The Rolling Stones - "Main Street Revisited, Mickboy Remasters" (Torn & Frayed - 1999) plus...

Much talking lately 'bout the legendary "Exile On Main St." reissue/remastered edition. As a true sucker i am, i tweak on this and if there's one word to describe the whole project, that is 'disappointment'! Don't know the exact technical clauses, but this shit's for sure "cleaned-up", "louder" and somehow "weak"... I'm no purist (really) and i don't consider myself a huge Stones fanatic (in a way that you must got all albums, even the crappy ones, you know, everything they produced  after "Goat's Head Soup"- yes, I DON'T LIKE "Some Girls"...) but the most important element on why "Exile" still is the MOST MYTHICAL ROCK & ROLL RECORD EVER MADE, was this muddy,druggy,sloppy, loose and filthy sound - atmosphere. And that's gone for sure...
What lurks behind the original mix and production, courtesy of Jimmy Miller of course, is that human and at the same time, out of this world sounding. I'm a person who loves much new creations and technologies and i make my living as a computer engineer, but sometimes 'high definition' cannot create the feelings captured on a 'first take', even if this take is muddy as hell or full of merits! On the review Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote for allmusic.com, says : "it’s possible to hear what most individual instruments are doing on each track, which may lead for a greater appreciation of the Stones' monumental musicianship, but it’s somewhat at the expense of the album’s mystique". Yeah, truth's sometimes so CRUDE!

 Anyway, if you wanna buy it, do it. But if you really want to hear this masterpiece in its full decadent glory i got some goodies for ya. The "Main Street Revisited" is one of the many Mickboy remasters on the Stones works. Who is Mickboy? Don't know, but i thank him for what he did on these swats! I think this guy re-mixed everything he did from original (probably vinyl) pressings or even some Japanese audiophiles, and guess what, the results are simply SUPERB! His most notably work it's on the "Goat's Head Soup" but "Exile" and "Sticky" are again brilliant! These house works, give bootlegs a good name! Excellent sound, fabulous mixes, keen artworks and marvelous liners! If you wanna get them, try on Rolling Stones collectors sites, but on eBay too and from time to time make an appearance. If you're regular there, I'm sure you'll crash them. Be prepared though to fly off from your wallet many bucks. At the end, if there's one 'remastered' edition must own, that's "Main Street Revisited". 

PS: I got on CD also a mid 90s decent "Exile" edition but believe me there's nothing like the original vinyl pressing. Just recently, i discover a fantastic rip of this plastic made by PBTHAL. And here are the good things of technology... Sure this guy got magnificent equipment and knows how to use it! Sometimes i wonder why the Stones not tried to found fans for doing justice on their monuments and instead of this, they used !$%^&* like Don Was or for worse Babyface...? Keef should have killed Jagger a long time ago. Now he's dragged to greedy dollars hell too.

"Hey let him follow you down, /Way underground wind and he's bound. /Bound to follow you down,/Just a dead beat right off the street. /Bound to follow you down./ Well the ballrooms and smelly bordellos /And dressing rooms filled with parasites. /On stage the band has got problems, /They're a bag of nerves on first nights. /He ain't tied down to no home town, /Yeah, and he thought he was wreckless. /You think he's bad, he thinks you're mad, Yeah, and the guitar player gets restless...And his coat is torn and frayed"

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The Count Bishops - "Speedball + 11" (Chiswick/Ace - 1996)

I was a huge punk fanatic in my teens. Basically i still am. I was trying then to catch or listen to whatever band sacked under this term. That was in the early 90s, so you must take notice that at least in Greece, was a period of time without internet. I have bought (naturally) many crap records in those days (Exploited, GBH etc...) and it took me much time and money to finally see clearly what was 'PUNK'. Through the pass of time, exploring by hearing many long plays or CDs, i came to 2 basic conclusions:

1st. Actually PUNK, wasn't a British discovery (I know you know it). PUNK existed and before the 70s of course (I know you know it too!). Bands like the Velvets,Televison or Patti Smith Group never was musically at least in those fields! If i must be honest, PUNK was just one band. The Sonics! OK, i can compromise here and add the Stooges too, but that was it!

