JULY PLAYLIST

1.  B.B. King – ‘Never Trust A Woman’ (1964)

“She'll beg you for clothes and diamonds, Until you're all in hock, And then you'll come home one mornin', And your key won't fit the lock, Don't ever trust a woman, Until she's dead and buried, Well, one day she'll say that she loves you, The next day she'll throw you in the street.”

2.  Donald Byrd – ‘Beale Street’ (1967)

Blue Note coolness from trumpeter Byrd and crew but it’s the underpinning piano of Cedar Walton that gives this is it’s finger clicking mod-jazz snap.

3.  Bobby Bland – ‘Deep In My Soul’ (1967)

One of Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland bluest, deepest and most soulful moments. And that’s saying something.

4.  Marva Holiday – ‘It’s Written All Over My Face’ (1968)

From the pop end of the northern soul spectrum, which’ll cheese off the purists, but I really like this.

5.  Lou Bond – ‘Why Must Our Eyes Always Be Turned Backwards’ (1974)

This folky-soul message song is a masterpiece. Lou Bond cataloguing and worrying about the troubles of the world in 1974. Beautifully sung and the arrangement is spot on. Released on Lou’s eponymous album for Stax subsidiary, We Produce. Lou never made another record and disappeared.

6.  Leroy Hutson – ‘All Because of You’ (1975)

Leroy Hutson (pictured above) played the London Barbican the other week and was, quite correctly, feted like the soul superstar he is. His voice remains in fantastic shape and the band were sensational in creating the rich arrangements Hutson originally worked so hard on. This song one of many highlights alongside ‘Cool Out’, ‘Lucky Fellow’, ‘Don’t It Make You Feel Good’, ‘Love The Feeling’, ‘So in Love With You’, ‘Lover’s Holiday’ etc.

7.  Pharoah Sanders – ‘You’ve Got To Have Freedom’ (1987)

Not everyone will get past Sanders’ squawking sax opening but for those who do, hold on tight, this is some ride.

8.  Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 – ‘Bad Man Lighter (B.M.L)’ (2018)

Youngest son of Fela Kuti, and using his old band, Seun keeps his father’s afrobeat fire burning by smoking where the hell he wants. “Spark up your righteousness!” From new album, Black Times, which formed the majority of an infectious Walthamstow gig this month.

9.  The Molochs – ‘I Wanna Say To You’ (2018)

LA duo the Molochs go all baggy, like a cross between the Stone Roses and, say, The Dylans. Like it’s 1990 all over again.

10.  The Spitfires – ‘Sick of Hanging Around’ (2018)

Some folk are a bit sniffy about the Spitfires, and they do come across as over-earnest, but I like their spirit and attitude. Lyrically they always want to SAY SOMETHING about the modern world, about the young idea. When they match that to a cracking tune and throw in Dexys-style horns like this on new album Year Zero, what’s not to like?

JUNE PLAYLIST

The Wild Magnolias in full bloom. 

1.  BB King – “Sixteen Tons” (1956)

Fare thee well Blues Boy. “Sixteen Tons” – like “Wade In The Water” – is one of those songs where it’s hard to find a version I don’t like. This one I love.

2.  The Avons – “When The Boy That You Love (Is Loving You)” (1967)

Super sweet and sexy girl group soul from Nashville based the Avons. Written, arranged and produced by Bob Holmes this wonderful track has only now seen the light of day thanks to opening Volume 5 of Kent Records’ Northern Soul’s Classiest Rarities series. Worth the 48 year wait.

3.  Roland Al and Beverly’s All Stars – “The Cat” (1967)

Rare inclusion of a Jamaican track in the playlist but tenor saxophonist Roland Alphonso and gang cut a mean version of this.

4.  Marvelettes – “So I Can Love You” (1970)

After a decade spell, their final release, the album The Return of The Marvelettes, was a slight of hand from Motown. The group had disbanded leaving only Wanda Young who recorded some tracks with Smokey Robinson for what she thought would be her solo album. The powers that be thought the Marvelettes’ name carried more weight than Young’s so was released with under the group name, upsetting everyone in the process. None of this should detract from a classy soul album (albeit one packed out – as was Motown’s way – with familiar titles).

5.  Buddy Guy and Junior Wells – “A Man Of Many Words” (1972)

The album title, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells Play The Blues, only hints at what’s on offer. Yes it’s the blues but it’s a funky, full, warm sounding blues made by a couple of old Chicago buddies who don’t sound like they have a care in the world. Everyone gotta dig those blues. 

6.  The Wild Magnolias – “Handa Wanda” (1974)

New Orleans Mardi Gras group the Wild Magnolias supplemented their vocals and percussion tools with the cream of New Orleans musicians including Willie “Walking Up A One Way Street” Tee and Snooks “Richard Barnes’ Mods book” Eaglin on keyboards and guitar respectively. Together they created an album impossible to keep still to.

7.  Suede – “Moving” (1992)

Who saw Suede’s Glastonbury set at the weekend? Mr. Anderson was working it like a spotlight-starved maniac from start to sweaty finish. Absolutely brilliant. It’ll be online somewhere.

8.  Wooden Shjips – “Back To Land” (2013)

Folk who enjoyed Paul Weller’s recent apostrophe burning Saturns Pattern might enjoy the Wooden Shjips long-player Back To Land.

9.  The Sonics – “The Hard Way” (2015)

The Sonics still sound like The Sonics but with hints here of returning the favour to the Jim Jones Revue and the Dead Kennedys.

