MEMPHIS SOUL RARITIES 1964-1969

Description

Memphis’s celebrated 60s soul label, Goldwax, was a medium-sized operation with just under a hundred releases. Though deftly run, some of its recordings inevitably fell through the cracks. The label is revered by fans of soul music’s classic age all over the world. In the late 70s Japanese label Vivid Sound contacted Goldwax owner Quinton Claunch and got access to his tapes. They found a dozen excellent, unissued tracks and put them out, along with Goldwax favourites, on a short series of LPs in 1977. In 2000 Ace Records bought the label from Claunch and his partners, gaining full ownership of the tapes, which led to more musical discoveries. Our Ace and Kent releases over the last twenty years have seen most of these recordings featured, mainly on CD - the primary medium of the early 21st Century. More recently, the renewed demand for vinyl has led to fresh 12-inch compilations and to complement those, we have put together a neat collection of seven singles that will appeal to soul collectors who live for the format. Of the 14 tracks, only three were previously singles - the sublime vocal harmonies of the Vel-Tones and the Lyrics with their mid-60s Goldwax releases and Barbara Perry’s R&B blast ‘A Man Is A Mean Thing’ first out on Kent but now deleted and desired. Goldwax star James Carr opens us up with ‘Your Love Made A U-Turn’, a 1969 funk groove. It would surely have extended his and the label’s lifespan had it been issued at the time. Our flip though should have been an underground hit; it’s doubtful that any radio station would have entertained such obscene lyrics in the 60s. Aficionados of the mid-60s Detroit soul sound will be thrilled to finally have the Ovations’ ‘I Miss You’ on a 45; it truly has all the ingredients of a Motor City classic. ‘What Did I Do Wrong’ is a great driving B-side – featuring some virtuoso harmonica playing. The label was known for its gritty southern sound, so ‘To Me It’s Storming’ is an atypical, gently melodic, mid-tempo song sung by, but curiously not written by, George Jackson and Dan Greer. George gets a chance to sing his own, harder, composition ‘Let The Best Man Win’ on the flip. Apart from her New Breed classic mentioned above, Barbara Perry’s 45 features the charming country-soul ballad ‘Welcome Home Baby’, which is a real winner. We have an early exclusive with Willie Walker’s original version of the Homer Banks-penned ‘Lucky Loser’. This version is in the classic Goldwax southern sound and groove, recorded two years before a funk-up version was issued on Chess. James Carr’s version of the song was cut at the same session but lacked the splendid horn section that Willie boasts. The flip is a southern rave-up from Chicagoan Lee “Shot” Williams who regularly commuted to Memphis and was given a two-song deal and a recording session which did not result in a release until we belatedly found the tape. The original Lyrics
Vel-Tones cuts make up our sixth disc. The ‘ender’ is a dramatic big-city style ballad from Phillip & The Faithfuls, which was clearly inspired by the Righteous Brothers. It is coupled with an alluring oddity from an unknown artist. ‘It’s Really Alright’ is as catchy as can be and despite its limited orchestration makes for a wonderful 45 and a mystery to solve.