2nd. There's a lie when you read in magazines that "77 punk wave", saved rock n' roll from the Prog Rock's tyrants. In the 70s, rock n' roll being saved by PUB bands. Period!

I copied here a piece from allmusic.com that says it all:

"In the year or so before punk finally emerged on the London scene, the Count Bishops were the kind of band you wished everyone could sound like - without ever guessing that very soon, they would. A mere handful of other groups shared the Bishops' eye for tanked up, dressed down, dirty-ass R&B - Eddie & The Hot Rods, Little Bob Story, Dr Feelgood and the Hammersmith Gorillas were the closest, and it was a sign of those prime movers' versatility that each of them brought something fresh to the party.

In the Bishops' case, it was a laconic sneer, a greaseball grind and one of the hottest guitarists of the age, Zenon DeFleur. As both writer and performer, he nails even the trickiest riff down flat, for the rest of the band to steamroller. Give him a dumb one and he flattens it himself."

Fuck yeah! All these aforementioned bands belong to this day to my favorites' pantheon! And the Count Bishops are on the top of that list! Filthy strollers, leather drenched vagabonds, ripped jeans and sneakers wearing bums even before the Ramones! Dirty ass R&B the way (it) should be played. I read many times that this record is actually a "speed-ed up version of the Rolling Stones debut"...Hell yes it's true! 

The original 'Speedball EP' featured just four tracks. This record started Chiswick label, home at first by bands such as Motorhead or the Damned and parent label of a very important re-issue company, Ace Records. The recording process of "Speedball" EP (whatta name!) thankfully had nine more dynamites in the same vein and energy! Ace re-issued this mofo back in 1996 in its full greasy and anti-hippie glory, and even though it's still in print (is it?), you can't find it easily at the record stores. It's Bo and Chuck basically via the British Boom adaption of the Stones and the Pretties! I fuckin' adore the Flamin' Groovies but sorry lads, never even came close to these heights of energy! Not even the Bishops themselves.The after "Speedball" period found the Bishops changing line ups for a few times and even if they're not "mellowed" their sound, they'll never again be in the state of this vitriolically high excitement. Their US native singer, Mike Spenser left the band and established the (mighty trashers) Cannibals, but that's another chapter that we probably explore through this space in the near future. Till then... Be Speedballed!

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"TWO MINUTE BISHOPS - COUNT THEM AND SEE!
- Excerpt from Sounds, January 1976, Written by Phil Sutcliffe

"There was a time when the Swinging Blue Jeans moseyed into a studio, played the Hippy Hippy Shake for somewhat less than two minutes, decided that was alright and moseyed back out again - with a number one single.
That sort of carelessness (or should it be called spontanity) has been put to scorn by epic single makers from the Beach Boys to Queen but now a cosmopolitan bunch of roustabout pub rockers called the Count Bishops have loudly and proudly put the clock back.
Their current EP 'Speedball' (it ain't no soddin' maxi-single mates) is culled from 13 tracks of hot R&B laid down in five hours. I know this means they were tainted by modernism enough to take maybe half an hour on some tracks but you will agree that basically the statistics suggest all the doubts and hesitations of an express train.
The Count Bishops are Johnny Guitar (American on you-guessed), Zenon De Fleur (Polish/English on guitar, if you get the pun in his name, quite frequently the floor), Steve Lewins (proper English on bass) and Paul Balbi (Maltese/Australian on drums). The singer on 'Speedball' Mike Spencer, a New York buddy of Mr. Guitar, has already 'moved on'.
The band's French manager Larry Debray lamented: "Mike is a good mover, all the ingredients to be a good singer but his attitude was so unprofessional"
So Johnny and Zen are taking the vocals with a gentleman called Laurie, lately of the Michigan Flyers (who? ah well now...), temporarily on mouth-harp while they seek out a new front man.
Johnny, whose versatility extends to writing their intriguing Press handouts, said: "When we got together we rehearsed night and day for a couple of weeks" (a couple of weeks? te-he) "And then we went into Pathway Studios in Islington with the idea of getting down as many tracks as possible. It was 'We'll bring the amps, you guys bring the beer.'
"After eight or nine tracks we'd stopped and were listening to the playbacks and everyone was so enthusiastic we unpacked all the gear again and recorded four more including 'Route 66' and 'Teenage Letter' which we put on 'Speedball'."
Debray: "We captured the live sound which is very tight. The beginnings of a band. The accent was on energy level rather than refined recording."
There is certainly no danger of anyone describing the result as 'refined' but that raw, old sound (acknowledged Bishops' heroes are the early Stones and Yardbirds) is just what made them kick in the crypt. You have to laugh - and bop.
Debray is dubious about such praise though: "We think people aree too 'oooked on the nostalgia. This is R&B alive today! It's not just a matter of getting dusty records down off the shelf. The band is writing its own songs now it's got used to playing as a unit."
They have so far sold out the 2,500 initial pressing of 'Speedball' (Chiswick Records) and plan further recordings on the Franco-Dutch Skydog label for which Debray happens to be the UK agent. Another year and could R&B be back, could the Count Bishops be feeling good?"

