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Here's one of those amazing one-off records that, when listening today, one wonders why it wasn't a massive hit in its time. Producer and co-writer Bob Relf was one half of Bob & Earl ('Harlem Shuffle' fame) and 'Try A Little Harder' is a great example of Los Angeles aping Motown with glorious results.
The flip side is an excellent deep soul track in its own right. Nothing else seems to be known about who The Fi-Dels were, but it wouldn't surprise me if Mr. Relf himself is singing on the record; the only release from The Fi-Dels.
I know, I know... it's been a LONG time since my last post. I promise that things are gonna be more frequent, as I have lots of new discovery, killer 45's that I'm ready to share.
'Invitation' is the final single from this oddly named group of British fellows, and shortly after its release vocalist Mike D'Abo went on to far greater success as lead singer with Manfred Mann (that's Mike singing lead vocals on Mann's huge hit 'The Mighty Quinn').
'Invitation' is a superb example of the type of influence that American soul music was having upon MOD British youngsters, and it's such a success that I could easily hear someone such as James Carr singing this song in a deep southern soul recording. However, this great composition from Mike D'Abo seems to have only been cut this one time only and a splendid recording it is.
Whoop! Whoop! In many cases, a song with a repeated chanted such as this would prove obnoxious, but in the hands of these cats, it's quite alright. Maybe it's the stomping beat, trippy drone-out guitars, and overall outrageous attitude that's in these grooves...
Hailing from the tropics of southwest Florida, legend has it that the
group traveled to Chicago in 1966 to compete at the International Battle
Of The Bands in which they took first place- a contract with Columbia
Records.
The group released a handful of singles (showing a
strong British Invasion/ folk rock influence) on Columbia that never
broke nationally. The group was fantastic, boasting strong vocals and
musicianship, as well as excellent production work from Teo Macero,
known mostly as a jazz producer who is immortalized by his
groundbreaking work with Miles Davis, among others.
By the time this record was released in 1968, the sweet soul sound heard in these groups was becoming as prominent in soul music as the (James Brown influenced) hard hitting funk. The sweet soul sound (heard most prominently at the time in Chicago soul) took a cue from Doo Wop vocals and matched it to a slow grooving soul beat that is one of those magical combinations of styles that produced a whole lot of great records.
The Epsilons were a soul group based from Philadelphia (but based in Memphis at the time of this recording) that only released two records; however, (falsetto) vocalist Lloyd Parks was also heard on Arthur Conley's smash hit "Sweet Soul Music" and became an early '70's member of Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes.
It's a beautiful track showcasing an incredible group vocal performance.
Willie Bobo is a legendary figure in the world of Latin/ Afro-Cuban jazz; not only did the man play percussion (with a focus on his timbale work) alongside Tito Puente, but Mr. Bobo also played on several Latin-influenced jazz records by the likes of George Shearing and Cal Tjader, as well as cutting several LP's on his own.
This track took his percussion work into the proto-disco era in a VERY appealing way. On top of a relentless groove, the percussion drives HARD on top of a very jazzy piano (which reminds me a whole lot of Willie Tee's playing), a spaced out guitar and electric piano, and superb horns.
Behold, the sublime and gorgeous debut from Houston, TX's Archie Bell & The Drells. This record was cut a year before their massive smash 'Tighten Up', and finds the group exploring a deep soul vocal harmony sound. Archie's vocal here is so smooth and when he slides into falsetto it has the power to take you anywhere...
from 1966...
ARCHIE BELL & THE DRELLS - SHE'S MY WOMAN, SHE'S MY GIRL
Yes, I know; it's been a LONG time since I've posted anything here (it *is* the Occasional 45 these days after all). However, after seeing the fabulous Ronnie Spector live last night (for the second glorious time), I was reminded that I'd never featured this glorious single here and it was time to remedy that.
