Category Archives: Collectors Soul

Judy Freeman and Blackrock / Marshall Hooks

‘I Know Where You’re Coming From’ / ‘She Is All I Need’

Label: The Preservation Project 
Catalogue Number: 015
Release Date: 29th Sep 2023
Format: 7’ 

Did you know that Judy Freeman and Blackrock cut more songs than the 4 that were put out in 1971? We know of at least one.
“I Know Where You’re Coming From” is a 70s funky Northern Soul masterpiece. We’ve rescued a lost, never heard before, track by the group for the A-Side here. Fans of their music will immediately connect with this blistering anthemic Northern Soul monster. Go ahead and grab the talcum powder, and prepare to dance up a storm to this one.

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Milton Davis – Let Me In LP

Albina Music Trust

In 1977, the Portland Trailblazers were at the peak of their game. Anticipating the team’s meteoric rise toward an NBA championship, songwriter Ron Stassens assembled his own dream team. Featuring members of Pleasure, Transport, and Slickaphonic, Stassens penned a theme song to amplify the Blazers’ ascent and wound up with an album’s worth of soulful, disco-funk material.

Centering on Slickaphonic frontman, Milton Davis, the band was hopeful. But like the vast majority of Portland’s musical output, the reels received a dose of regional airplay before being shelved. Davis left town. Stassens and the backing band moved on. Years later, we now have this artifact, featuring a who’s who in Portland’s musician community.

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Shrine – The Rarest Soul Label Vol.2 Andy Rix 2000

The story of Shrine Records, from its creation to demise, was told in Volume One. As promised Volume Two will look at those who contributed to the creation of the Shrine sound and the songs that have captured the attention of 60s Soul fans all over the world.

The story of Shrine Records, from its creation to demise, was told in Volume One. As promised Volume Two will look at those who contributed to the creation of the Shrine sound and the songs that have captured the attention of 60s Soul fans all over the world.

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The Rhythm Roots Allstars Feat: John Arthur Bigham

“Say I Do” / “Island Hustle”

Label: F-Spot Records 
Catalogue Number: FSPT-1027
Release Date: 16th Dec 2022
Format: Vinyl Color: Yellow / Blue / Black 7’

The Rhythm Roots Allstars began in 1998 as the house band for the weekly Rhythm Room at Temple Bar, a popular Los Angeles club that served as the epicenter for underground urban funk, soul, and international music for over a decade. This collective, featuring some of L.A.’s busiest musicians in the scene, is most notable for co-writing and crafting the music for 2017’s Grammy-nominated album “And The Anonymous Nobody” by De La Soul, in addition to recording with artists such as Ghostface Killah, Aloe Blacc, Raheem DeVaughn, Afrodisiac Soundsystem and more. Having backed up and supported numerous artists such as De La Soul, Talib Kweli, Brother Ali, and Barrington Levy, to name a few, it’s been a long time coming for Rhythm Roots Allstars’ first official solo release.

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Double O’s Demingo’s

“Color One Tear Black” Parts 1&2

Label: Symphonical Records
Catalogue Number:  SR-012 
Release Date: 26th October 2022
Format: 7’  / Digital  

Double O’s Demingo’s Cincinnati teens Bill Smith & Randy Vandivier would play together during the late 60s in a group called ‘Billy & The Hitch Hikers’ fronted by James Bowens, who through his fascination with James Bond would adopt the nickname ‘Double O’ Hailing from Lincoln Heights, the group would be surrounded by and play with the likes of Bootsy Collins, Charles Spurling who became staples at local King Records.

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Robert IMtume Owens

Reflecting on my life, there was never a time when music wasn’t a part of it. In fact, at the age of 7, I remember walking down 52nd and Hooper in South Central, LA, and hearing a voice say to me, “You are a singer and you will sing.” That voice turned out to be correct. I went on to sing in the California state choir that was directed by Andre Crouch when I was 8 years old. I sang soprano at the time because I had a really high voice. I’ve been singing ever since, though now, I’m definitely more of a tenor.

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Betty Wright

Betty Wright is a soul and R&B singer with deep gospel roots. She influenced a generation of female singer-songwriters and continues to influence the world of hip hop, who sample some of her more famous material.

