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The Monitors – Say You! – The Complete Motown Anthology 1963-1968 – Kent CDTOP 355 

All For Someone / Anything / Baby Make Your Own Sweet Music / Bring Back The Love / Cry / Crying In The Night / Don't Put Off 'Til Tomorrow What You Can Do Today / Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam) / Guilty / I'm In Love With You Baby / It Only Happens When Love Is Gone / My Love Grows Stronger / Number One In Your Heart / Poor Side Of Town / Say You / Serve Yourself A Cup Of Happiness / Share A Little Love With Me (Somebody) / Show Me You Can Dance / Since I Lost You Girl / Step By Step (Hand In Hand) / The Further You Look, The Less You See / The Letter / Time Is Passing By / Too Busy Thinking About My Baby / You Share The Blame / You're So Fine And Sweet 

I should just repeat the comments I’ve already made on the Marv Johnson and Patrice Holloway CDs, but just for the record: The whole of the ‘Greetings We’re The Monitors’ LP, two non album ‘B’ sides of singles, and a further twelve previously unreleased tracks !
 

Patrice Holloway – Love & Desire – Kent CDKEND 354 

Come Into My Palace (Brenda & Patrice Holloway) / (He Is) The Boy Of My Dreams / All That's Good / Black Mother Goose / Crying / Ecstasy / Evidence / Face In The Crowd / Flippitty Flop / For The Love Of Mike / I Got To Change / Love And Desire / Love Walked Right In / Lucky My Boy / My 2 Arms - You = Tears / Stay With Your Own Kind / Stevie / Stolen Hours / Surf Stomp Aka Beach Stomp / Tall Boy / That's All You Got To Do / That's The Chance You Gotta Take / The Go Gang / The Touch Of Venus / Those Dj Shows

It just keeps getting better doesn’t it ! All the single releases from the Capitoil label, the horrendously rare VIP single, four tracks that are CD release only, and a further ten previously unreleased Motown recordings. As I’ve said before, for Kent to gain access to the Motown vaults is wonderful news, because you just know they are going to get it right every time. Another one that you should just go out and buy.
 

Candi Staton – Evidence – The Complete Fame Records Masters – Kent CDKEN2 353 

Another Man's Woman, Another Woman's Man / Are You Just Building Me Up / Blackmail / Darling You're All That I Need / Do It In The Name Of Love / Do Right Woman / Do Your Duty / Evidence / For You / Freedom Is Just Beyond The Door / Get It When I Want It / He Called Me Baby / Heart On A String / How Can I Put Out The Flame (When You Keep The Fire Burning) / I Gave A Little And Lost A Lot / I'd Rather Be An Old Man's Sweetheart (Than A Young Man's Fool) / I'll Be Here / I'll Drop Everything And Come Running / I'm Gonna Hold On (To What I Got This Time) / I'm Just A Prisoner (Of Your Good Lovin') / In The Ghetto It's Not Love / Jolene / Love Chain / Lovin' The Easy Way / Lovin' You Lovin' Me / Mr And Mrs Untrue / Never In Public / One More Hurt / Slipping Away / Someone You Use / Something's Burning / Spread Your Love On Me / Stand By Your Man / Sure As Sin / Sweet Feeling / That Old Time Feeling Aka Sweet Feeling / That's How Strong My Love Is / The Best Thing You Ever Had / The Thanks I Get For Loving You / To Hear You Say You're Mine / Too Hurt Too Cry / Trouble, Heartaches And Sadness / Wanted: Lover / We Had It All / What Would Become Of Me / Where Were You / You Don't Love Me No More 

48 tracks, 12 previously unreleased, all recorded at the Fame label, and all produced by Rick Hall. If you like your femme Soul, sultry, deep, uptempo, mid-tempo, but most of all classy, it’s all here. Just go out and buy it !
 

