Spoilt Broth - 4th July

The latest from the spoilt broth collective hits Nrwich on Saturday 4th July - all the details on the flyer. The venue has passed me by but details here.

Podcasts here

Another CDR - just for TJB

Tim just posted he had a load of the old comps I did (and so he has). Infact I was inspired to do one aimed at what then were his fave style of tracks, at least he was nice enough to say they were. On the back of the Fatboy Slim single I let my imagination run riot again and came up with "Jazz Soul Brother". But it did what it said on the tin pretty much:

Check the old style flyer as well...





Freddie Hubbard - Return of the Prodigal Son
Clarence Wheeler & the Enforcers - Right On
The Clique - Wormin’
Oscar Brown Jr - Mr Kicks
Jackie Lee - The Duck
Linda Jones - My Heart Needs A Break
Soul Shakers - I’m Getting Weaker
Ray Redmond - Ain’t That Terrible
Billy Preston - Greazee Pt 2
James Taylor Quartet - Blow Up
Sugar Pie DeSanto - Do The Whoopee
Aztecs - Damelo Baby
Ray Barretto - New York Soul
Monguito Santamaria - Juicy
Ivan “Boogaloo” Joe Jones - Black Whip
Young Disciples - Move On (Lynch Mob Beats)
Terry Callier - Look At Me Now
Etta James - Mellow Fellow
James Brown - Shhhhhhh! (For A Little While)
Jimmy Smith - Mission Impossible
Jack Constanzo & Gerry Woo - Green Onions
Montego Joe - Fat Man
Ray Barretto - Right On

What we have here is a mix of latin / boogaloo / soul and one slightly left field modern (ish) tune from the Young Disciples, whch is basically some rather groovy hammond organ and flute looped over some tasty beats. In my mind the best thing to come out of Talkin' Loud with one great album "Road To Freedom"

Anyway, this CDR kicks off with some well tasty jazz and rumbles straight into one of my favourite funk / soul / hammond work outs from Clarence Wheeler. I have to play this again soon! Then into The Clique, which I picked up from an early Acid Jazz "Totally Wired" album. I assume this is the same 80s revival JTQ-influenced band? Sounds great anyway.

"Permit me to introduce myself, my name is Mr Kicks, I dwell in a dark dominion down by the River Styx" - oh yes. Vocal jazz at its finger clickin' darkest - epitome of cool. But a pig to dance to!

Via a quick Mirwood classic and back into another couple of tracks from the aforementioned Loma compilations from the previous post. I'm a sucker for OTT soul with a big build up and crescendo, especially well the vocals are as good as Linda Jones. This doesn't disappoint. Add in the Soul Shakers and Ray Redmond (which again I really ought to play again - boogaloo meets soul meets shingaling in a whole mess of dance chaos!)

By way of hammond mayhem from Billy Preston and JTQ at their simplest and finest before they got, to my mind, a bit heavy and Led Zep fixated, we get to some serious club soul from smokey basement clubs - see also the Etta James

Time for some latin and what on earth are the Aztecs talking about? But some great latin boogaloo swiftly followed by ne of my all time fave latin soul numbers "New York Soul" - 'scuse me whilst I have a quick slide across the carpet. Then from when I had a phase of buying some Venezualen (I think) Fania imports comes Monquito Santamaria geting juicy all over the place throwing pips and fruit peel all over the dance floor.

Sampled or covered at the time by I can't recall who comes Boogaloo Joe Jones rather excellent "Black Whip" and the YDs and then into more low down gritty 60s club soul pausing to take in Terry Caller's masterpiece (well, one of them!). This oozes class - just look at him now. Etta James could be singing about suited and booted Mods and Mr Brown throws organ riffs and mad mumbling all over the shop, taken froma German Mojo Dancefloor Jazz compilation (volume 2 I think). Next up my hero "god on a hammond organ" taken from a reissue 12" which i think also had "House of Bamboo" on as well - picked up second hand far too many years ago now

Then I rounded off with more crazy latin - sucker for a cover version of well known classics just to mess with the heads of audiences expecting Booker T, a really tasty "Fat Man" taken from a latin jazz comp possibly on BGP (red and green sleeve I think - must get into my record shelves more frequently!) - and then the second track entilted Right On to finish and what a beauty.

OK - having just skimmed through these I must dig a few out for another outing soon. I like some latin and remember hearing my first slbs of it in Bournemouth in 1988 at a Mod rally. I still want Tony Middleton "Return To Spanish Harlem" but will have to make do with a tape entitled Asterix Goes Latin from that period hawked around the mod rallies for my copy! I'm not sure the price of a copy back then was helped by Mr Midleton being collectable for "To The Ends Of The Earth" as well. Apparently the flip (not that I'll ever see it now!) is on the BGP comp. Just seen it offered for 200 quid!!! Certainly won't be seeing it now!

Anyway, I've just enjoyed the last hour listening to these tunes for the first time in ages and writing drivel - enjoy!