Born singing gospel with the family group, the Echoes of Joy, Wright began experimenting with R&B music in 1965 when she was only 11. In 1968, she released her first album, My First Time Around, by the age of 14, and scored her first national hit, “Girls Can’t Do What Guys Can Do”. But it was not until the end of 1971 that Wright’s most successful phase of her career began to take place.

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Ronn Matlock

When I was a singer for Warner/Atlantic/Cotillion Records, I only recorded one album, “Love City,” which produced and co-written by the legendary Michael Stokes, but now I..m more into writing and production… 

Some artists that I have written for that you may know are: Keith Barrow, Shirley Caesar, Eddie Kendrick of the Temptations, Paul Williams of the Temptations, Posse, Bobby Taylor of Bobby Taylor the Vancouvers, Millie Scott, Conquest, and many others have recorded tunes of mine. I also had the pleasure of producing sessions featuring the famed Motown Funk Brothers rhythm section… Done sessions at some of Detroit’s most legendary recording studios, including The Sound Suite, United Sound, Pac 3; Super Disc, Cloudborn,Motown Studio A and The Pit. I’ve been very lucky in my associations… My first professional writing collaboration was done at Motown with a guitarist named Ricky Matthews, who later changed his name to the more memorable Rick James.

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Crystal Motion

“Crystal Motion” was a singing group from “New Bedford” Massachusetts. The group was formed in 1974 and the original members were “Kevin Gomes”(lead vocals),” Rodney (Skeeta)Santos”(and cousin to Kevin), Daniel(Buddy)Monterio” (A lifelong friend),and “John Paris”. The group was managed by”Carter Management”(Eddie Carter) Of Onset, Mass., who now resides in Orlando, Fl.. They had a brush with stardom in 1975 with a recording called” You’re My Main Squeeze”, which was on the “Sound Gems” record label, and was a small hit in the Boston, Mass. and Providence, R.I. area. It also was played on radio stations in Philly, Atlanta and Houston, Texas.

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Transport


‘Disco Fantasy Land’

Label: Albina Music Trust
Catalog: AMT-004
Release Date: 23rd April 2021
Format: LP

“It’s a place where people go, again and again. The name of the place is Disco Fantasy Land.”

These lyrics introduce the title track of this previously unreleased Transport album from 1978. Featuring members of The Gangsters, Ural Thomas’ 1960s band, and Nu Shooz, this group has been under the radar since its inception, only recently rediscovered by Albina Music Trust.

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Slickaphonic LP

Label: Albina Music Trust
Release Date: January 22nd, 2020
Catalog: AMT-003
Genre: Soul/Jazz/Funk from 1975 (previously unreleased)
Format: Vinyl Only

Next up from Albina Music Trust is a previously unreleased reel-to-reel session by Slickaphonic, a nine-piece powerhouse in Portland’s lost funk scene. Recorded in 1975 at Recording Associates by engineer Bob Stoutenberg (The Wipers, Baba Yaga, Mel Brown), this carefully restored collection places the listener in the thick of a watertight disco-funk session done the Albina way.

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The Legendary Beyons LP

Label: Albina Music Trust
Release Date: October 16th, 2020
Catalog: AMT-002
Genre: Soul/Jazz/Funk from 1977 (previously unreleased)
Format: Vinyl Only

For over fifty years, The Legendary Beyons have delighted Portlanders with their music. And now, for the first time, their work has been documented in this high fidelity LP accompanied by a detailed oral history of the group. The album’s well-designed booklet features a range of archival photography, serving as a period piece for the uninitiated.

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A Marvel in Manchester

ASBrownOk ok … Let’s do the Melissa Morgan, Whispers and Patti  Labelle gig we agreed over dinner one midweek evening, I will order the tickets now , after all Melissa and Patti were still on our ‘to see ‘ list.We arrived at a very tired Manchester Apollo, attendance was surprisingly light for these  world class artists.

Melissa was first up and gave us a great set of the old favourites . This included a walk out into the audience performing Fools Paradise.It was great to meet her too in the lobby area after the performance, she was fab and very friendly and eager to chat about old times.

Next up were the Whispers…They performed a very polished ‘Vagas’ type set lasting 30 minutes with many of the uptempo favesThe Whispers Orchestra truly awesum, they oozed quality and composure Warm , rich , professional harmonies the hallmark of the group rattled around Continue reading A Marvel in Manchester