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NEWSLETTER #130
Rhythm & Blues, Soul & Doo Wop
Don Covay -> Andre Williams
| DON COVAY |
Koch 8186 |
Mercy/ See-Saw |
● CD $16.98 |
23 tracks, 63 min, essential. Reissue of Don's first two LPs
"Mercy" - Atlantic 8104 from '65 & "See Saw" - Atlantic 8120 from '66. I
first bought “See-Saw” in a record shop the one time I visited Charlotte NC
- this is perfect "beach music", mid-tempo soul. If you don't know Don
himself, you sure know his music, much of the great stuff is here! The
original versions of hits by Aretha - See Saw, The Stones - Mercy
(AKA Have Mercy Baby), Steppenwolf - Sookie Sookie, J Geils -
The Usual Place, Small Faces/ Spencer Davis Group - Take This Hurt
Off Me, Gladys Knight & The Pips - Come See About Me (NOT the
Supremes/HDH tune). (GM)
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| FATS DOMINO |
Columbia-Shout 32000 |
Live From The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage
Festival,2001 |
● CD $13.98 |
Entertaining live set featuring Fats reprising 16 of his old
hits with a solid band including tenor saxist Herb Hardesty who played on
Fats's first session in 1949! Includes I'm Walkin'/ My Blue Heaven/ I'm
Ready/ Blue Monday/ So-Long/ I'm Gonna Be A Wheel Someday/ My Girl
Josephine/ Walking To New Orleans, etc.
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| FATS DOMINO |
Virgin 82742 |
Blues Kingpins |
● CD $11.98 |
18 tracks, 43 minutes, recommended. With the vast amount of
material owned by EMI, their Virgin offshoot helps celebrate 2003 as "The
Year of the Blues" with this Fats Domino disc, along with five others in the
new "Blues King Pins" series. Part of the attraction for collectors will be
the tracks that haven't been reissued in the U.S. before now. The Domino set
focuses on the earlier part of Domino's career and contains great New
Orleans grooves recorded for Imperial between 1949 and '55 with the Fat Man
in front of Dave Bartholomew's thumping band as they roll through Rockin'
Chair/ Trust In Me/ Domino Stomp and others. Mastering is exceptional
while the entire series has solid liner notes from Bill Dahl. Fats'
beginnings are shown here, especially on the wonderful leadoff track,
Hide Away Blues, and while he became a major star during the 1950s rock
'n' roll craze, he's never strayed far from his roots. (CR)
FATS DOMINO: Boogie Woogie Baby/ Cheatin'/ Domino Stomp/ Every Night About
This Time/ Goin' Home/ Going To The River/ Goodbye/ Hide Away Blues/ How
Long/ Please Don't Leave Me/ Poor Poor Me/ Rockin' Chair/ So-Long/
Something's Wrong/ Tired of Crying/ Trust In Me/ You Know I Miss You/ You
Said You Love Me
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| THE FOUR BARS |
Cadillac 100 |
The Four Bars |
● CD $17.98 |
28 tracks, 72 mins, recommended I don't know too much about
the Four Bars but they are certainly a fine group who I believe originated
in Washington, DC. They recorded for a number of labels from the mid 50s
through the 60s and this album is a excellent and varied selection ranging
from soft tender ballads like Why Do You Treat Me This Way to intense
R&B ballads like Just Bid Me Farewall to bluesy rockers like
Grandpa's Inn. The last ten cuts are straight ahead soul rather than
doo-wop with a very different sound and I'm not sure if it's the same group.
