The 1965 cover image
on Kent Records' new 24-track Modernists
compilation features a quintet of young mods hanging around a coffee bar near
Manchester's Twisted Wheel club which pounded to the happening new sound of
soul and rhythm and blues. But as Ady Croasdell and Dean Rudland observe in
their liner notes, the majority of records spun for mods throughout the country
in the mid-60s came only via tracks given a UK release on labels such as
London-American, Stateside, Sue and Pye International's R&B Series; imports
from the US were few and far between. Modernists
imagines which other singles might've made club playlists had they been more
readily available.
The two opening
tracks, from 1967, set the tone. "Soul Jerk It, Baby" by Jeb Stuart
and Lewis Clark's "Dog (Ain't A Man's Best Friend)" both could break
into a burst of "Land Of A 1000 Dances" at the snap of a well
executed soul clap. Although Kent reference their collection as "rhythm
and soul", it's more what is usually known these days as "club
soul", and I think there's subtle difference: "club soul" being
the traditional Atlantic/Stax-a-like soul that has fallen out of favour for new
breed modernists who are even less keen to shingaling, jerk or pony than their ancestors, preferring the shuffle of heavier blues-based or popcorn
numbers (age and stamina of the club goer might have something to do with
that...). Therefore those who, like me, purchase CDs with an ear on
finding potential new 45s for their DJ sets might come away with slim pickings
to energise a current dancefloor (although the tracks by at least Clifford
Curry, Lil Bob and Gene Burks have already done so) but there's still plenty to
enjoy in an imaginary 60s haunt of wide-eyed chatterboxes.
Robert Moore's
"Harlem Shuffle" is a corking alterative version which would get the
shoes scuffed in any dark basement and Bessie Banks' "(You Should Have
Been A) Doctor" fits exactly the rhythm and soul description with it's
uptempo beat and soulful vocals. Songwriters back then didn't fear
lawsuits against copyright infringement - as they damn well now in light of the Thicke/William vs Gaye case - so many tunes, if not the songs
themselves, are familiar. Clifford Curry's "Good Humour Man" bears
more than a passing resemblance to Jimmy Hughes's "Neighbor,
Neighbor"; Oliver Morgan's "Hold Your Dog" is a barely concealed
thief of Rufus Thomas's "Walking The Dog"; Little Eva attempts to go
all "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" on "Dynamite"; and Timmy
Wilson's previously unreleased "Long Ways To Go" offers the chance to
do the Block a la "Long Tall Shorty".
Lil Bob's "I
Got Loaded" is something I spun out regularly ten years ago and with its
jumpy Louisianan rhythm is a perfect record when crossing over from soul and
R&B into Jamaican 45s or, as it does here into more 50s swing territory with John Fred and the Playboys' "Shirley". Also, although recorded in circa '65, Clarence Daniels
& Obie Jessie's "Got A Good Thing Going On" which - although I'm a big fan of Young Jessie - would've sounded very dated had it been aired at the Twisted Wheel.
The Pac-Keys
"Stone Fox" is at the classier end of the scale with the ostracised
Packy Axton showing his ma and uncle at Stax he could still cut a cool mod jazz
R&B instrumentals without their help; and "Cat Dance" by The In
Crowd similarly offers a cut that could nicely curl up at home on Kent's sister
Mod Jazz series; as would Paul &
Rick's organ blues "After Hours". In addition to the aforementioned
foxes and cats, there's a veritable soul-zoo of animal magic here: three dogs,
a cat, a crow and two monkeys. Chickens notable by their absence.
The standout track
though is "Tingling" by Eddie Giles from 1968: slower, brooding, and more
in keeping with the atmospheric club feel of today it sounds a little out of
place on Modernists, which demonstrates
that although there's a core mod club sound it's one which,
over fifty years on, is still gently evolving.
Modernists: A Decade of Rhythm & Soul Dedication
is released on CD by Kent Records. Out now.
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