O C Tolbert – Black Diamond, Dave Hamilton’s Detroit Masters - Kent CDKEND 352 

King Diamond - A Message To The Black Woman / O C Tolbert - All I Want Is You / O C Tolbert - Along Came A Woman / O C Tolbert - Back To The Dust / O C Tolbert - Everybody Wants To Do Their Own Thing / O C Tolbert - Fix It / O C Tolbert - Give It To Glory / O C Tolbert – Goodness / O C Tolbert - Hard Times / O C Tolbert - I'll Take It All / O C Tolbert - I'm Shooting High (I Reach For The Sky)  / O C Tolbert - Let Me Be Your Only Man / O C Tolbert - Message To Mankind / O C Tolbert - Rough Side Of The Mountain / O C Tolbert - Somebody Is Here With Me / O C Tolbert - That's All She Wrote / O C Tolbert - That's Enough / O C Tolbert - The Grown Folks Thing / O C Tolbert - Where Were You? / O C Tolbert - You Gotta Hold On Me / Rev. O C Tolbert - You Got Me Turned Around 

It makes you wonder why Dave Hamilton never made it as a really big name producer / arranger in Detroit ? Since Kent have had access to the Master Tapes they have produced several CDs of top quality Soul recordings from a variety of artists. This CD pulls together all of the O C Tolbert recordings, most of which were never issued at the time of their recording. There isn’t really a duff track amongst them though, and although several have already been released on previous Dave Hamilton CDs on Kent, this is a chance to hear them again, along with a further twelve previously unreleased tracks as well. The booklet is well up to the usual standards with photos of labels, master tapes, sheet music, and wonderful notes from Ady Croasdell himself.
 

Marv Johnson- I’ll Pick A Rose For My Rose – The Complete Motown Recordings 1964 – 1971 – Kent CDTOP351 

Another Lonely Night (Completes Another Empty Day) / Bad Girl / Everybody's Gotta Pay Some Dues / Farewell Is A Lonely Sound / I Miss You Baby (How I Miss You) / I Miss You Baby (How I Miss You) / I Wish I Liked You (As Much As I Love You) / I'll Pick A Rose For My Rose / I'll Pick A Rose For My Rose / I'm Not A Plaything / I'm Not A Plaything / Just Look Through Your Window At The World / Just The Way You Are / Just The Way You Are / Let's Talk It Over / S.O.S. (Girl In Distress) / Save My Love For A Rainy Day / She's All I Need (In This World) / Sleep (Little One / So Glad You Chose Me / There Goes A Lonely Man / Understanding / Why Do You Want To Let Me Go / Why Do You Want To Let Me Go / You Got The Love I Love / You Got The Love I Love 

You just know it makes sense that Ace / Kent get the rights to issue Motown’s back catalogue, because you know they will do a superb job. And that’s what they have done here. All of the ‘I’ll Pick A Rose For My Rose’ LP, four tracks that have only been released on a Motown CD before, five more previously unreleased tracks, and the Mono single mixes of a further six tracks (which accounts for the tracks being listed twice). Loads of photos and label scans in the great booklet. Top, top job ! Well done Kent.
 

Various Artists – Come Together, Black America Sings Lennon & McCartney – Ace CDCHD1300 

Back In The USSR - Chubby Checker / We Can Work It Out -Maxine Brown / Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey - Fats Domino / Ticket To Ride - Wee Willie Walker / Good Day Sunshine - Roy Redmond / Please Please Me - Mary Wells / Eleanor Rigby - Gene Chandler / And I Love Her - The Vibrations / Come Together - Chairmen Of The Board / Blackbird - Billy Preston / Paperback Writer - R.B. Greaves / Rocky Raccoon - The Moments / Drive My Car - Black Heat / Lady Madonna - Junior Parker / Help - David Porter / Yesterday - Linda Jones / Day Tripper (Take 4) - Otis Redding / Why Don't We Do It In The Road - Lowell Fulsom / I Saw Her  Standing There - Little Richard / Don't Let Me Down - Donald Height / Get Back - The Main Ingredient / The Long And Winding Road - The New Birth / I Want To Hold Your Hand - Al Green / Let It Be - Aretha Franklin 

Bit of a strange one for me, never having been a Beatles fan, I don’t know their versions of the majority of the songs on this CD (Obviously I know the hits, but that’s about it), so I have nothing to compare these tracks to. Which is probably a good thing because they all stand up as perfectly good recordings in their own right, and making the comparisons would probably spoil some of them for me. A nice tribute though to the songwriting taklents of Lennon & McCartney.
 

