Funk my Soul

You should all be really happy that we have Mr.Moo within our contributors cause he shares with us great albums like this one. Eddie Floyd’s 2nd LP “I’ve Never Found A Girl”, a Southern Soul diamond.

In 1966, Floyd recorded a song intended for Otis Redding. Wexler convinced Stax president Jim Stewart to release Floyd’s version. The Steve Cropper/Eddie Floyd “Knock On Wood” launched Floyd’s solo career and has been cut by over a hundred different artists from David Bowie to Count Basie. It became a disco hit for Amii Stewart in 1979.

Floyd was one of Stax’s most consistent and versatile artists. He scored several more hits on his own, including “I Never Found a Girl (To Love Me Like You Do)” and “Raise Your Hand”, which was covered by both Janis Joplin and Bruce Springsteen.

This is a @320 vinyl rip (supplied by Mr.Moo) of the original Stax Records Lp including covers.

Tracks
A1. Bring It On Home To Me 2.29
A2. Never Give You Up 2.40
A3. Girl I Love You 3.15
A4. Hobo 2.55
A5. I Need You Woman 2.13
A6. I’ve Never Found A Girl 2.40
B1. I’ll Take Her 2.33
B2. Slip Away 3.21
B3. I’m Just The Kind Of Fool 3.13
B4. Water 3.03
B5. Sweet Things You Do 2.10

Review by Soulmakossa

The fantastic, highly original spin on Sam Cooke’s “Bring It on Home to Me” opens Eddie Floyd’s second album with the same fire and passion that exuded out of Floyd’s own classic, “Knock on Wood“. The Memphis Horns and Booker T. and his M.G.’s cook up a monster of a groove here, and the track rightfully became a big R&B hit when released on single. But there is so much more on this highly underrated album…

Eddie’s take on Jerry Butler’s “Never Give You Up” is fantastic: Al Jackson keeps the beat right in the pocket, while strings and even the French horn are put to use here, wonderfully embellishing this solid tune. “Girl I Love You” is rooted more firmly in the blues-drenched Memphis tradition. Steve Cropper churns out some mighty fine guitar fills while the Memphis Horns wail on infectiously behind him. “Hobo” surely ranks as one of Floyd’s finest soulful rock compositions (along with the classic “Big Bird”), with its incessant beat and catchy backing vocals. Nonetheless, it was relegated to LP-only status forever, and thus is one of Eddie’s least known soulful stompers. Even stronger is the high powered “I Need You Woman“, one of those inimitable Stax-gems with the entire band and Floyd ripping it up. Especially tantalizing ’bout this tune is the clever incorporation of some elements of Sam & Dave’s massive “Soul Man” in the middle of the song.

The title tune is just gorgeous. Soul perfection. Eddie’s huge voice, the thick, steady rolling bass, and those irrestistible strings rightfully turned this into Floyd’s second biggest hit ever. What’s more remarkable about this tune is that aside drummer Al Jackson and the Memphis Horns, all instruments are played and arranged by Booker T. Jones, including the right-on-the-money, sweet guitar solo. A Southern Soul must! The upbeat mood doesn’t falter after that; the busy, horn-infected “I’ll Take Her” - featuring superb harmony vocalizing - and Floyd’s spin on Clarence Carter’s “Slip Away” are energetic, stomping slices of supreme, grade A Southern Soul. But when Floyd decides to slow things down a bit, he really goes for broke. The indescribably beautiful “I’m Just the Kind of Fool” is, in my opinion, almost the equal to James Carr’s “Dark End of the Street”. Eddie’s lamenting voice, the moody, hazey beat, the wailing horns and Booker T.’s haunting, gospelish Hammond fills certainly created someting very VERY special here. A track that will not let you go. Essential. And despite “Water” being upbeat, jolly and almost carefree in its sound, the lyrics are completely in sync with the despair uttered in “I’m Just the Kind of Fool”. Nonetheless, Eddie’s the kinda guy that is, from the heart, an optimist. And the LP ends on a likeminded note, with the rockin’, supergroove of “Sweet Things You Do“, a joyous celebration of sweet, sweet lovin’.

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Biography, discography and more from AllMusic here.

