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stai visitando "un raggio di soul", il sito ... too darn hot !
2 HOT EIGHTIES TUNES
Sentendosi ferito nell'orgoglio per le voci di aver compilato una lista con molti brani forse troppo conosciuti (la pagina web con i brani 80's da lui preparata è stata massicciamente visitata ed ha suscitato un notevole interesse soprattutto all' estero ), il nostro Thierry - uno dei maggiori esperti europei dei ssuoni anni Ottanta - non ha potuto fare a meno di redigere una seconda recensione.
Questa pagina web è dedicata a quella "setta" di appassionati di "roba anni Ottanta" che spesso scrivono a questo sito : prendetelo come un regalo di Natale.
Tornando al mitico Thierry, lui ricorda così quei tempi "At the time, I started listening to a few radio shows like "Radio Cité Funky", "Funky Town", SIS Radio where they played all the 80's tunes which were hot at the time: SOS Band, Change, Whispers, Shalamar...
In 1989-1990, I discovered Blues & Soul and in particular the "Soul Sauce" column written by Richard Searling. I immediately felt very close to his tastes and I started buying blind many records he advised. I was never disappointed. I have to admit he's probably my biggest musical influence ".
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Monsieur Thierry Boulanger, who lives at "La Rue Exquisite Taste De Musique" ( scritto da Roger Williams su Togetherness ! )
.
While
browsing through my collection, I realized I had omitted a few unmissable tracks
in my first selection. So
Perry
& Sanlin are in fact Phil Perry and Kevin Sanlin. "Off on your
love" is the best track for me, but there are other cream cuts on this
album, like the cover of Earth Wind & Fire's "You can't hide
love". All in all a strong and varied album, re-released on a Jap CD
recently.
* FUTURE FLIGHT - "Hip-notic lady" from "Future Flight" (1981).
An album produced by Lamont Dozier. "Hip-notic lady" is a fantastic two-step written by Lamont Dozier but take a listen to "Walk don't run" and you'll see it's not the only good track ! "Walk don't run" is an excellent dancer which I didn't know before buying this album.
It's
also been re-released on a Jap CD and comes highly recommended !
* NORMAN CONNORS - "Sing a love song", "She's gone", "Love's in your corner" from "Mr. C" (1981).
Norman Connors' albums have always been consistent and this one sure is one of my favorites by him. "She's gone" is written by Nigel Martinez ( Check out his wonderful album on Expansion ! ) and features Beau Williams on lead vocals.
"Love's
in your corner" is another fine dancer which features Jean Carn &
Derrick Hughes but my favourite track on the album is "Sing a love
song" with my favourite 80's male singer on lead vocals : Glenn Jones...
It's a wonderful piece of two-step.
* LONNIE LISTON SMITH - "Never too late" from "Dreams of tomorrow" (1983).
I've
always had respect for the man who is more renowned for his jazz work, but on
this LP, do not miss the superb dancer "Never too late" which would
sound good on any Modern Soul dancefloor. Donald Smith is the lead vocalist.
* G.C. CAMERON - "Night like this in Georgia", "Give me your love" from "Give me your love" (1983).
Recorded on Malaco. You probably all know the soul cut "Night like this in Georgia" ( featured on the Soul Sauce 5 Expansion compilation CD ), but there's another strong track in the shape of "Give me your love" which is a very good dancer in its own right. Should be played out more often !
Has
also been reissued on a Jap CD, but it's now deleted and hard to find !
* MELISSA MANCHESTER - "Lovers after all" (1980)
Although a pop artist in my book, she's done some nice soul tracks as well (amongst others her cover of Stevie Wonder's "Bad weather" produced by Leon Ware). "Lovers after all" has been written by Leon Ware and produced by Stewe Buckingham. It's a great two-step duo with Jeffrey Osborne.
I've
only got this on a "Greatest Hits" CD from 1994, but if Leon Ware is
involved on other tracks of that album, it should be good.
* MANHATTANS - "Don't say no" from "Too hot to stop it" (1985).
First track on the CD, "Don't say no" is a dreamy downtempo track with exquisite vocals from the co-lead female vocalist B.J. Nelson. What a voice !
The
rest of the album is less consistent I'm afraid, but buy it for this track, you
won't regret it !
* TASHAN - "Chasin' a dream" LP/CD (1986) (All tracks).
First album by Tashan and what a masterpiece ! "Ooh we baby", "Got the right attitude" are fantastic and I re-discovered lately "Thank you father" with its monster bassline ! Perfect for today's scene.
This
CD is quite rare nowadays and fetches good
amount of money on eBay but the vinyl is much cheaper.
* ASHFORD & SIMPSON - "Love don't make it right" from "A musical affair" (1980).
Ashford
& Simpson have always been prolific writers/producers, and I thought I'd
mention this joyous dancer which still sounds fresh today.
* ALFONZO SURRETT - "Gimme your love" from "Comin' out" (1980).
A
soulful midtempo track from an album which is not that easy to find nowadays. I
discovered it recently and I was immediately hooked.
* HIGH INERGY - "It was you baby" from "Hold on" (1980).
Each
of their albums contains at least one great track, and this makes no exception:
"It was you baby" is a fantastic floater which oozes class.
Recommended.
