Cellarful Of Soul “C…O…O…L” spells out PAUL RITCHIE as he loses himself in a swirl of soul, funk, jazz and northern sounds.


As a band name THE 8TH DAY hardly roles off the tongue, which may go some way to explaining why they are not revered alongside more famous acts such as Chairman Of The Board. A new set coupling The 8th Day and I Gotta Get Home (Edsel


2-CD) looks set to put the record straight, featuring everything the group recorded for the Invictus and Hot Wax labels. The band began as a studio project before permanent members were added but that didn’t stop their debut album sounding anything other than wholesome. From the first bars of ‘She’s Not Just Another Woman’, a


funky soul gem featuring the ace gutsy vocals of Clyde Wilson aka northern soul favourite Steve Mancha, you know you are onto a winner. They eventually settled on another mighty fine vocalist in Melvin Davis, and the feel-good vibes of the Sam Cooke inspired ‘La-De-Dah’ and the slower paced torch song ‘I’m Worried’ demonstrate the versatility on show. The second album stretched out further with a touch of Sly & The Family Stone across a number of gospel-fused tracks but the real highlights include the groovy instrumentals, ‘Cheeba’ and ‘Anything’ alongside the heavenly ‘You Made Me Over’, a modern soul anthem in waiting. The epic ‘Get Your Mind Straight’ is a breathtaking hybrid of Hendrix- inspired guitar and idyllic Crosby, Stills & Nash harmonies over a foreboding military beat.


The third instalment of the Goldwax singles anthology covers the final days of the label from 1967-70. This essential series has covered all the classic singles as well as unearthing some equally worthy long lost rarities. The Complete Goldwax


Singles Volume 3 (Ace) includes The Ovations’ uplifting ‘I’m Living Good’, James Carr’s bouncy dancer ‘Gonna Send You Back To Georgia’ and Spencer Wiggins’ deep soul classic ‘The Power Of A Woman’. Lesser-known names like Percy Milem, Timmy Thomas and Wee Willie Walker were no slouches either. The label’s straight-laced country output hinders the southern soul flow and should have been compiled on a separate CD.


Why Not Tonight?: The Fame Recordings Volume 2 (Kent) by JIMMY HUGHES consists of mainly church-like confessionals led by a haunting echo-laden and bluesy pleading voice. This is quintessential southern soul but the


polished sound may lack a youthful urgency for some. Only the driving organ, pounding beats and punching horns on ‘It Ain’t What You Got’ really get the pulses racing.


RUTH COPELAND was famous for her ballsy version of the Stones’ ‘Gimme Shelter’. Her journey to Detroit took this Geordie lass to Invictus, the label of ex-Motown legends Holland-Dozier- Holland. Her two albums, Self Portrait and I Am


What I Am (Edsel 2-CD) have been packaged together with 58


Staying in The Motor City, Westbound Detroit Northern Soul (Kent) is a fantasy league of stellar crossover soul from the late ’60s and early ’70s. The roots of a thousand disco records can be heard on Damon Shawn’s version of ‘Feel The Need’


– a tough guy, pre-sequins take on the famous Detroit Emeralds classic, originally released in ’71. Whilst the bulk of this CD has a pre-disco feel to it there’s quite a good mix of styles to tempt all soul lovers. There is an uncharacteristic soul floater credited to Funkadelic, which comes straight from the barber shop. The Houston Outlaws’ scorcher ‘Ain’t No Telling’ is quintessential northern soul. The New Holidays’ ‘Maybe So, Maybe No’ was recently covered by nu-soul star Mayer Hawthorne and the original is top notch harmony soul with a great funky backbeat worthy of the admission price alone.


If there was a stately home for soul music no doubt LOU JOHNSON would be lord of the manor, his classy rich vocal sounds made for opulent surroundings, the perfect match for those silk-cut Bacharach and David compositions


included on Incomparable Soul Vocalist: Big Top Recordings (Kent). There’s not much beyond the uptown northern soul classic, ‘Unsatisfied’, to move the feet but for Bacharach fans, Lou’s eloquent soulful vocals beat other syrupy interpretations hands down.


For the bulk of London Street Jazz 1988-2009: 21 Years Of Acid Jazz (BGP) I’m in a jazz wonderland, blowing smoke signals that spell outno comma “C…O…O…L” into the late night Soho air. Album opener ‘This’ by The Filthy


Six is just too cool for school and perfectly sums up the retro- modern ethos of the label. Only when things get a bit too heady does the expression “turn it? off!” enter my wandering thoughts and bring me back down to earth. Back in the day, Acid Jazz made jazz hip again, upsetting the purists along the way.This dapper compilation is a perfect introduction for dipping your toe into a world of herb-smoking music college types clutching not milk bottles, but Blue Note LPs to their hearts.


Ruth Copeland


bonus tracks. Her debut was a patchy affair to say the least. ‘The Music Box’ was as good as blue-eyed soul gets but some of the songs sound like show tunes – more Broadway than Motor City. Getting to the end of the excruciatingly indulgent ‘Un Bel Di’ requires some stamina. Her second album was a vast improvement, a rockier and


much more focused affair. The slow burning ‘Play With Fire’ has a hard-edged menace and the aforementioned ‘Gimme Shelter’ has plenty more voodoo than the Stones’ version, with notable contributions from Eddie Hazel (guitar) and Barnard Worrall (organ). ‘Crying Has Made Me Stronger’ is a beautifully damaged, down-on-your-knees soul ballad – her best record. George Clinton was a close collaborator making this a curio for P-funk fans.


Album number four has arrived from SHARON JONES & THE DAP KINGS, a band I’m itching to see live. I Learned The Hard Way (Daptone) needs to sell like those Any [sic] Winehouse types for me to have my wish granted. This album,


like its predecessor, hints at a more soulful direction from the acclaimed deep funk sound of the impressive first two long players. As competent as the Stax-like balladry sounds, it’s the funkier sounds that have the edge, like the broody ‘Better Things’. Alas, there is a sense of treading water on show here which is a shame for long time admirers expecting, by now, a great leap forward.


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