Cellarful Of Soul PAUL RITCHIE is spoilt by this issue’s particularly boss selection of soulful sounds.


Soul siren VICKI ANDERSON gave James Brown a bit more than “ants in his pants” but any amorous advances the hardest working man in show business made were quickly spurned. Anderson eventually married his right hand man Bobby Byrd, leaving JB to


coax the best out of her in the studio. Wide Awake In A Dream (BGP) features a fab collection of JB productions from her pre-funk years. You can see what Brown saw in her, she had the looks and a voice to die for.The lead track, ‘I Love You’, explodes from the speakers, horns punch like a heavyweight champion and the band swing with hip-shaking nous. It’s got a JB stamp all over it but Anderson’s unfailingly wild, domineering voice brings out the funk. For funk, read sex, clearly this girl was not for taming. Lord knows, what young, impressionable red blooded males thought about this wild frivolity back in 1964 but listening to these sultry numbers right now, I can feel a stirring in my loins. Oo-er missus. Next!


Perhaps PASTOR TL BARRETT AND THE YOUTH FOR CHRIST CHOIR can help my meandering promiscuous thoughts. Its times like this I probably need some funky divine intervention. Regular members of our clergy may recall the aforementioned


Pastor, whose ethereal ‘Like A Ship’ first featured on the Numero comp Good God! Born Again Funk reviewed in issue 14. In ’71 the well-connected reverend took a mightily impressive large choir into Sound Market Studio in Chicago and released a long player of spiritual songs; unwittingly creating a funky soulful gospel classic titled Like A Ship (Without A Sail) (Light In The Attic). The gigantic choir soar throughout, spectacularly so over the rolling fluid rhythms of ‘Nobody Knows’ and the driving Sly Stone funky beat on ‘Joyful Noise’. Barrett himself was no slouch, sounding like a dead ringer for Donny Hathaway on the majestic ‘Wonderful’. There’s a sort of stoned psychedelic ambience going down which was clearly unintentional but all the more enticing.


Speaking of spiritual places, it’s quite believable that a place like Memphis, so rich in musical heritage, could still be home to undiscovered jewels. If all you heard was Elvis on the airwaves 24/7 and the sound of Stax from across the tracks, there can’t have been a


need to dig any deeper.Where would you find the time? Fast forward to today and what a greedy unfulfilled breed we are.We are the generation that wants more with a bit more on top please, if you don’t mind.Well, for those who need their soul, like some folks need fast food, check out the third and final appetising volume from the XL/Sounds Of Memphis labels. Dean Rudland has done a sterling job with this rewarding series and Steppin’ Stone: The XL And Sounds Of Memphis Story Volume 3 (Kent) shows no signs of any drop in quality, with yet more quintessential treasures from the vaults of the little known label. If you’ve got the previous volumes you won’t need much convincing.Anyone else seeking sublime country-tinged ’70s soul; begin here. All in all, this series has been a real breath of fresh air.


Staying in Memphis, SPENCER WIGGINS’ Feed The Flame: The Fame And XL Recordings (Kent) picks up from the singer’s previously compiled Goldwax period, with sides he recorded for Fame and Sounds Of Memphis. Fans of southern soul will already be smitten


by his richly expressive voice, which came from the church, wrought with raw emotion, with a preacher-like execution. Over half of these tracks are previously unreleased and many too come from the pen of quality writers such as George Jackson and Dan Greer.The playing is superb, typical of that period, post Otis, where Memphis soul could do no wrong. By ’73 Spencer, frustrated by a lack of success, had quit the business but not before leaving this impressive body of work behind.


Moving to the West Coast in ’68 FREDDIE HUGHES released Send My Baby Back on Wand. It’s reissued on Kent here with over a dozen bonus tracks. The album was short on dancers with a slower tempo throughout. Hughes’ high pitched holler is the only notable stand


out on a passable affair, save for some stirring deep soul in the shape of ‘He’s No Good’. More appealing are the Sam & Dave-like duets recorded under the guise of The Cassanova II or The Soul Brothers who were clearly influenced by Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions.


We are Philadelphia bound next. MORRIS BAILEY JR is a not a familiar name to fans of Philly Soul but his songs have been covered by Nina Simone, Billy Paul, The Spinners and Wilson Pickett to name a few. The Philly Sound You Never Heard (Funkadelphia) is a separate two-volume set; volume


Three songs: ‘You Hit Me (Right Where It Hurt Me)’, ‘Don’t You Care’ and ‘Never Did I Stop Loving You’. That’s all it took to put ALICE CLARK on our radar. Three gutsy, soaring, breezy gems that are as essential as the air I breathe. The latter two were previously reissued and


popularised by Acid Jazz in the early ’90s and the former is a big Northern tune. These tracks and more are included on The Complete Studio Recordings 1968-1972 (BGP). It wasn’t a lack of talent or ambition that thwarted Alice in her prime. On her sole long player, her delivery was confident and assured, she really gives it her all. The clear production and funky jazz arrangements sound like no expense was spared either. One can’t help wondering, had the name Aretha Franklin adorned the cover, perhaps we’d be hearing a different story.The bittersweet irony behind this brilliance is that no one knows what became of Alice and she is most definitely unaware of how much loved her music is today.


What became of Alice? The brilliant Miss Clark during a rare studio session.


one features the boys; volume two, the girls – all Bailey productions. The early girly stuff is a bit cutesy and dated, painfully so in parts. There’s a big improvement with the funkier late ’60s material such as Ronnie & Joyce’s pounding floor filler ‘We Got The


Feeling’, the excellent Honey & The Bees with their mercurial ‘Dynamite Exploded’ and The Cooperettes of ‘Shing-A-Ling’ fame with the broody ‘Trouble’. Volume One is a more assured and interesting set. The Orientals’ floater ‘Soul Ain’t You Thrilled’ showed off their group harmony skills, perfect for the dance floor whilst the strange ‘Oriental Flower’ has an altogether otherworldly feel about it. The funkier side of Philly is represented well in the later half of the CD covering the late ’60s through to ’76 with Tyrone Chestnut’s primal ‘The Bump’ and the tough ‘Having A Ball’ by Essau Isaacs. A welcome contrast to the slicker Gamble & Huff productions normally associated with Philly soul.


Finally it’s compilation time. Skipping past the first track, a needless instrumental which sounds more suited to the cinema than a club, you arrive at the urgent echo-laden ‘Love Slave’ by The Antellects and you know you are in the right room. From here on in, Northern


Soul’s Classiest Rarities Volume 4 (Kent) is pretty much a clean sweep of bona fide classics. You know the old adage that cynics have – usually a record is rare for a reason? Well not so here, we are talking wow factor here... The Tiaras, Troy Dodds, Jesse James, The Hytones, Sam Nesbit and we’ve not even got to best bit yet. This arrives with Salt & Pepper and Eleanor Rigby – two jaw- dropping funky delights: sheer perfection for those who like their soul with a harder edge. There’s plenty more besides, but with space at a premium here, you’ll have to take my word for it. Go buy!


www.acerecords.co.uk www.lightintheattic.net


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