soundological investimigations: Various Artists

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Vinyl rip & scans from Kent 050

Seeing as this is the 50th music post on Soundological, it seemed appropriate to use it to post this LP in homage to not only the Northern Soul scene (which IMHO was the real blueprint for modern clubbing, rave, after-hours and DJ culture) but also Kent Records, one of the first labels to pop up in the early 80s in order to keep the torch burning while the flame dwindled in the clubs. With copious liner notes by Harboro Horace (now known as Ady Croasdell), they were also great primers on labels and artists that didn't break out of their regional success for one reason or another.

I lucked out in '91 or '92 when passing through Saskatoon. I went to Rockin' Rod's Records where there was the whole run of Kents from 001 to 070 in mint condition. Turns out the fellow who originally bought them in the 80s had a history of mental illness. He only purchased them because he liked their colourful covers. He took them home, catalogued them in his list and never played a single one. That was their condition when his family sold them to Rod to assist with the costs of sending the poor soul back to a hospital for long-term care. I was able to scoop up about 20 of them for $10 a pop and if you ask me, it was one of the best investments any soul lover could make. I'll be putting up some of the better ones in later days but until then I've noticed that Soul Comes Home has posted a great assortment of Kents including one of my faves, Shoes. Essential listening if you want to dig deeper into the Northern Soul sound!

01 Bobby Sheen - Dr. Love
02 Dean Parrish - Determination
03 Chuck Jackson - Hand It Over
04 Danny Monday - Baby Without You
05 Jackie Wilson - I've Lost You
06 Patti Austin - Music To My Heart
07 Lada Edmund Jr. - The La Rue
08 Maxine Brown Band - Torture (Instrumental)
09 Showmen - It Will Stand
10 Ike & Tina Turner - I Can't Believe What You Say
11 Young-Holt Trio - Wack-Wack
12 Tommy Hunt - The Work Song
13 Impressions - I Love You (Yeah)
14 O'Jays - I'll Never Forget You
15 Otis Rush - Homework
16 Irma Thomas - Time Is On My Side

Hit the Northern with Soundological HERE or HERE.

15 comments:

djandpete said...: thanks very nice album; 4 September 2008 at 10:44
J Thyme...kind said...: Could you please define "Northern Soul" a bit more for me. I always thought it referred to Northern England's Soul Movement? Am I correct?
I'm a bit baffled when I see names like the O'Jays & the Impressions here.; 4 September 2008 at 12:17
cheeba said...: Hey J!

I know the term is a bit misleading. Back in the early 80s when I didn't know what it really meant, I thought it indicated soul from NYC/Detroit/Chicago/Philly as opposed to Memphis/Muscle Shoals/New Orleans. Only learned much later that was a geographical coincidence.

It's basically catch-all term like "House." Both appellations were created by a record shop owner as a way to categorise music for their customers. "Northern Soul" was all the mid to uptempo soul oldies crowds liked in the Northern area of the UK and "House" was the type of music that was played at the Warehouse in Chicago.

If you want to check out the history of Northern Soul movement (the first real crate-digging DJ culture) a bit more, the wiki entry link in the article is a great overview of its history and impact.; 4 September 2008 at 15:41
Julian said...: big up on the 50th post!; 5 September 2008 at 03:45
Economiewurm said...: Congratulations with your 50th post. I'll be looking forward to the next 50.

BTW I checked the "Cheeba Cheeba" track at milkcratebreak. What a great song!

To quote this song, your blog is "dynamite".

Groeten,
Jur; 6 September 2008 at 17:49
cheeba said...: Thanks for the support Julian & Jur! You too, djandpete...sorry I missed responding earlier!; 6 September 2008 at 18:22
J Thyme...kind said...: Hey Cheeba, Super nice & placing those years next to those tracks would have gotten me moving quicker on this goodie. Sweet share. Thanks.
P.S. That Northern Soul catch phrase has this NYC kid slightly baffled. Oh those Londoners?; 9 September 2008 at 01:54
cheeba said...: Hi J, I guess you're right! I usually have the year of recording/release in the review but not on this one. I'll keep it in mind for future posts. Glad you like it!; 9 September 2008 at 11:54
J Thyme...kind said...: This is a nice look at the early 60's scene & we know how groovy that can be. Have you ever seen the Richard Lester film that he made just before he made The Beatles "A Hard Days Night"? It's called "It's Trad, Dad! (1962) (as Dick Lester) ... aka Ring-a-Ding Rhythm! (USA)". It takes a look at what London looks like in 1962 U.K. A nice mix of Jazz, Folk & Skiffle. It has all the clues that he would make a great film with the Beatles.; 10 September 2008 at 00:01
cheeba said...: That sounds like a super groovy flick, thanks for the recommendation J! I'll be checking it out for sure!; 10 September 2008 at 00:38
AMM said...: nice one cheeba!
from a northern soul vet!; 18 September 2008 at 10:23
cheeba said...: Glad you like it, alex! More Northern Soul comps and obscurities coming your way in the future!; 18 September 2008 at 14:41
Anonymous said...: Thanks for posting this one! Always loved the Kent comps. Would love to see Footstompers, Brainstormers and Right Back Where We Started From make it up some day. Thanks for doing such a great job!; 24 September 2008 at 15:18
cheeba said...: Anon, you're in luck. Footstompers and Brainstormers are in the pile to be upped. The latter is one of my faves b/c of the very very early Willie Hutch track and Brasseau's The Kid.; 24 September 2008 at 15:29
Anonymous said...: Thanks for posting this one as well. Been trying to find some of those Kent vinyls here in the UK, look forward to whatever you can share.
All the best.; 18 October 2008 at 13:59