Etta James - Who’s Blue ? Rare Chess Recordings Of The 60s And 70s – CDKEND345

Only A Fool / Take Out Some Insurance / I'm So Glad (I Found Love In You) / (I Don't Need Nobody To Tell Me) How To Treat My Man / Fire / I've Been A Fool / You're The Fool / Can't Shake It / Do Right / Nobody But You / Seven Day Fool / That Man Belongs Back Here With Me / Look Who's Blue / It Could Happen To You / Street Of Tears / Don't Pick Me For Your Fool / Are My Thoughts With You / My Man Is Together / I'm Sorry For You / Let Me Know / What Fools We Mortals Be / Sweet Memories

It’s impossible to put Etta James in one musical genre. Blues singer, Jazz singer, Soul singer, R & B singer ? All of them ! This compilation of some of her rarer singles and album tracks from the Chess group of labels shows off every single one of those styles, and very well too. There is, of course, the obligatory previously unreleased track on the CD, and to be quite honest I think it’s the best track on there. ‘Can’t Shake It’ is so wonderful I’ve had it on repeat on the player for nearly thirty minutes now !
 

Various Artists - Manhattan Soul: Scepter, Wand & Musicor – CDKEND 347

Marie Knight - That's No Way To Treat A Girl / Maxine Brown - I Want A Guarantee / Porgy & The Monarchs - It's A Dream I've Always Had Aka Hey Girl / Platters - I Love You 1,000 Times / Tabs - Take My Love Along With You / Helen Henry - A Little Bit Of Heartbreak / Ed Townsend - Stick By Me / Johnny Maestro & The Crests - Afraid Of Love / J.B. Troy - Live On / Jerry Fischer & The Nightbeats - I've Got To Find Someone To Love Me / Lee Thomas – Millionaire / Dan & The Clean Cuts - Walking With Pride / Buckeye Politicians - Girl I Could Love You More / Winfield Parker - Will There Ever Be Another Love For Me / Patti Jo - Ain't No Love Lost / Ann Bailey - Sweeping Your Dirt Under My Rug / Jackie Moore - The Same Change / Betty Moorer - Speed Up / Diane Lewis - Without Your Love / Shirelles - One Time Too Many / Toys - You Got It Baby / Douglas "Jocko" Henderson - Blast Off To Love / Fabulous Dinos - Diamond Ring / George Tindley - So Help Me Woman

The sophisticated sound of Soul from New York city. These three labels managed to define a genre all on their own; Big City Soul. Classy singers, professional big backings, and such wonderful songs in themselves. This CD is a stroll through some of the lesser known sides, and although the first two have already appeared on Kent LPs, I think it’s their first CD debut. I count six previously unreleased tracks this time, and those six, combined with the usual lavishly illustrated booklet make this a ‘must buy’ CD

Ted Taylor - Keep What You Get: The Rare And Unissued Ronn Recordings – CDKEND 348

Farewell / Call The House Doctor / Who's Doing It To Who / Sweet Lovin' Pair / Don't Be Slappin' My Hand / Papa's Gonna Make Love / I'll Be Here / Keep What You Get And Like It / Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere/ Fair Warning / A Lick And A Promise / She's Got A Munchy Tunchy / Got To Have A Woman / Why Do I Have To Suffer / (Long As I Got You) I Got Love / Ted Taylor & Little Johnny Taylor - Cry It Out Baby / Ted Taylor & Little Johnny Taylor - Funky Ghetto / Ted Taylor & Little Johnny Taylor - Pretending Love / Ted Taylor & Little Johnny Taylor - Walking The Floor / Make Up For Lost Time (Alt) / How's Your Love Life Baby / Cummins Prison Farm