- The above piece taken from http://chiswickrecords.blogspot.com

Various Artists - The Northern Soul Of Sue (Soul World - 1998)

A frequently overlooked but no less important label, SUE Records located in New York and ran business from 1957 to 1970. Big Apple's contribution to Soul music to this day remains in shadow in comparison with other US cities scenes (most people put down on NYC for Doo-Wop), like Detroit's, Memphis', Chicago's or Philadelphia's and that's a damn shame! Sue got known more for its rock & roll or rhythm & blues gems but in association with other labels like Eastern, Symbol, Crackerjack or Broadway got also on its roster many brilliant soul artists!
Derek Martin, Sandra Phillips, Ike & Tina Turner, Jimmy Helms or the Soul Sisters were few of the label's cream. SUE got a very interesting story particularly when on the image came Guy Stevens from England and the label's UK part started to overlap original US part, but that needs from your side a little google search...
What we got here is a cool 26 song CD, focusing on the (Northern) Soul creations of the label and of course is HOT as hell, destinated only to dissolve your shoes soles!
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the Northern Soul of SUE

Various Artists - Northwest Grease (Norton - 2004)

I have said in the past that I'll try not to post many things by labels like Norton or Crypt or Ace or any other like these on the sidebar of the site (check my links for more), but sometimes i just can't help it! I do believe that blogs make the best advertise on labels or releases like this one and i just hope the guys behind them see this prospect from the same view...Anyway, there must be something unique about Billy & Miriam. They're my heroes! They taught me what real rock & roll is and sound like and after all these years still amaze me with every single new release by Norton. I mean, where in the hell these guys found and discovered all these tunes? How do they know so many facts about artists no one else seem to know? One thing's for sure, at least for me are American Music Folklore Scientists and some international organization must pay them (at least RESPECT) for what these people unearthed, saved and gave to worldwide culture. Cause Rock & Roll is culture and Chuck and Bo are equals of  Moliere, Aristophanes and Shakespeare. The 7inch i decided this time to post is a raunchy document of where people like the Sonics or the Wailers drew their influences. Northwest Grease indeed! Don't know shit about these cats on it but Billy Miller surely knows! So, here are what Shadow Norton inked on the back of this fine piece o' vinyl:

"Dig this crazy feast of NORTHWEST GREASE!

The Mighty El Dukes serve up the chilling doo wop original "Walking Beside You" plus a hip take of the Hollywood Flames' "Frankenstein's Den".  Both unreleased chants are taken from a cool Rex Recording Company acetate out of Portland Oregon.

Tacoma, Washington rock n' roll icons Clayton Watson and the Silhouettes first scored in 1958 with the Lavender label waxing "Everybody's Boppin'".  They howled again the following year under the name Lord Dent and his Invaders (so dubbed for Watson's numerous car wrecks) with "Wolf Call" on the Shelley subsidiary of Golden Crest Records.  Here we spin out with "The Greaser", the sleazy flip of their Shelley single.

