Release Date: 27.01.23
To celebrate Kent’s 40th birthday (admittedly a month late due to pressing times), we are releasing our first ever box set of singles. This is due to getting access to the Loma vaults and finding some previously unheard soul gems to augment the best of the soul dance tracks from the esteemed imprint.
Starting with THEE discovery of the soulful ‘20s we present L A soul group the Marvellos whose ‘It’s Your Love That I Need’ – written by the great Willie Hutch – a Motownesque dancer whose arrangements and melodies are so stunning we also issued the backing track as an instrumental B side to it.
The Invincibles were another fabulous Los Angeles outfit whose four Loma releases were ballads but two great dance tracks, the sublime ‘Heartstrings’ and the manic ‘Got A Thing Goin’’ showed they could really turn it up when needed.
Ben Aiken’s ‘Satisfied’ is a stone classic Northern Soul dancer – finding the more subtle ‘If You Should See Her’ and ‘That’s All You Gotta Do’ in the vaults makes the Philly singer the best represented artist of the set.
New York-based Carl Hall is another singer with a released classic – ‘Mean It Baby’ and a great unissued tape vault-find – ‘Like I Told You’. The pair sit well together on their new 45 pressing.
The Enchanters cut several tracks after they left Garnett Mimms, ‘Just A Little Longer’ is a great Drifters-sounding number which we’ve coupled with the beautiful ‘I’ll Find A Way’ by Bobby Reed.
‘See The Silver Moon’ by west coast girl group the Apollas would have wowed them at Wigan. The poptastic number has the perfect stomping dance beat, beloved of the Casino’s patrons. Alas it was not heard until 2012 when researcher and co-compiler Alec Palao unearthed the master tape. We paired it with Larry Laster’s terrific ‘Go For Yourself’ which shares the backing track of fellow Northern monsters ‘Lighten Up Baby’ and ‘Somebody Somewhere (Needs You)’, more than holding its own.
The flip of Ben Aiken’s ‘If You Should See Her’ debutant is Bobby Freeman’s magnificent ‘Lies’ out there on original vinyl but surely due for take-off.
Ady Croasdell
Release Date: 27.01.23
If you want to know about the quality of a label’s output, look at the backroom staff as well as the artists. This CD features work from the following
Arrangers and producers –
NYC – Garry Sherman, Richard Tee, Van McCoy, Robert Banks, George Kerr, Jerry Ragovoy, Don Costa, Sammy Lowe & Jesse Herring. L A – Gene Page, James Carmichael, Jerry Long, Len Jewell Smith, Marc Gordon, Hooven & Winn and Billy Revis.
Songwriters –
Willie Hutchison, Lorraine Ellison & Sam Bell, Mort Shuman & Jerry Ragovoy, Randy Newman, Van McCoy and Sammy Turner.
The compilation is a mix of the loved and cherished sides as played on the Northern Soul scene from the early 70s onwards, to brand new master tape finds that will give this ageing cultural movement a timely shot in the arm for the ‘20s and beyond.
The Marvellos open with ‘It’s Your Love That I Need’ a 1966 Willie Hutch song that has only just been unearthed and is setting dancefloors alight with its mid-60s soul perfection. Their classic ‘Something’s Burning’ is here along with a recent gem ‘I Need You’ that is digitally presented for the first time too.
The equally accomplished and respected Invincibles have a solid three dance tracks – none of which were issued at the time. ‘Heartstrings’ is the catchy dancer destined to go big, while ‘Please Be True’ is for connoisseurs of the Impressions’ vocalising style. ‘Got A Thing Goin’’ however is a manic stomper for super-fit dancers and acrobats only – reminiscent of Little Joe Cook’s ‘I’m Falling In Love With You Baby’.
Philly’s Ben Aiken made his Northern name with the irrepressible ‘Satisfied’ when we were teenagers. Two unreleased nuggets ‘That’s All I Gotta Do’ and ‘If You Should See Her’ will keep him known and revered through our later years. Carl Hall’s evergreen ‘Mean It Baby’ is augmented by his ‘Like I Told You’ – a real grower.
The girls join in with the legendary Linda Jones’ ‘My Heart Needs A Break’ opus, Delilah Kennebreuw’s Spectoresque collector’s favourite ‘Bright Lights’ and the girly stomper that is ‘See The Silvery Moon’ by the Apollas – poptastic.
Early-scene mod sounds are provided by the mysterious Clyde & The Blue Jays who tell us how to do ‘The Big Jerk’, the Olympics revert to the R&B of their earlier career with ‘I Finally Got A Break’ before their Mirwood soul makeover. Billy Storm tears it up with ‘Baby Don’t Look Down’ an early song from the man who would give us the soundtrack to Toy Story 3 – Randy Newman. The Enchanters ‘Just A Little Longer’ is a mid-60s Drifters’ soundalike, fresh from the tape reel.
The Soul Shakers ‘I’m Getting Weaker’, Kell Osborne ‘You Can’t Outsmart A Woman’ and Larry Lester ‘Go For Yourself’ are accepted as the building blocks of the Northern Soul scene and still sound wonderful. Sleepers include Bobby Freeman’s magnificent ‘Lies’, Tony Amarro & The Chariots ‘Runnin’ Around’ and the dynamic production of Charles Thomas ‘The Man With The Golden Touch’. With such high-quality sides to choose from, we have treated ourselves to two “enders” – Bobby Reed’s beautiful ‘I’ll Find A Way’ one of Van McCoys’ very best and Tommy Starr’s melancholic ‘Better Think Of What You’re Losing’.