* PATTIE BROOKS - "Reach for my love" from "Pattie Brooks" (1980).
End of last year, I heard Ray Rose play that track at Soul Underground in the UK and it floored me. I must admit I had not heard it before. It's a fantastic midtempo dancer up there with the best.
I
wouldn't recommend her other albums which are very disco orientated, but if you
see this one (With the red apple on the cover), buy it without hesitation.
* TEMPTATIONS - "There's more where that came from" from the "Loving Couples" soundtrack (1980).
Excellent
dancer by the Temptations, this track is in serious need of reactivation. There's
a second great track also performed by the Temptations on this compilation:
"Take me away" is a very soulful downtempo track with lots of strings.
* JERRY BELL - "Tell me you'll stay" from "Winter love affair" (1981).
Great
vocals on that soulful midtempo track which should be in everyone's collection.
It's on MCA records.
* CHAMPAIGN - "Can you find the time" from "How 'bout us" (1981).
Everyone
know their megahit slow tune "How 'bout us" and I've always thought
they were more pop than soul, but track 1 on side A is a dancer with a lot of
potential, perfect
for today's scene. By far their best track.
* LOVESMITH - "Shame on you" from "Lovesmith" LP (1981).
Also featured on the "Soul Sauce 2" compilation (Expansion), a must for every soul collector. It's been issued on a 45 as well so that shouldn't be too hard to find.
A
downtempo track with very soulful vocals. Unfortunately, the rest of the album
pales in comparison.
* LAKESIDE - "It's got to be love" from "Keep on moving straight ahead" (1981).
A
funk group which occasionally issues a more soulful track, like on this album
which you see less often than their others. Fantastic dancer !
* HAROLD MELVIN - "Tell me why" from "All things happen in time" (1981).
Harold
Melvin on top form on this vibrant dancer with excellent orchestration. An album
quite easy to find, so you know what to do...
* NOEL POINTER - "Classy lady", "All the reasons why" from "All my reasons" (1981).
If
you're not being put off by the violin (Noel Pointer is a violin player), do
yourself a favour and find this album. "Classy lady" is a great dancer
with very good vocals, and if you like 2-steps, then you'll love "All the
reasons why" which has all the right ingredients !
* SPINNERS - "Got to be love", "You go your way" from "Can't shake this feeling" (1981).
This
LP is produced by Mtume/Lucas, so you know what to expect: quality. "Got to
be love" is the key dancer on the LP (and this track is also featured on
the recent Mtume/Lucas compilation on Expansion). "You go your way (and I'll
go mine)" is more downtempo and it's my favourite track on the album with
its luscious orchestration. In fact the whole album is great !
* STYLISTICS - "Searchin'" from "Closer than close" (1981).
If
you like Harold Melvin's "Prayin'", you'll like this dancer which is
very similar in tempo and feel. Very easy to find, which is not a bad thing
either.
* JAY W. McGEE - "I love you" from "Over & over" (1982).
An
independent release on the Scorpio label which is consequently sold for a hefty
sum, although I've heard it's not that rare. The whole album is strong and
another track worth a special mention is "What you tryin' to do".
* O'BRYAN - "Right from the start", "Doin' alright" from "Doin' alright" (1982).
An
80's hero and deservedly so. "Right from the start" is a very nice
dancer and "Doin' alright", a bit slower, is also very good. I've
always liked the cool feeling of that track.
* SADANE - "One minute from love", "Baby won't cha" from 'Exciting" (1982).
Two
fantastic dancers, again produced by Mtume/Lucas. "Baby won't cha" is
a duet with Tawatha (how good is she on that track?!) which deserves to be
played out as well. "One minute" is also featured on that Mtume/Lucas
compilation. Highly recommended !
* BOBBY GLOVER - "Bright skies, sunny days", "It's my turn" from "Bad Bobby Glover" (1984).
"Bright
skies" is a typical dancer and excellent dancer from the man, and "It's
my turn" is a fantastic 2-step. This LP has been luckily reissued.
* WILTON FELDER - "The truth song", "I'll still be lookin' up to you" from "Secrets" (1987).
This
LP of the Crusaders sax player features 2 tracks with Bobby Womack on vocals,
and as usual with him, expect nothing but the best. "The truth song"
is partly written by him and by Patrick Moten (!) and Bobby also produces it.
It's a fantastic and very soulful midtempo gem. On the other track ("I'll
still be lookin' up"), Bobby duets with a female singer called Alltrinna
Grayson and this downtempo track is one of my all time favourite duets.
Alltrinna's vocals are simply stunning (you won't believe your ears, she even
reminds me of Aretha at times).
* IVY - "True love" from "III" (1987).
A
very good dancer from Ivy who have issued 3 albums. Instrumentation is a bit
"end of the 80's" if you see what I mean, but all in all, it's a very
nice track with good vocals.
* MOSLEY & JOHNSON - "Baby come back" from "Mosley & Johnson" (1987).
Issued
on Malaco Records which is already a good thing in itself, it's also been done
by Louisiana Purchase on an elusive (and very expensive) Basin Street 45. I bought
this at King Bee in Manchester (one of the best soul shops in the North West of
the UK) last year and I was very pleased to say the least.
That's
it for now. Don't forget : whatever you do, keep it soulful !
Thierry Boulanger