Joe Boot's boozy 1958 R&B wobbler "Rock And Roll Radio" was released on Seattle's Celestial label and features curiously inaudible vocal group support from the Fabulous Winds as well as backing by Floyd Standifer's jazz ork.  Standifer recalls Boot downing a full bottle of whiskey during the recording.  It might not be a bad idea to follow suit if you're playing along at home.

The cool '56 vintage cover snamp of Tacoma's unrecorded Cool Breezes (with Paul Smith, later of Imperial label stars the Barons) caps off this swank little party package."

Buy it from here!

Git it here!

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Various Artists - Jump and Shout! (J&S Records - 200?)

That's one of my very-very fave compilations. A hot-shit gathering of  greasy R&B and early Soul ass movers like few still around! A flame thrower in the shape of a record (or a compact disc pick what you want). From start to finish a "never let you sit down" grunt, tailor made for go go girls in tight & tiny mini skirts and long & shinny plastic boots! The sloppy feeling at its finest! The ebony sexual-ism at its best! Gems like Baby Jean's "If You Wanna",  Danny Ware's "The Zombie Stomp", Eddie Kirk's "The Grunt" or Larry Bright's "Way Down Home" could have been hits and smashes, if this shitty world ever had any slice of taste! If you're smart for just one time here, prefer the CD version. It has 8 sweaty bonuses in comparison with the LP and guess what, this jerk behind the keyboard bought the vinyl (I'm pretty sure Norton or Crypt mail-orders still got copies, just mail them)...But don't worry, some good lad ripped the CD and saved a lot of my day-by-day less time cause otherwise I had to do it by myself from the long play... Go figure! Anyway, if you ever mate crash with this site, please mail me to give you the credit you really deserve. I found it on an old HD back up drive and posted at all his 224Kbps body movin' glory!

Jump & Shout!

Dr. Feelgood - Going Back Home (The Audio Version - EMI)

I'm looking forward to see Julian Temple's "Oil City Confidential" documentary. To tell you the truth i can't wait! I think of the Feelgoods as the best band came out of the UK in the 70s and yes I'm aware of how many good and legendary (now) bands came out of the island on that decade. I think were by far the best live act! Dr. Feelgood were the first who looked back at the roots of rock & roll and R&B, they stripped it down to the basics, speed-ed it to the max and worked for it from their start to the last days this hero called Lee Brilleaux, 365 days a year!
Sure I adore most of the bands of that first wave of punk rock in England but hey, if there's one truth here is that without the Feelgoods or any other "pub rock" band like the Count Bishops (place here the name of your fave pub band), Johnny Rotten would probably still be a hippie fanatic ("Never trust a Hippie"? Gimme a break Johnny, Hawkwind were punks right?). There's no time to explain myself why Dr. Feelgood were such a great band and influence. If you want to know more, google a little and you'll find plenty of information! From my side, help comes with this live and sweaty document! Hearing it it's believing it! That's the audio disc part of an unbelievable show ( well, actually two) by the gang, recorded of course LIVE (no overdubbed shits here, OK?) on  Kursaal Southend and Sheffield City Hall back at 1975!
Pay some (more) respect to the last of the R&B Mohawks.
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Going Back Home

Little Richard - Get Rich Quick! The Birth Of A Legend 1951-1954 (Rev-Ola 2005)

I was checking a few days ago at some net-mailorders and found a recently released long play with material that King Little Richard cut before the Specialty wisecats found him and got him on a studio (the record just came out by Jerome Records under the title 'The Implosive Little Richard - The Pre-Specialty Sessions 1951-1953'). So yes, the wop-bop-a-lou-bop master and if you don't know it already, began and recorded a bunch of tunes before his Specialty peak.
RCA & Peacock labels were the first pit stops for the real king of Rock N Roll. Officialy were recorded 16 tunes. The first thing one can see clearly here, is that Little Richard before Esquerita was a good R&B artist although just another one. What this blogger heard in this terrific compilation by Rev-Ola (a very hard to find CD with all known to this day recorded material from that era), it's the sonic evidence that Norton's mascot had a HUGE influence on him. The vibrato almost operatic voice and falsetto, the pounding, frantic and outta control 88s were all Esquerita's patent! He acknowledged this on some interviews even if he told the half truth (namely only the piano style was SQ's)...Also huge influence on Richard at this period of time was Billy Wright! A great flamboyant artist whose unique performances and "glam" dressing stylings made big interest on both Richard and Esquerita.
Anyway, the bands on these sides were Johnny Otis' and the Deuces of Rhythm along with the Tempo Toppers. Of course none of the two can match the Upsetters (the best rock n roll outfit EVER - better known to most of the world as the backing band of King Richard), but were arguably excellent rhythm & blues cats (especially Johnny Otis band...). What documented on this rare as heck CD are obviously the Peacock/RCA years plus some never released before alternate takes (six) plus three tunes by Christine Kittrell with Richard accompanied her on piano. To my opinion all these recordings are historically "must hears" for every LR fanatic, but if you're a beginner you must buy in every cost the Specialty material  which is what wrote history and created rock n roll!
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Get Rich Quick!