Most of it is worthwhile and sound quality is excellent. Other songs include
Love Me Forever More/ Let The Wedding Bells Ring/ Hey Baby/ Try Me One
More Time/ If I Give My Heart To You/ This Game Of Romance/ Why Can't We Get
Along, etc. (FS)
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| MARVIN GAYE |
Proper Pairs 110 |
Live |
● CD $12.98 |
2 discs, 19 tracks, excellent. If you ever see any no-label
Marvin Gaye live stuff, it's the same as these recordings. Taken from his
final tour, this is one of the few recordings owned by neither Motown or
Columbia, so they've been around forever in numerous budget sets. There IS a
reason to get this set, though. All of the other set are single discs,
starting with Heard It Through The Grapevine & ending with Sexual
Healing. This set starts with the full version of the opening tune
Third World Girl & ends with 5 additional tracks - Let's Be Friends/
Interlude/ African Dance/ Pride & Joy/ Stubborn Kind Of Fellow &
Outro, so for the 1st time you have the entire show. Sound quality is
better than bootleg, & includes a healthy supply of hits done in unique live
versions. Still no info on where it was recorded. (GM)
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| STEVE GIBSON &
THE REDCAPS |
Acrobat 3000 |
It's So Good! |
● CD $13.98 |
Two CDs, 43 tracks, recommended. Two CD set with 43 tracks by
this fine vocal group recorded between 1943 and 1951 for several different
labels. Ballads and jump tunes from this whose founding members were Jimmy
Springs (lead tenor), David Patillo (lead tenor), Romaine Brown (baritone &
piano), Steve Gibson (bass & guitar) and Doles Dickens (string bass). This
line up is featured on the first disc and the music rests firmly in the jive
vocal group tradition that made stars of The Cats & the Fiddle and The Three
Peppers. Influenced greatly by the Mills Brothers and The Ink Spots, the
sound of The Red Caps was infused with a comedic element that carried over
to their shows. And while they could turn a ballad -- usually led by Jimmy
Springs -- as sweetly as you please, the sillier jive jolts -- usually led
by Steve Gibson or Romaine Brown are immensley entertaining. Other notable
lead singers featured on the second disc include Earl Plummer and David
Patillo and three tracks feature them accompanying vocalist Damita Jo.
Includes Don't Fool With Me/ Mama Put Your Britches On/ Just For You/
Boogie Woogie Ball/ Simebody's Lyin'/ Sugar Lips/ Mary Had A Little Jam/ Get
Off That Kick/ Monkey & The Baboon/ Jack You're Dead/ I'm Living For You/
Blueberry Hill/ Sidewalk Shuffle/ Boogie Woogie On A Saturday Night,
etc. Excellent sound and booklet features brief notes and discographical
data. (FS)
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| THE INK SPOTS |
Fabulous 150 |
Greatest Hits |
● CD $7.98 |
18 tracks, 53 mins, recommended Inexpensive introduction to
this fine and influential vocal group featuring some of their most popular
sides recorded in the mid/ late 30s. Excellent sound and brief
notes. (FS)
THE INKSPOTS: Address Unknown/ Blueberry Hill/ Do I Worry/ I Can't Give You
Anything But Love/ If I Didn't Care/ It's A Sin To Tell A Lie/ Java Jive/
Maybe/ My Prayer/ People Will Say We're In Love/ Stardust/ The Gypsy/ To
Each His Own/ We Three (my Echo ,my Shadow And Me)/ When The Swallows Come
Back To Capistrano/ Whispering Grass/ You Always Hurt The One You Love
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| DAMITA JO |
Combo 3674 |
I'll Save the Last Dance For You |
● CD $17.98 |
23 tracks, 57 mins, recommended. Damita Jo was a fine pop R&B
singer who, vocally, is somewhere in between Dinah Washington and Jo Ann
Campbell! She started out in 1951 with Steve Gibson & The Red Caps, and
after a while went solo. She had several hits between 1958-62, which is the
period covered by this CD. One of her most succesful was the title song
which was an answer song to the Drifters big hit. Damita was a fine and
powerful singer but arrangements lean strongly towards pop with strings and
vocal choruses but there are some occasional hot guitar and sax breaks.
Other songs include the fine I'll Be There done to the tune of Ben E.
King's Stand By Me, a terrific cover of Crazy Arms plus
Dance With Me Henry/ I Burned Your Letter/ Keep Your Hands Off Him/
Yaba-Daba-Do/ Silver Dollar/ Stop Foolin'/ Jambalaya/ I Built My World
Around A Dream/ Whispering Grass/ Room Full Of Roses/ The Last Dance,
etc. (FS)
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| THE MAD LADS |
Collectables 6314 |
In Action |
● CD $11.98 |
16 tracks, 43 min, excellent Reissue of Volt 414 from '66,
with the addition of 4 non-LP 45s (though not their debut, The Sidewalk
Surf - a skateboarding tune written by Isaac Hayes!) Featuring the high
tenor lead of John Gary William, this set includes their biggest hit, I
Want Someone, as well as their best known hit, the gorgeous neo-doo wop
Don't Have To Shop Around. (GM)
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| TRACY NELSON |
Memphis International 206 |
Live From Cell Block D |
● CD $16.98 |
11 tracks, 50 min, highly recommended It's been awhile since
a classic prison album's been around! Recorded last December at West Memphis
Detention Center Tracy jumps into the ranks of the finest with this set of
blues & country. Many tunes coming from her '95 LP "I Feel So Good"
including that disc's title track & Bessie Smith's Send Me To The
'Lectric Chair. Also includes a reprise of her Grammy winning After
The Fire Is Gone (originally done as a duet with Willie Nelson, who
wrote the liner notes), & a return to two of her signature tunes from the
1st Mother Earth LP from back in '68 - Mother Earth & Down So Low.