'Paradise', while released in 1976 (where it sadly sank without a trace), is a Ronettes master that was cut in 1965 but never released during the groups' lifetime (along with the majestic 'I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine'). A pity, as this glorious P. Spector/ Harry Nillsson penned track certainly is a little slice of what the title states, and then some. Ronnie's vocal is at its most majestic, and the Wall of Sound is at its epic best as well. The only sad thing about this record is thinking about the torture that the madman maestro inflicted upon this poor woman, which is well documented and harrowing. Ronnie, we love you.
Lee Williams nickname 'Shot' came from his mother, who called him 'Big Shot' as young Lee liked to dress up in fancy clothes at any opportunity. 'Shot' was born and raised in Mississippi, and moved north (first to Detroit, then to Chicago) for a career as a blues musician.
This track, while not a blues number, showcases Lee's vocals in a raw, deep soul setting that works perfectly for the man's style.
from 1972...
LEE 'SHOT' WILLIAMS - IT AIN'T ME NO MORE
Also, check out my tribute to the recently departed Deon Jackson here.
The Jelly Beans scored a massive hit (US Top 10) with their debut release ('I Wanna Love Him So Bad'), but it proved to be their only successful release in a scant three single discography. This (final) release from the group found them exploring more depth to their sound with a harder soul edge; one side being an uptempo stomper, and the flip being a brilliant soul ballad. Sadly, this single failed completely and is very, very scarce. While the northern soul favored 'You Don't Mean No Good' was the side that initially drew me to seek out this record (dig those infectious handclaps and the attitude laden backing vocals!), 'I'm Hip To You' was a very pleasant surprise to me on first listen, and I would rate it as perhaps the greatest thing the group ever cut. The mood, arrangement, vocals, and the song itself are top notch; it has the type of dreamy qualities that are favored by the Lowrider/ underground oldies crowd as well.
The story of the Jelly Beans is a familiar one in the annals of girl group lore; high school friends (in this case 4 young ladies and one young man) formed a group which was 'discovered' and signed by legendary songwriters Leiber-Stoller to their newly formed Red Bird label.
The combination of New York producer (and Sue Records label owner) Juggy Murray and vocalist Justine 'Baby' Washington was one of pure musical chemistry; Juggy placed Baby's husky, intense vocals inside productions that showcased the strength of her voice in the perfect setting.
'Doodlin' is a track that was written by the great jazz pianist Horace Silver, and while the original recording from 1954 (Horace Silver and The Jazz Messengers) is a relatively straight (but swingin') hard bop performance, this reworking takes on the Latin style rhythms that Horace Silver was also exploring in his music during the 1960's to brilliant effect. While the original is an instrumental, lyrics are added here; strangely, though, the lyricist isn't credited (it may very well have been Baby herself). The end result is a unique vocal melody with jazzy phrasing and a phenomenal performance from everyone on the track.
Possessing an incredible, earth voice, Justine's "Baby" Washington's professional music
career began in 1956 when she was all of 16 years old as a member of New
York City group The Hearts. By 1959, she was recording as a solo
artist.
Justine continues to sing to this day, performing
occasionally on the east coast. Sadly, she was working on tracks with
producer Juggy Murray (of Sue Records fame) who was quoted as saying he
would "rather record Baby Washington than eat" when Juggy died in 2005.
from 1963...
'Lonely Heart In The City' is one of those records that commands attention from the very first revolution per minute- the band lays down a swirling intro, a killer guitar hook sets the mood, and a simple but incredibly effective female vocalist duo sings the title in a way that shows that this record means business. Johnny Moore delivers the vocal with pure soul, and just when it seems that this record is a relatively straight (but deeply grooving) soul-blues, the bridge comes in, shifts the mood, and propels the song upward in a bit of masterful song craft.
Chicago based producer/ songwriter Jack Daniels was involved in several cool records, but the majority of them seem a bit half baked and not up to their full potential. However, this one is fully realized and one of THE great Chicago soul tracks of the late '60's.
Chicago vocalist Johnny Moore had a powerful, appealing voice and
released several great records. For whatever reason, his records charted
locally in Chi-town but never made a mark in any other markets. No surprise that when several of his sides were compiled onto CD that the title of this record was used as the name of the compilation.