Various Artists - The Devil's Music Keith Richard's Personal Compilation of Blues,Soul And R&B Classics (Uncut 2002 12)

The title says it all: Keith Richard's Personal Compilation of Blues,Soul And R&B Classics! This CD came out with Uncut magazine on November 2002 (December's Issue). Uncut's still a good mag. For a period of 3-4 years, i was buying it every month but i lost interest since I don't dig that much Dylan and they cover every side of his life every two months...Anyway, that's a VERY GOOD compilation indeed! One of the best you were able to catch along with a mag. How many times you bought a magazine and the included CD isn't just to put up your bottles of beer? It supposed to be compiled by Keef himself (on the issue says clearly it was Keef's selections) but on the inside liners i read "compiled by Roy Carr and Allan Jones"...And it has no Chuck Berry for Christ's sake! But it could have been easily Keef's selections. Twenty six classics in every meaning of the word and not only "Blues,Soul & R&B" but as well country and reggae.
I decide to go on this this time for two reasons:
1st) As i said earlier it's a very good comp, contains undisputed classics and it's a good way for a young lad to start searching for Amos Milburn, Ike Turner, Jimmy Rogers or Howlin' Wolf.
2nd) A friend of this blog mailed me and asked me if i got it. He told me that many assholes tryin' sell it now in very HIGH prices not only on eBay but on many other sites (Amazon included) and i wonder why the wiseacres of the major labels still go hunting for bloggers and not on these blood suckers. I mean, it supposed to not be sold this thing OK? I noticed that even the guys at IORR fan club wants it. So here it is. Ripped at 320 Kbps as usual.

Tracklist:

01. Amos Milburn - Down The Road Apiece
02. Jackie Brenston - Rocket 88
03. Robert Johnson - Preachin' Blues (Up Jumped The Devil)
04. Muddy Waters - Rollin' Stone
05. Jimmy Rogers - Goin' Away Baby
06. Leadbelly - The Midnight Special
07. Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown - Okie Dokie Stomp
08. Clifton Chenier - Ay-Te Te Fee
09. Professor Longhair & His Shuffling Hungarians - Mardi Gras In New Orleans
10. Little Richard - Good Golly Miss Molly
11. Billie Holiday - He's Funny That Way
12. John Lee Hooker - I'm In The Mood
13. Bob Marley & The Wailers - Jah Is Mighty
14. Hank Williams - You Win Again
15. Ike & Tina Turner - I Can't Believe What You Say
16. B.B. King - Everyday I Have The Blues
17. T-Bone Walker - (They Call It) Stormy Monday
18. Howlin' Wolf - Moanin' At Midnight
19. Blind Willie McTell - Talkin' To Your Mama
20. Clarence 'Bon Ton' Garlow - Bon Ton Roulet
21. Aaron Neville - Tell It Like It Is
22. Albert King - That's What The Blues Is All About
23. Irma Thomas - Ruler Of My Heart
24. Otis Redding - Pain In My Heart (alt. take)
25. Booker T. & The MG's - Baby, Scratch My Back
26. Al Green - Take Me To The River

 