(GM)
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| ANN PEEBLES |
Hi (UK) HEXCD 55 |
The Complete Ann Peebles On Hi Records, Vol.
1 :1969-73 |
● CD $19.98 |
The first of two double CDs featuring all the releases of
this superb soul singer. This volume of 38 tracks features her first three
LPs plus six non-album sides.- Give Me Some Credit/ My Man/ Chain Of
Fools/ Rescue Me/ Part Time Love/ I Still Love You/ What You Laid On Me/ I
Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody's Home/ I Pity The Fool/ Heartaches
Heartaches/ If We Can't Trust Each Other/ I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down,
etc.
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| ANN PEEBLES |
Hi HEX 56 |
The Complete Ann Peebles On Hi Records, Vol.
2 :1974-81 |
● CD $19.98 |
The second double set features 38 tracks including her
fourth, fifth and sixth LPs along with eight non album sides - Come To
Mama/ Stand By Woman/ Beware/ I'm Leaving You/ I'm So Thankful/ When I'm In
Your Arms/ Lovin' You Without Love/ Old Man With Young Ideas/ Handwriting On
the Wall/ Lookin' For A Lovin', etc.
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| SONNY THOMPSON |
Blue Moon 6037 |
The Complete REcordings, Vol. 3: 1951-1952 |
● CD $13.98 |
22 more fine sides by pianist/ bandleader Thompson. A mix of
excellent instrumentals plus accompaniments to vocalists Brother John
Sellers and Sonny's wife Lula Reed including their great hit version of
Henry Glover's I'll Drown In My ters which later covered by Ray
Charles. There are also a couple of unexpected but fine gospel performances
from Lula.
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| IKE & TINA TURNER |
Acrobat ACRD 207 |
So Fine |
● CD $10.98 |
18 tracks, 46 mins, recommended Collection featuring Ike &
Tina & The Ikettes vocal recordings for Ike's own Pompeii label in 1968 and
'69 and released on LPs and 45s. This material has been out on CD before but
this is the first time it has all been gathered together in one place. A
future Acrobat release is planned for the instrumental material. Some hard
driving soul and R&B sides including a remake of their Sue hit A Fool In
Love, Betc'cha Can't Kiss Me (Just One Time) with its quirky
speeded up vocal chorus, great covers of the Five Dutones Shake A Tail
Feather and The Fiestas So Fine some new Ike originals and more.
(FS)
IKE & TINA TURNER: A Fool In Love/ Ain't Nobody's Business/ Beauty Is Just
Skin Deep/ Bet'cha Can't Kiss Me (just One Time)/ Cussin' Cryin' And Carryin'
On/ I Better Get Ta Steppin'/ I'm Fed Up/ It Sho Ain't Me/ Make 'em Wait/
Nothing You Can Do Boy (to Change My Way)/ Poor Little Fool/ Shake A Tail
Feather/ So Blue Over You/ So Fine/ Too Hot Too Hold/ We Need An
Understanding/ You Got What You Wanted/ You're So Fine
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|
ANDRE
WILLIAMS & GREEN HORNET |
Norton CED 299 |
Holland Shuffle |
● CD $13.98 |
11 tracks, 48 min, highly recommended. Recorded live at the
Vera, Groningen Holland in '01, Williams is heard fronting the Dutch group
Black Beauty for a wild concert. Courtesy of Miriam & Billy we've got a real
greasy set, with titles such as I Wanna Be Your Favorite Pair Of Pajamas/
Agile Mobile & Hostile/ Pussy Stank, & a couple of Andre's blasts from
the past – Shake A Tail Feather & Jailbait! (GM)
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