his plumbing shop to record local and touring acts and named it the Sound of Birmingham. The one difference between Neal’s studio and the others was that he welcomed all kinds of music by anybody willing to come in and play him a song. Some of that young talent was songwriters and performers like Frederick Knight, Roger Hallmark, Jerry Weaver, and Sam Dees, and Neal offered them staffed positions at the studio. Country songwriters, aspiring soul shouters, gospel quartets, top 40 pop hopefuls, and gritty young armory garage acts all came through and most were offered publishing deals and releases on one of Neal’s imprints: Sound of Birmingham, Hemphill, or Crown LTD. The studio received it’s first gold record with Frederick Knight’s ‘I’ve Been Lonely for So Long’ on Stax Records, which brought more attention and artists to the studio. Eventually, Neal decided to build a new, larger studio separate from the plumbing shop. A new facility was built next door to Hemphill Plumbing and happened to be equipped with the 16-track board from Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland Studio. The Sound of Birmingham recorded more sessions and drew larger clients as well as more qualified staff like Roscoe Robinson, who stayed with Hemphill throughout the ‘80s. In 1975 Neal suffered a heart attack that left the future of the Sound of Birmingham unknown. Don Mosley purchased the studio, moved the equipment into Birmingham, and utilized the notoriety of the name in his new location. Neal recovered and was eager to not only return to his plumbing business, but also to get back in the studio. Since he had the vacant building Neal opened Hemphill Studios with new equipment but the same set of open-door principles that made him an innovator with the Sound of Birmingham. Many artists and writers returned to work with Neal and the studio ran into the ‘80s. Neal Hemphill Sr. passed away in 1985, leaving a rich legacy of Southern music. Frederick Knight later wrote the disco anthem ‘Ring my Bell’, Sam Dees penned ‘One in a Million You’ recorded by Larry Graham, David Sea currently tours with the Dennis Edward’s Temptations Review, and most studios in the city are run by somebody that worked with Neal at some point in their careers. From that studio in a basement on Bessemer Super Highway, Neal Hemphill built not only influence in the world of Southern music, but respect. If you’re fortunate enough to find yourself in Birmingham, in the company of seasoned musicians, just mention Neal’s name and watch the smiles emerge and the heads nod. The words, “never a nicer man in the music industry,” are sure to be uttered, and sincerely meant. Growing up in the Chicago-land area, the extent of my education about Birmingham began and ended with the Civil Rights struggle as well as the outside forces that facilitated change. The 23 tracks on The Birmingham Sound: The Soul of Neal Hemphill are a rare glimpse into the beautiful output from a group of artists who based the discrimination of their peers on their ability to sing and write a song in a city historically known for violence and racial divide. More importantly, this compilation celebrates the foresight of a visionary man who brought these artists together. Besides the music, the CD is packed with insights Into Birmingham, Neal Hemphill, his studios, and the artists that worked with him by many of the Sound of Birmingham/Hemphill Studios alumni as well as a special contribution by legendary Birmingham radio personality Shelley Stewart.

An interesting and well packaged compilation covering the whole gamut of Southern styled soul, excellent sleeve notes and some wonderful passionate and emotionally charged music and including some top names like Sam Dees and Frederick Knight amongst others.

And speaking of emotionally charged there is not more so than the openeing track from the pretty muck unknown Little Lois Barber on "Specify". She also features on ‘Thank You Baby"which is slightly lighter Stax influences, more instant maybe but not anywhere as near as strong and contains some weird and irritating noises, but we’ll forgive that for Specify which is special.

In the Uk and maybe elsewhere David Sea has a bit of a cult status and his two tracks come fairly near the top of the tracks on this album "Believe in Me" and "Let's Just Get Together", his strong voice in evidence throughout but its on the latter soul track that comes over the best.

The Blue Notes are not the more well known outfit of the same name, : "Even If You Got Love" is a driving upbeat stormer, which suffers a bit on sound quality but is strong enough to carry it through. "High Time" is actually quite catchy and commercial sounding. Frederick Frederick Knight is arguably the most commercially well known artist on here with a hard sounding "Here After I'm Hereafter" and a lighter and sweeter and preferable (to me) ‘You've Never Really Lived" with some nice harmonies and a lead in the higher ranges.

Variety is provided with an instrumental deep pounding funk of Cold Grits and "Funky Soul". Eddie Steele provides a motown-esque groove with a Southern hardness on "Groove Me Mamma" "Self" however is much funkier. Pat Peterman’s "I Love the Way You Do Your Thing" is also upbeat and Detroitesque, whilst "You Gonna Reap It" is more my kind of thing , strong powerful deep soul vocals over an efficient but not overwhelming production.

Chuck Strong features on "I Got Married Too Soon" and "I Thought It Over", once again it is the slower latter cut with female backups, that scores for me with Chuck’s distinctive tones. Ralph "Soul" Jackson’s two cuts again are different and are probably the two most powerful tracks on show (and available also on 7” vinyl), "Set Me Free".a wonderful upbeat (northern) track with exceptional vocals and harmonies carrying the track, great stuff indeed. "Take Me Back" is slower but the female backing whilst distant complements perfectly the gritty vocal.

Roscoe Robinson again is probably more well known than most as he arrived at the label with a track record, "Let Me Be Myself" and Two Heart Accident" the latter a gut wrenching deep soul ballad. Bill "Butterbean" Flippo adds another style, swamp style and a bit of fun on "Love Keeps Hanging On"

Broadneck’s "Psychedelic Excursion" is well exactly that! And their "California Cool Ride" is well, just that as well! The great Sam Dees features on a typical, if not a bit country, "Train to Tampa"

All in all a varied, interesting but most of all consistent and very good, a very lovingly put together package.