The Devil's Music

Okeh Records Northern Soul 45s

If you are a true R&B and Soul fanatic, there's no way to not know about Okeh Records. Based on Chicago, Okeh Records was founded probably at 1918 by Otto Heinemann who was German and migrated to the States just after the end of the first World War. For many years labeled as a "race" music company (I wanna know who was the originator of this tag to go and piss on his grave..). Of course at first was a jazz label. From early on, Okeh marketed as "black music specialists" and because of this it was a natural thing to expand on other genres like rhythm & blues at first and later on soul. From the label's roster passed many monsters like Louis Armstrong, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Little Richard, Larry Williams, Johnny Watson, Johnny Otis, Jerry McCain, Major Lance, Esquerita, Dave "Baby" Cortez, Billy Butler, the Vibrations, Big Maybelle, Ida Cox, Lavern Baker, Chuck Willis among many equals even Link Wray! Not bad huh?

By the sixties the label created many groove classics and I never really understood why never had the success of the Motown or Stax. A very good sum of the later Rhythm & Soul years written on bbc.co.uk by Bill Brewster :

"In 1958 a record called ‘For Your Precious Love’ was released on Vee-Jay Records that changed the sound in Chicago. Influenced by doo-wop and gospel groups like the Inkspots and the Soul Stirrers, Jerry Butler & The Impressions had a sweet, lilting sound that was in stark contrast to the angular and gritty local blues singers. Jerry Butler and fellow band member Curtis Mayfield had been in bands together for while, beginning with the Quails, followed by the Roosters, then, when they’d finally run out of birds’ names, the Impressions. Vee-Jay, the only black-owned label in Chicago, passed up on the chance of signing the Impressions preferring instead to hold on to Butler, thus allowing Mayfield to go elsewhere (Vee-Jay also released the Beatles’ US debut, ‘She Loves You’ before EMI affiliate Capitol got smart and picked them up for the States). Although the Impressions eventually signed to ABC-Paramount, Mayfield played a key role in the resurgence of OKeh (as a producer and writer) and his unique guitar style was aped by virtually every other Chicago guitarist.

 
In 1962, a Chicago producer, Carl Davis, hot from success with Gene Chandler’s ‘Duke Of Earl’, was brought into Columbia in the A&R department. The effects were immediate and, within a year, he was working full-time for its offshoot OKeh. He gathered around him songwriters like Mayfield, a group of musicians that included Jerry Butler’s younger brother Billy on guitar, Floyd Morris on keyboards, Bernard Reed on bass and Maurice White (who later went on to form Earth, Wind & Fire) on drums, alongside arrangers Johnny Pate and Riley Hampton.

 
The first hit was Major Lance’s ‘Monkey Time’, written by Mayfield and produced by Davis, which showcased a distinct sweet, rhythmic sound with weight lent by percussive brass stabs and the bass accentuated by trombones. It reached number eight in the US and was a club smash in UK clubs like the Twisted Wheel and The Scene. Lance followed this with a string of hits with the same writer and producer, including the onomatopoeic ‘Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um’, ‘Rhythm’ and ‘The Matador’.
 

Many of the artists signed to OKeh, including Lance, Mayfield and Billy Butler were not only local but came from the same housing project, the notorious Cabrini-Green (immortalised in the 1975 comedy movie Cooley High which, significantly, didn’t include any Chicago music on its soundtrack). Other Chicagoans included girl group, the Opals, who began life as backing singers for another Cabrini-Green resident Otis Leavill and the Artistics, who recorded the sublimely daft ‘Patty Cake’. Added to that were Detroit’s answer to Ian Dury, Walter Jackson (well, he had polio as a child) and the Vibrations from LA, who seemed to get through more labels than an early eighties casual.
 
But, like Motown, OKeh was a producer-led label and the artists were, in many ways, interchangeable. Curtis Mayfield went on to produce or write for many of the OKeh stable, Billy Butler & The Enchanters’ ‘Gotta Get Away’ and Walter Jackson’s ‘It’s All Over’, a superb beaty ballad in the Bobby Bland mould.
 
