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Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson wrote some of the biggest Motown hits of the 60’s and 70’s including “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “California Soul,” “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” “You’re All I Need to Get By” and “Reach Out and Touch Somebody’s Hand”.
(21 votes, average: 4.19 out of 5)
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The band is Change of Pace. “Bring My Buddies Back” (1971) on Stone Lady Records.
A wonderful bit of harmony soul from the east coast — a record with exactly the kind of fragile emotion and personal depth you might guess from the cover! Change Of Pace are a group with a sound that’s a bit like some of their contemporaries on the scene — but they’ve also got a slightly different approach too — one that’s not just heartbreaking ballads and love songs, but which also has a somewhat righteous undercurrent. Social themes intertwine with more personal agendas in the tunes — making for some great lyrical interplay that comes off in a unique way. Backings are mostly gentle — save for a few slightly more upbeat numbers — and titles include “Bring My Buddies Back”, “Our Forefathers”, “When You Look Into The Mirror”, “Blood’s Much Thicker Than Water”, “Yuletide Love”, and “Hello Darling”. – Dusty Groove
(12 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5) Loading ...
“Get On Down” by East Harlem Bus Stop. A mix of mid-seventies funk, salsa and disco. Latin star Pete Terrace contributed some rhythm and band scores. Nice cover illustration by C. Ellis. D&M Sounds label.
A tight little east coast combo — with a slick funky sound for the clubs, in the manner of early work by BT Express! The grooves are all tight and choppy — with guitar vamping and wah-wahing over the top of most of the beats, while instrumental lines are laid down by sax and trumpet. There’s some occasional strings that slide into the mix — but most of the instrumentation is by the band. Pete Terrace handled some of the rhythm arrangements — and on the best tracks, you can detect the slightest of Latin influences. Titles include “Let’s Get It On”, “Right On”, “Get On Down”, and a slick cover of “Watermelon Man”. Boss cover, too! — Dusty Groove
(15 votes, average: 3.87 out of 5) Loading ...
“Turn Back the Hands of Time” (1970). I love Tyrone Davis (1938 – 2005) and of course this is one of the greatest soul songs of all time. Another great song on this record is “Something You Got”. This is on Dakar which was distributed by Cotillion records a division of Atlantic. Tyrone’s previous record was his other monster hit “Can I Change My Mind” This was arranged and produced by the great Willie Henderson. The cover photo is by Joel Brodsky. Tyrone was once Freddie King’s valet before being discovered in a Chicago nightclub.
(13 votes, average: 4.69 out of 5) Loading ...
Har-You Percussion Group on ORO Records (a subsidiary of ESP). Very rare pressing and the only LP by this Latin soul group led by master conga player Montego Joe as part of the the HARlem YOUth program of the 1960’s. Jackie McLean worked with the group at one point as well. A fantastic raw mix of funky bass, heavy drums, burning horn lines and soulful vocals. Considered one of the great Latin records of all-time.
(13 votes, average: 3.15 out of 5) Loading ...
Archie Bell and the Drells “Tighten Up” Atlantic Records.
(13 votes, average: 4.46 out of 5) Loading ...
With music by Soul Porter, Nat King Soul, Ornette Soulman and others.
(15 votes, average: 4.60 out of 5) Loading ...
Howard Tate [Atlantic, 1972] This has a great soulful cover of Dylan’s “Girl From the North Country”.
Howard Tate is an American soul music singer and songwriter. He was born August 14, 1939, in Macon, Georgia, and moved with his family to Philadelphia in the early 1940s. In his teens, he joined a gospel music group that included Garnett Mimms, and as the Gainors, the group in the early 1960s recorded rhythm and blues sides for Mercury Records and Cameo Records. Tate performed with organist Bill Doggett and returned to Philadelphia.
Garnett Mimms, now leading a group called the Enchanters, introduced Tate to record-producer Jerry Ragovoy, who began recording Tate for Verve Records. Utilizing top New York City session musicians such as Paul Griffin, Richard Tee, Eric Gale, Chuck Rainey and Herb Lovell, Tate and Ragovoy produced, from 1966 to 1968, a series of soul-music recordings that are regarded as some of the most sophisticated of the era. “Ain’t Nobody Home” (1966), “Stop” (1967), and “Get It While You Can” (1967), all written or co-written by Ragovoy, were well-received by record buyers, with “Ain’t Nobody Home” and “Stop” charting both pop and R&B. Janis Joplin performed “Get It While You Can” during this time. Tate released an album, Get It While You Can, that was regarded as a classic by aficionados, but which failed to sell in large quantities. However, Tate’s reputation among critics was very high. As Robert Christgau writes in his review of Tate’s Verve material, “Tate is a blues-drenched Macon native who had the desire to head north and sounds it every time he gooses a lament with one of the trademark keens that signify the escape he never achieved. He brought out the best in soul pro Jerry Ragovoy, who made Tate’s records jump instead of arranging them into submission, and gave him lyrics with some wit to them besides.”
Ragovoy and Tate reunited for the 1972 Atlantic Records Howard Tate, which included more songs by Ragovoy along with Tate’s versions of Bob Dylan’s “Girl from the North Country” and Robbie Robertson’s and Levon Helm’s “Jemima Surrender.” Again, the album was acclaimed by critics and virtually ignored by listeners.
After recording a single for Epic Records and a few songs for his own label, Tate retired from the record business in the late 1970s. He sold securities in the New Jersey and Philadelphia area, and in the 1980s developed a dependence on drugs, ending up living in a homeless shelter. In the mid-1990s Howard Tate began counselling drug abusers and the mentally ill, and worked as a preacher. A Jersey City disc jockey discovered in 2000 Tate’s whereabouts, and in spring 2001 Tate played his first date in many years, in New Orleans. He then began working with Ragovoy on an album that was released, as Rediscovered, in 2003. It was regarded as a return to form and included covers of songs by Elvis Costello and Prince as well as a new version of “Get It While You Can.”
2006 saw the release of ‘Howard Tate Live’ as well as the eagerly anticipated studio follow-up ‘Portrait of Howard.’ These critically acclaimed recordings show that Howard is in top form and shows no sign of slowing down.
(12 votes, average: 3.83 out of 5) Loading ...
More sixties soul from America on this Korean lp.
(13 votes, average: 3.46 out of 5) Loading ...