Early Personal CDRs

A few years after we started in November 1994 I splashed out on what was then cutting edge technology (sort of) in the shape of my first hi fi separates including a CDR recorder / burner. This was maybe 1997 (?) and well before the now ubiquitous nature of PC CDR / DVD drives. I wanted to burn CDs of singles and album tracks and in those days it was like the old days of cassette recorders - cue up, press record and hope you (a) don't cut the start of the track off or (b) have three seconds blank at the start of a track. There was also the added complication that the CD didn't always want to record and I'd get a 30 second blank. In those days CDR discs were maybe three quid or you could splash out maybe £8 for a re-recordable CD-RW, burn onto that (erasing errors first) and then copying from CD to CD-R. Not for me then select tunes online, download and burn in maybe 30 minutes total from start to finish. There was no such thing as volume levelling, editing of crackles and hisses or cross fading.

I was quite pleased with my first effort, imaginatively entitled "AOY The CDR Pt.1" and represents what I was playing then from a mix of single, LP / compilation and the odd CD:

Mike Cotton Sound - Harlem Shuffle
Sly - Buttermilk Pt 1
Brother Jack McDuff - Let My People Go
The Brand - I’m A Lover Not A Fighter
Thane Russell - Security
The Action - Hey Sha-lo-ney
Hayward Lee - Oogaloo
Fabulous Peps - So Fine
Little Caesar - Everybody Dance Now
Jimmy McGriff - The Worm
Monk Higgins - Watermelon Man
The Betterdays - Don’t Want That
Sonic Invasion - Go Out And Get Her
? & the Mysterians - Got To
Buddy McKnight - Everytime Pt 2
Andre Williams - Do The Popcorn
Eddie Wilson - Shing-a-ling Stroll
Little Mac - In The Midnight Hour
Billy Hawks - Oh Baby I Believe I’m Losing You
Georgie Fame - Somebody Stole My Thunder
The Birds - Say Those Magic Words
Mike & Ike - Ya Ya
Brian Auger - Black Cat
Jimmy Smith - Stay Loose
Rhinoceros - Apricot Brandy
Barry “Barefoot” Beefus - Barefoot Beefus
John Mayall - Crocodile Walk

Quite a mix of genres but I loved the lot (still do) and infact most of these languish unplayed now although Georgie Fame and The Action still get an airing. I particularly lve the Beefus which I have on very quietly cut "This Is Loma Volume 2 or 4 (?)" LP - infact I have the set of I think seven comps in this series. Anyway...

Around the same time I received / swapped comps and this one I found lurking on my MP3 player in the gym last week:

Booker T and the MGs - Plum Nellie
Caretakers - East Side Story
Bob and Ray - Air Travel
Julian Covey - Sweet Bacon
Clarence Carter - Snatching It Back
Wimple Winch - Save My Soul
Baby Washington - Think About The Good Times
Woggles - My Baby Like To Boogaloo
Joe Tex - You're Right Ray Charles
Music Machine - 96 Tears
Patti Drew - Fever
Johnny Taylor - Who's Making Love
Ike and Tina Turner - Ya Ya
Deep Purple - Hush
Mongo Santamaria - Sweet Tater Pie
Ray Charles - I Chose To Sing The Blues
Apostolic Intervention - Tell Me Have You Ever Seen Me
Johnny Jones and the King Casuals - Soul Poppin'
Elmore James - Shake Your Moneymaker
Etta James - Do I Make Myself Clear
Dee Clark - My Little Girl In The High School Sweater
Jackie Ivory - Do It To Death
France Gall - Der Computer No.3
Honeybus - Tender Are The Ashes
Perry and the Harmonics - Do The Monkey With James
Tina Britt - Sookie Sookie
Cyril Davies' All Stars - Someday baby
Lavern baker and Jimmy Ricks - You're The Boss

Interesting mix of the outstanding and the slightly bizzare. Loved the MGs "Plum Nellie" and am ashamed to say that even after listening to soul in various guises for nearly 30 years don't recall having heard this. I assume it's the same as the Small faces, although I've seen it attributed to both Marriott / Lane and Cropper / Dunn etc and I've seen (not yet heard) a similar titled track by Jimmy Smith

Circular Soul

Martin from Circular Sounds Records runs the third Saturday alternate months to us (even months) playing clssic northern and motown. His next date is Friday 19th June:



In addition he's starting up a series of soul and related free nights on Saturdays at "Comfortably Numb" (or Facebook) just down the road from his shop in St Benedicts St. This Saturday sees funk, RnB and Southern soul and is free from 8 til 12:



The hope is that this will run on 2nd Saturday every month, but there are contact details available if you want updates direct from Martin.

He also has on 27th June a night of Motown, Northern and RnB, to be repeated on 25th July and 29th August:



It also looks like he's planning a blues and deep soul night and a jazz / 70s soul night - TBC