The demise of OKeh shows a conflict that’s been going on with major labels and black music for more than five decades now. For the most part, they still struggle to come to terms with its constantly shifting culture and when Columbia split the company into two, leaving OKeh under the aegis of newly independent Epic, Carl Davis, who had brought them so much success and prestige, was effectively forced out by head Len Levy and left acrimoniously in 1966. OKeh struggled on for the next four years, with Walter Jackson, Larry Williams and others enjoying minor hits, before finally being closed down in 1970. It was sad demise for a label that, thanks to its close affiliation with Curtis Mayfield and, indeed, Davis, had helped define not just the soul sound of Chicago, but had a profound effect on soul generally."

What i got for you guys this time is an EXCELLENT compilation from the cream of the label's Soul 45s! And when I'm saying "cream"  I MEAN IT! I found on my HDD Backups a file of 32 (yes, thirty two!) floor-fillers of the highest quality! I didn't rip them myself. Don't know where i got 'em, maybe by some old torrent download, but i did some work myself here except for re-upload them since they didn't have tags in all songs and on some other i had to make some re-search and put the right artist and title on 'em cause i never heard them before. Listening to these gems you're sure going to understand why Northern Soul-diers around the world still place Okeh beside Motown and Stax giants! Okeh?
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The Gems:

01. Come Back - Ken Williams

02. Gonna Get Along Without You Now - The Vibrations

03. I'm Coming To Your Rescue - The Triumphs

04. I Still Love You - The Seven Souls

05. Gone But Not Forgotten - Johnny Robinson

06. This Heart Of Mine - The Artistics

07. Your Gonna Make Me Love You - Sandi Sheldon

08. A Quitter Never Wins - Larry Wiliams and Johnny Watson

09. A Little Bit Of Something - Little Richard

10. Let My Heart And Soul Be Free - The Tan-Geers

11. You Don't Want Me No More - Major Lance

12. What's The Use Of Me Trying -  The Tan-Geers

13. I'm So Afraid - The Opals

14. My heart Is Hurtin' - Billy Butler

15. I Dont Want To Discuss It - Little Richard

16. I Can Do It The Autographs

17. So Glad Your Love Don't Change The Little Foxes

18. I'll Leave It Up To You - The Artistics

19. Don't Fight It -  Major Lance

20. The Right Track - Billy Butler

21. It's An Uphill Climb To The Bottom - Walter Jackson

22. Investigate - Major Lance

23. This Old Heart Of Mine - Johnny Watson

24. Finding Out The Hard Way - The Vibrations

25. Taking On Pain - Tommy Tate

26. Nothing Can Stop Me - Major Lance

27. Too Late - Larry Williams and Johnny Watson

28.Everybody Loves A Good Time - Major Lance

29. Call Me Tommorow - Major Harris

30. Ain't No Soul - Major Lance

31. You Can't Take It Away - Azie Mortimer

32. After You - Walter Jackson

Okeh?

Various Artists - "For Dancers Only" (Orig. Kent 1982 - 6T's Rhythm & Soul Special Part 2)

It was 1982 at the beginning of the Ace Records empire. Chiswick Records, the label from which Ace involved had started looking on the reissue market. It was already behind some (classic now) Rockabilly & 50s Rock N Roll compilations and master Ted Carroll thought that it was many soul sides on the vaults from classic 60s labels that waited for so long someone to re-discover them. And that's when enters the picture Croasdell. A huge soul music fanatic and dj that looked at every place to discover or maybe better, unearth forgotten soul classics. Carroll invited him to compile an LP's worth of material from the archives of the Kent/Modern labels. What came out some months later was this. For all Northern Soul fans, this is the first thing you should own. First thing of course after your graduating from the big Motown, Stax and Atlantic schools! And that's what you get here, several non-hit classics of the era by monsters like Ike & Tina, Z.Z. Hill, the Ikettes or Mary Love. There's all over the place a danceable atmosphere infiltration-ed thorough the prism and sound of Motown. "For Dancers Only" LP made it through today and still remains a classic! Something like a "Nuggets" or "Pebbles" comp. for Soul music.  It has till now two at least re-issues on CD with the last one as a replica of the original LP, only smaller to fit this digital thing. From start to finish a rhythm generator and as the front sleeve writes, it's "Where soul begins..."
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 For Dancers ONLY!