And the previously unreleased tracks keep on coming. This time there are eight previously unreleased tracks and another four alternate takes of released tracks. Add in the four duets with Little Johnny Taylor, and this becomes a quite significant Ted Taylor CD. Having had a career that stretched over four decades these recordings were all made for the Ronn label in the early part of the 1970s, and because they were Soul records rather than Disco records, in the main faded into obscurity almost as soon as they were released. Here they are again, in glorious sound quality as well.
 

Various Artists - Northern Soul’s Guilty Secrets – CDKEND 349

Ann D'andrea  - Don't Stop Looking / Babe Ruth  - Elusive / Barnaby Bye  - Can't Live This Way / Johnnie Vannelli  - Seven Days Of Loving You / Bobbi Lynn  - Jump Back In The Arms Of Love / Bobby Goldsboro  - It's Too Late / Keith  - Daylight Saving Time / David & The Giants  - Ten Miles High / Jay & The Americans  - Livin' Above Your Head / Garland Green  - Bumpin' And Stompin' / Two Of Clubs  - Walk Tall / Rumblers  - Soulful Jerk / Jeanette Harper  - Put Me In Your Pocket / John Fred  - Hey Hey  Bunny / Judy Harris  - You Touched Me / Kiki Dee  - On A Magic Carpet Ride / Len Barry  - I Struck It Rich / Mary Saenz  - Would She Do That For You / Spyders  - I Can Take Care Of Myself / Newbeats  - Run Baby Run (Back Into My Arms) / Ral Donner  - Don't Let It Slip Away / Rodger Collins  - You Sexy Sugar Plum (But I Like It) / Burning Bush  - Keeps On Burning / Flower Shoppe  - You've Come A Long Way Baby

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry ! This CD brings together some of the oddball, pop, garage, and just plain odd tracks that have ever been played under the broad umbrella of Northern Soul. But as the saying goes, if it’s been played on the scene, it’s Northern Soul, and some of these tracks, well most actually, were absolute monsters in their day. Listen, and weep, or rejoice in the sounds of your youth. They are all memories now.
 

The Contours – Dance With The Contours – CDKEND 350

Can You Do It  / Do The See Saw / He Couldn't Do The Crossfire  / I Don't Want To Talk  / Foot Stomping Time  / The Limbo Is Here To Stay  / Let's Do The Uncle Willie / Party Groove / Okey Dokey / Love Is Uncertain / Shake Everything You Got / Giant Steps / It Doesn't Have To Be So / Minnie The Ugly Duckling / Wanted / Boy Meets Girl / Don't You Wanna Go / You Changed My Life Around / You Hurt Me So / Throw You Out Of My Mind / Tonight / I Didn't Know How Right It Was (But Ooh What A Night It Was) / Somebody's Daughter Oughta / Nobody Fine As Dinah / Can You Jerk Like Me / I Can't Stop Dancing

Back in 1964 The Contours were recoding furiously for Motown, they had had a couple of hits, so got a second album scheduled for release. Sadly it never made it to the shops back in 1964, and it’s taken a further 47 years to make it. So here are the twelve tracks that were originally proposed for the album, plus another twelve previously unreleased recordings. The really nice touch though comes in the liner booklet, where Joe Billingslea and Sylvester Potts reminisce about the tracks (Which they hadn’t heard since they were originally recorded.)

