I'm a soul man...

It's true. When I'm not weeding out old Lush 7" records on 4AD I love a good Soul record. Of course I love Motown and the whole Detroit sound but there were soooo many more labels and groups that were never as popular as Motown or anyone on the label. Strangely enough, my whole path down the undiscovered Soul road was spurred on by my trips to the UK.

I'd always hear people refer to Northern Soul. I used to wonder what the hell are they talking about...then I found out. Like every other genre of music there are sub-genres. Northern Soul happens to be one of the Soul ones(the easiest way to think of it, is to think of it as rare soul)..there's also Southern Soul(characterized by its location)...Philly Soul(which in a sense IS Northern Soul and it kind of defines itself)..etc. Once you start listening to this stuff repeatedly you can actually hear differences in the styles. I won't go into writing a thesis on the 60's soul movement but trust me the differences are there.

Anyway, I've posted six little gems that you may or may not have heard before. They're all favorites of mine, five weren't on Motown and one wasn't technically. Enjoy...

Bob & Earl - Harlem Shuffle
Bob & Earl started out as one of several aliases under which Bobby Day (of "Little Bitty Pretty One" and "Rockin' Robin" fame) and Earl Nelson (aka Jackie Lee) recorded together for the Los Angeles-based Class Records label. Bob & Earl made an indelible mark on popular culture in 1963 by recording the original version of "Harlem Shuffle" (produced by Barry White), which was a modest success in America and a major hit in England. It's easy to see why. The groove on this record is amazing and everytime the horns kick in I get goosebumps. One of my alltime favorite tunes.

The Showstoppers - Ain't Nothing But A House Party
The Show Stoppers were Philadelphians, and recorded in the States, but had their only hit courtesy of the United Kingdom. Two sets of siblings made up the quartet: Timmy and Earl Smith, and Alec and Laddie Burke (brothers of popular soul man Solomon Burke). All were either 18 or 19 years old when "Ain't Nothing but a House Party" broke in England. Yet another song that has a great groove. This is a bit more poppy, if you will, and the way it was recorded it almost gives you the sense that it was done in the middle of a happening.

The Sapphires - Slow Fizz
The Sapphires, who were two guys and a girl with sometime backup singers, sang about as sweetly as any Motown group of the era, and had a sound that, if a little stripped-down, was just as sophisticated. "Slow Fizz," has dancefloor written all over it and in fact even mentions going to a Go-Go. It was released on ABC but if this would have been recorded by say the Supremes and released on Motown it would have been huge. Nonetheless it did manage to sell 40,000 copies.

Dobie Gray - Out On The Floor Most people know Dobie Gray for two songs. They either know his classic, "The In Crowd." Even my mom did! Or they know him for his 1973 hit, "Drift Away." But Dobie did have other hits in the 60's. "Out On The Floor," being one of them. Originally released on Charger Records in 1965 this breezy tune is all about forgetting your problems, you guessed it, out on the floor.

Eddie Floyd - Knock On Wood
More than likely you know this song and while this is technically Southern/Memphis Soul it has a Northern heart. Singer/songwriter Eddie Floyd scored one of the defining hits of the Memphis soul sound with "Knock on Wood," a number one R&B smash that typified the Stax house style at its grittiest. Floyd was born in Montgomery, AL, in 1935, but grew up in Detroit, where his uncle Robert West owned a couple of record labels, including Lupine. Floyd eventually wound up back in the south working for Stax when his friend Al Bell started working there. The rest they say is history. "Knock on Wood," was originally intended for Otis Redding, but Eddie Floyd took it and made it a number one hit on the R&B chart. It is a bonified classic.

The Contours - Just A Little Misunderstanding
This tune comes from the same album that literally made them, Do You Love Me. The Contours were originally signed to Gordy records(but put out stuff on Motown) and this was actually the first record on that label. In contrast to Motown's slickness and choreographed moves, the Contours were all wild, with irrepressible energy, leaping and sliding all over the stage and even doing splits. A crazy bunch. "Just A Little Misunderstanding," is a great piano led groover that has a very Detroit feel to it. The chorus is classic and will linger in your head for days. It might be close enough to Motown to lose some of it's Northern Soul cred but it's still a brilliant tune.

Buy tons and tons and tons of Northern Soul at Goldmine Soul Supply. This is an EVIL website that once you're hooked will constantly lure your credit card to its limit. Or if you just got money to burn check out John Manship's shop. He's got everything!!!

And with that...I'm off.

From Wigan Pier...

Paul the Anglophile