Ady Croasdell
Release Date: 27.01.23
Yet again a new 100 Club Anniversary 45 has been instantly acclaimed and has become highly sort-after on release. Warren Raye’s ‘It’s The Feeling I Get’ is now available on a commercial pressing and this superb Crossover number will be one of the biggest sellers of the year. A later version by Damion & Denita was released on their obscure eponymous Rocket LP but its of-its-time boogie passage has put DJs off playing it over the years. Warren Raye delivers the definitive version and his singing is equally masterful on the flip side – ‘I Can’t Turn You Down’ – a song that recently featured on a Kent Masterpieces CD by Melanie Burke. Both recordings are discoveries from Mickey Stevenson’s unissued tapes cache.
Ady Croasdell
Release Date: 27.01.23
‘Paper Man’ is a major discovery for lovers of Sam Dees music and the Atlanta/Birmingham soul sound of the 70s. Written and recorded in that productive period, it has only just been found in the vault of Moonsong / Clintone recordings. Sam Dees worked with Alpaca Phase III for the Atlantic release ‘I Like To Party’ in 1974 and a Clintone release the following year. He co-wrote this ballad with Wes Lewis and Ken Walker from the group (he also composed ‘Someone To Run To with Wes Lewis and group member Berry Collins). Dees is the vocalist on ‘False Alarms’, one of several brilliant Dees’ compositions first released on his “Second To None” Kent CD in 1995. With “so tied up” being such an important lyric in this song, it is conceivable that it is a forerunner of ‘So Tied Up’ which featured on his Atlantic LP at this time.
Release Date: 27.01.23
The Houston Outlaws ‘Ain’t No Telling’ is re-released due to the constant demand for this atmospheric dance track. It has been coupled with their in-demand harmony ballad ‘It’s No Fun Being Alone’ from the same year – though a different US release.
Release Date: 27.01.23
Co-writer Charles Spurling sang and wrote at King in the late 60s, providing songs for James Brown, Hank Ballard, Junior McCants and Peggy & Artie among others. ‘Ball Of Fire’ is an exceptional song, first recorded by Connie Austin as a smouldering mid-tempo number on which she pours her heart out. It would be updated a year later by Marva Whitney who took it at a faster funkier pace. Charles Spurling remembers Connie as a good looking, fast-living girl who was murdered in Los Angeles soon after.
Spurling was a good singer himself and had five King releases between 1967 and 1969. The excellent ‘You’ve Got Love On Top Of Love’ failed to make it to wax until now. Kent found the tape in the King vaults and issued it on CD in 2001; now it is on a righteous single.
Release Date: 24.02.23
The Classic Example were a Los Angeles duet – possibly the songwriting team of Curtis Colbert and Harriet Hurst who provided four of the songs on the eponymous 1972 GSF LP. Inexplicably the superb dance track ‘Right On’ was the only one omitted from the album, but Kent’s licensing deal with Mickey Stevenson’s Stevenson International revealed this gem.
It was finally released as a promo 100 Club Anniversary 45 in 2021 and has been in demand ever since. Now it can be purchased at a reasonable price with the duet’s excellent harmony ballad ‘I Found Me A Girl’ added on the B side. The backing group is none other than Hodges, James, Smith & Crawford.
Ady Croasdell
Release Date: 24.02.23
Since its first plays at the 100 Club in the 90s, the San Francisco TKOs’ ‘Make Up Your Mind’ has been a revered sound that consistently packs the dance floor – with soul music devotees who like their music edgy. It first appeared as an Anniversary single and has sold out of its previous Kent pressing.
We have taken the opportunity to re-release it coupled with the group’s beautiful ballad version of the Miracles’ ‘Ooh Baby, Baby’.
Ady Croasdell
Release Date: 24.02.23
Jackie Dee’s ‘Who’ was one of many great tape finds from Detroit producer Dave Hamilton’s vault in the 90s and first came out on CD in 1999. In 2015 Ace licensed that version to Colemine Records in the USA who issued it on their First Light subsidiary. That disc is now deleted and fetching a high price.
In recent years we have found the multi-track tape with an extended version of the recording and an instrumental take on it that features Dave Hamilton’s vibes-playing. The vocal side is a full one minute and forty seconds longer than the original release.
Ady Croasdell
Release Date: 24.02.23
Ty Karim is one of the finest Los Angeles singers to have never scored a hit in her own country. Her records are rightly lauded in Europe though and we present two of the best on her producer and partner’s Romark label in our Repro series. ‘Lighten Up Baby’ is a rare classic stomper from the heyday of Northern Soul. It was actually a one-off Car-A-Mel release in 1966 but it was recorded as part of Kent Harris’ Romark set-up.
‘All At Once’, on the other hand, is a moody midtempo number that has found favour with soul fans in recent years.
Ady Croasdell
Release Date: 24.02.23
The Hytones were Nashville’s top soul group and under the tutelage of genius producer and songwriter Bob Holmes, made some great music. ‘You Don’t Even Know My Name’ was their first release on the short-lived Southern Artists label before it was released on Bell. It is an exceptionally smooth style of singing by the group – in unison for much of the track. ‘Good News’ by contrast is a gritty Stax-sounding mover that was first a 100 Club Anniversary single before being issued as a Kent 45. Now regarded as a rare soul classic, its release on a Southern Artists repro label will be welcomed.
Ady Croasdell