Tracklist:

01 Little Lois Barber: "Specify", 02 David Sea: "Believe in Me" 03 The Blue Notes: "Even If You Got Love" 04 Frederick Knight: "Here After I'm Hereafter"
05 Cold Grits: "Funky Soul" 06 Eddie Steele: "Groove Me Mamma" 07 Pat Peterman: "I Love the Way You Do Your Thing" 08 Chuck Strong: "I Got Married Too Soon" 09 Ralph "Soul" Jackson: "Set Me Free" 10 Roscoe Robinson: "Let Me Be Myself" 11 Bill "Butterbean" Flippo: "Love Keeps Hanging On" 12 Broadneck: "Psychedelic Excursion" 13 Little Lois Barber: "Thank You Baby" 14 The Blue Notes: "High Time" 15 Chuck Strong: "I Thought It Over"
16 Frederick Knight: "You've Never Really Lived" 17 Pat Peterman: "You Gonna Reap It" 18 Sam Dees: "Train to Tampa" 19 Roscoe Robinson: "Two Heart Accident" 20 David Sea: "Let's Just Get Together" 21 Ralph "Soul" Jackson: "Take Me Back" 22 Broadneck: "California Cool Ride" 23 Eddie Steele: "Self"

All Platinum Girls – The Belles of New York

Review – A wonderful compilation, one of the best for a very long time, containing the very best of All Platinum and related labels. Material covers a range of known, unknown, deep, northern, soul, gospel, the expectedand the unexpected, with excellent sleeve notes as well.

Just to pick out a sample of highlights.

There are 4 tracks from Norma Jenkins, two which have not been released before. The opener Cowards Way out is simply sublime, strong vocals, great harmonies and a vibe to die for. The punchy One girl too many runs it close.

Susan Phillips, more out of the George Kerr stable, is also featured on 4 tracks. He knows my key is wonderful for its simplicity, midempo heaven.

Lezli Valentine’s opener is standard ‘Northern’ fare but the dreamy ballad b side is OK.

The Heartstoppers barnstormer Marching out of your life is one of four featured tracks again, but the Geraldine Curry track you’re so wonderful is maybe the best of the lot. One of th e girls also has a track , Little Betty Baker.

Linda Jones is simply the best and it is always great to see her songs get an airing,, the cd2 tracks being the best cuts if I have to express a preference.

On to th e two trackers the obvious Barbara Jean English ‘Northern track’ is included but Breakin up is a far better track

The unknown Linda Glass’s before love is a fairly pleasant northern offering.

Retta Youngs material is always worth a listen and my preference here is for the swirling Really Really.

Sylvia herself is featured on a persistent and very nice I got it, a messy good life and the obligatory Pillow Talk.

Gloria spenser adds some interest (see the sleeve notes) and some gospel. Jeanette Whites tracks are equally strong, one midpaced and the other frantic.

Eleanore mills has a very under emphasied but equally infectious vocal and is feature on 3 traks including Stop acusing me.

Two previously (out of 3) unavailable and wonderful Jean Carn tracks including the excellentLittle bit of your love

Lisa Danielle cut some of the latest material , a bit deneicy in style and not really for me I’m afraid.

George Kerr’s daughter Tracy turns up on a sadly uninteresting good thing going, and theres’ one unknown track to finish.

And a couple of candi Staton tracks, as always gems.

And that’s about it, great stuff indeed,

Disc: 1 1. Coward's Way Out - Jenkins, Norma 2. He Knows My Key (Is Always In The Mailbox) - Phillips, Susan 3. I Won't Do Anything - Valentine, Lezli 4. Marching Out Of Your Life - Heartstoppers 5. I'm So Glad I Found You - Jones, Linda & The Moments 6. I'm Living A Lie - English, Barbara Jean 7. Where Does The Love Go - Jenkins, Norma 8. Before Love Beats Me Going - Glass, Linda 9. My Man Is On His Way - Young, Retta 10. You're So Wonderful - Curry, Geraldine & The Heartstoppers 11. Just What The Doctor Ordered - Baker, 'Little' Betty 12. Please Don't Keep Me Lonely - Phillips, Susan 13. I Can't Help It - Sylvia (3) 14. I Got It - Spencer, Gloria 15. No Sunshine - White, Jeanette 16. Ice Is Melting - Heartstoppers 17. I'm So Lost - Valentine, Lezli 18. When Hurt Comes Back - Jones, Linda 19. How Can I Love You - Mills, Eleanore 20. Little Bit Of Your Love - Carn, Jean 21. You're All I Need - Danielle, Lisa 22. Hurry Sundown - Staton, Candi Disc: 2 1. Comin' Or Goin' - English, Barbara Jean 2. One Girl Too Many - Jenkins, Norma 3. Answer To A Prayer - Phillips, Susan 4. Stop Accusing Me - Mills, Eleanore 5. If Only We Had Met Sooner - Jones, Linda 6. Stop Boy (What You're Doing Is Wrong) - Baker, 'Little' Betty 7. Breakin' Up A Happy Home - English, Barbara Jean 8. I Don't Care Anymore - Hills, Beverley 9. Go Home To Your Wife - Jenkins, Norma 10. Courtin' M