Herbert Hunter – The Rockin’ Spar Masters – Superbird 0042

Johnny Keaton & The Twisters  - The Twist / Johnny Keaton & The Twisters  - Twistin' Usa / Herbert Hunter & Band  - Dr Feelgood / Herbert Hunter & Band  - Twistin' Party / Herbert Hunter  - Your Cheatin' Heart / Herbert Hunter  - I Can't Help It / Herbert Hunter  - I'll Hold You In My Heart / Leroy Jones & Band  - Peppermint Twist / Leroy Jones & Band  - Check Mr Popeye  / Leroy Jones & Band  - Now Let's Popeye  / Leroy Jones & Band  - Twistin' The Night Away / Leroy Jones & Band  - Slow Twisting / Leroy Jones  - Lover Please / Leroy Jones  - Dancin' Party / Marty & The Merits  - Big Split Twist / Marty & The Merits  - Hey Let's Twist / Marty & The Merits  - Twist Twist Senora / Belles  - If You Wanna Be Happy / Bob Johnson  - Twist It Up / Now Generation  - Bring It On Home To Me

Herbert Hunter- Northern Soul Legend – Superbird 0043

Leroy Jones - Hide Nor Hair / Herbert Hunter - Happy Go Lucky / Herbert Hunter - Diddlin' And Daddlin'  / Herbert Hunter - La La La La / Herbert Hunter - I Was Born To Love You / Herbert Hunter - Push Away From The Table / Herbert Hunter - I'm So Satisfied / Herbert Hunter - Isn't It Wonderful To Dream / Herbert Hunter - Make Me Know You Love Me / Herbert Hunter - Big Oak Tree / Herbert Hunter - So Much To Be Thankful For / Herbert Hunter - Love Has Taken Over Me / Herbert Hunter - The Sound Of A Crying Man / Herbert Hunter - Oh Baby / Herbert Hunter - You Can Make It If You Try / Herbert Hunter - Don't Pity Me / Herbert Hunter - I've Gotta Sit Down / Herbert Hunter - Somebody Somewhere

I’m going to review the two CDs together because they actually follow on chronologically. Herbert Hunter’s first release was for the Spar label in 1961, and proved a huge hit (It was a cover version of ‘Dr Feelgood’) and actually outsold the original. Possibly more important at the time was the fact that Ted Jarrett produced the record. He went on to produce all of Herbert’s records for the Spar, Giant, Hit and Kennilworth labels (and all the tracks are actually Herbert Hunter recording under different names to avoid swamping the market with releases in his name.)

When Ted Jarrett set up his own Poncello label, Herbert Hunter went with him, and although the label didn’t last long it provided another outlet for Herbert Hunter to release records (He was still recording for Spar as well.

These two CDs capture the two eras really; The early Sixties R & B, and then the mid Sixties Soul, so a nice path in the development of Soul music via Nashville.
 

Various Artists – Downtown Soul From The Nashville Indies – Spv 309032

Rufus Hunter - Caught Up / Little Rock Brotherhood - Girl Watching On Broadway / Rufus Hunter - Do Love You / Little Rock Brotherhood - Morning After / The Precious Three - Wonderful World Of Love / The Avalon Strings - Monterey Goodbye / Roscoe Shelton - What Is It Baby / The Avalon Strings - Winter I Remember / Freddie Waters - Reality / Little Rock Brotherhood - The People's Choice / Don Whitehead - The Funky Preacher (Alternate Unreleased Version) / Little Rock Brotherhood - Too Much For Words / Bob Holmes - Three For Sundown / Wendell Watts - Will You Be Staying After Sunday / Bob Holmes - Ode To Billy Joe / Herbert Hunter - I'll Hold You In My Heart / Bob Holmes - And I Love Her / Herbert Hunter - Make Me Know / The Tempo Rhythms - Popa Nickel (Alternate Unreleased Version) / Bob Holmes - Little Green Apples

Continuing with the Ted Jarrett connection, with the demise of Poncello Records Ted went on to start Ref-O-Ree records in 1968, and Tee-Jay Records (probably in 1971.) These tracks are all drawn from those two lables, and continue to show the development of Soul music into a more sophisticated and highly produced era. Nice to have all three Cds and play through them one after another.