10.  Sarah Cracknell and Nicky Wire – “Nothing Left To Talk About” (2015)

Crackers returns with a pedal-steeled summery pop winner that even Wire singing, as always, like a deaf man vocals can’t spoil. Lovely. 

FEBRUARY PLAYLIST

The February Playlist...

1.  The London Jazz Quartet – “Fishin’ The Blues” (1959)

The London Jazz Quartet were Tubby Hayes, Alan Branscombe, Tony Crombie and Jack Fallon whose recordings were originally conceived as background music for film and television. Every time I hear “Fishin’ The Blues” I imagine a cute early 60s animation with a little man taking his rod out to the lake. That’s not a euphemism.

2.  Curtis Knight – “Voodoo Woman” (1961)

Like monkeys and chickens, records about voodoo are normally worth a punt and Knight’s creepy bongo and snaky sax led 45 is no exception.

3.  Brenda Holloway – “After All That You’ve Done” (1965)

A new Kent edition of The Artistry of Brenda Holloway features no less than eight previously unreleased cuts from Motown’s vaults. Is there no end to the treasure? It seems not. This Smokey Robinson number is the pick of the bunch and delivered with all of Brenda’s usual class and sophistication although I was disappointed she went back to her cheating boyfriend after seemingly enjoying giving him the brush off for the two previous minutes.

4. Paul Bearer and the Hearsemen - "I've Been Thinking" (1966)

Goodness gracious me, what a blast! Garage-punk in extremis. Fuzzed and turned up to within a whisker of the unsuspecting recording equipment's life. Fantastic name these five lads from Oregon had too. Sadly their only release. 

5.  Duane Eddy – “It Ain’t Me Babe” (1966)

Best and most surprising find record find this month is Duane Eddy Does Bob Dylan, a 1966 LP produced by Lee Hazlewood and released in the UK on Colpix. To quote the liner notes: “Eddy’s guitar romps and soars through Dylan’s brain waves – translated in this album into notes which build and explode into bar lines of enjoyable melodies.” Twangtastic.

6.  The Peep Show – “Your Servant Stephen” (1967)

As pointed out by Pop Junkie, the enigmatic folk-psych Peep Show on more than one occasion sound both lyrically and musically like a template for The Smiths, best exemplified on this Polydor single.

7.  Stanley Unwin – “Goldylodders and the Three Bearloads” (1968)

Now, this also begins once a polly tie tode. If Unwin’s bonkers gobbledygook on Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake isn’t enough then his 1968 LP Rotatey Diskers With Unwin provides more deep joy of a songload in your eardrome. Unwin’s versions of fairy stories are hilarious but the Q&A with a room full of journalists where he regales them completely off the cuff is nothing sort of genius.

8.  John Cameron – “Front Titles” (1969)

From John Cameron's music for Kes. Listening to it away from the film really showcases what an achingly beautiful (and terribly sad) soundtrack he provided. "Front Titles" is possible to hear with fighting back the tears, not so some of the other pieces. 

9.  BB King – “Just Can’t Please You” (1972)

Jimmy Robins’ barnstorming version is the best fifteen quid one will ever spend on a Hard Northern 45 (I might’ve just invented a new genre there). King, as expected, takes it at a more leisurely pace. Still pretty cool though.

10.  Wilko Johnson/Roger Daltrey – “I Keep It To Myself” (2014)

Daltrey starts off like Vic Reeves' club singer but soon settles down and the pair blister through a track first found on Wilko's 1989 Barbed Wire Blues. British R&B doesn't get much more thrilling than this. 

SOUL POWER

Soul Power, a new film by Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, documents the 3-day music festival held in Zaire during 1974 to compliment the Ali-Foreman “Rumble In The Jungle” world title fight.

If there’s one plane journey to have been on, it’s the one that flew the musicians from New York. Talk about unbridled excitement. James Brown, Bill Withers, BB King and whole bands of Afro-America’s finest getting down, singing, dancing and partying hard onboard. How the pilot stayed on course and resisted the urge to join them is a mystery. And when they step off the plane they’re greeted by Muhammad Ali and continue having it large on the tarmac.

Using only footage recorded during 1974, the film, apart from the occasional on-screen caption, looks like an unearthed movie rather than a new production – which is a good thing; and it’s what it is, really. There’s plenty of “going back to the motherland” and much talk of “blackness” throughout, with everyone in high spirits feeling a huge sense of freedom, adventure and comradeship. Ali was the star of ’74 and his quick wit and fierce intellect steals every scene he’s in. Going to swat a fly on his arm, he misses, “even the flies here are faster, in America, they’re too slow, too fat”. Asked whether blacks and whites were “brothers” he launched into an articulate, eloquent tirade of why they weren’t. Watching this you can’t help but feel terribly sad about how Parkinson’s has affected him. Not Parky, he wasn’t even a contender.

The film includes performances by The Spinners (who were fantastic fun throughout), Miriam Makeba, BB King, Bill Withers, Celia Cruz and the Fania All-Stars, Big Black, The Crusaders and others. As enjoyable as it was to watch once, there's too much conga slapping and bongo bashing for my taste. Finally, to a typically OTT introduction, comes Jaaaaaames Broooowwwn; the moment I’d been waiting for. He was good the 50s, great in the 60s, but peaked when he discovered the joys of the lycra jumpsuit in the early 70s. Even with his little tubby belly sticking out, he gets on the good stack-heeled-shoed foot, and turns it loose. Simply superb. But there wasn’t enough of JB. Gimme some more. With the DVD due in November, here’s hoping for some extra tracks.