This album wasn’t reissued, except as part of this 1993 combi CD release here. Buy this one on vinyl and a lot of his other LP’s and CD’s on Ebay.

Rapidshare

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Raphy strikes again with his 1st contribution for 2010 and remind us the wonderful Earl Grant.

Those of us who can remember seeing his performances before his untimely death in an auto accident in 1970, at the peak of his career, remember him as one of the most outstanding jazz-pop-soul organists, a master of the power, many voices, and subtlety of the Hammond B-3 organ, as well as an accomplished vocalist and dancer.

This is a @320 vinyl rip of the original Decca Records LP, supplied by Raphy. Rip is perfect as usual but he couldn’t scan his own vinyl covers and thanks to Mr.Moo we found them through ebay.

Tracks
A1  A Brand New Me 2.10
A2 Elizabethan Reggae 2.35
A3  My Cherie Amour 2.22
A4  Steady 2.15
A5  Oh Happy Day 3.46
B1  Looking Back 2.52
B2  Model “A” Reggae 2.22
B3  Walk a Mile in My Shoes 3.24
B4  Grant’s Pass 2.36
B5  You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ 2.30

Review by Raphy

Friends, Family Members of Funk My Soul>>>>>>>>This Is Earl Grant.

A true treasure, if one can find such virtue in an individual. The Last of his kind that seems to grace us for a short period, yet impact us with endless memories…

(Liner Notes)
The Sparkling eyes, the ready grin, and the talent so big it spilled out of him in his piano, his organ, and his singing. This is what he was into in those last few weeks before the tragic accident that claimed his life. He was moving in a new and exciting directions.

The old Earl Grant magic was there, of course. That was always part of him. But he was digging deeper into the contemporary bag  for songs to happen to. He was doing more and more singing in his pleasant, easy-to-love voice. And he was getting greater and greater with

every new thing he probed. His singing, for example. Half of the songs on this album are vocals by Earl, and his style has never been better displayed. Listen, for example, to the charming salute to Nat’King’Cole that Earl worked into his vocal on “Looking Back”. And follow his sensitive rendition of “My Cherie Amour”, the Gospel feel on “Oh Happy Day” and the strident “A Brand New Me”.

Bill Holman and Don Peake, brilliant West Coast arrangers, wrote the charts for Earl to romp in during these last sessions. It was Earl’s delight to include the two reggaes because he knew they were brand new, were happening in England, and he would be the first with something fresh. The Calypso-like songs indicate that Earl was  onto something bright again.

Earl enjoyed these sessions hugely. In his performances you’ll hear  good-natured salutes to some of the giants of popular music…and  you’ll hear some of Earl’s musical comments, too.

But most of all, you’ll hear Earl Grant…singing, playing organ, playing piano, and bringing it all home with a big, rocking band behind him.

This was EARL GRANT.

The collector’s footnote: Earl Grant is an accomplished trumpeter, drummer and we all know he was one of the world’s greatest organist/pianist.. He was probably the first organist to make environmental sounds (like wind, birds, sea) etc.
He was as gifted as his well known relative the king, Nat Cole.

This album was recorded a few days before his death.
He considered this LP his best work he had ever done. Through this album, and all the other recorded music Earl Grant has left us, his magnificent talent will live on.

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For several decades, his music had been out of print and still now days only a few albums have a digital release. So, I suggest you all should check his Best Of on Amazon or Ebay along with a lot of his LP’s.

Since there’s no available clip from this album, listen up his signature song “The End”, a golden oldie.

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Big Thanks to Raphy for another great contribution. Please show some love and respect to him and of course Earl Grant for the music.

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I welcome to our family a new contributor, Toma from Belgium. And what a great record to begin with : The hard to find wonderful Executive Suite debut from 1974.

A Philadelphia quartet with deep Philly roots, the members were part of various recording entities before Executive Suite. When the Philly sound took off, old friends Bunny Sigler, Norman Harris, and Phil Hurtt decided to give them a shot. The seven tracks come from their four singles on Babylon Records, two of which are part two’s, so there are really only five songs. The album is essential listening because of the lovely “I’m a Winner Now” and “Your Love Is Paradise”; they got some run with the disco-ish “When the Fuel Runs Out,” but more serious efforts like “You Believed in Me” defined Executive Suite’s sound.

This is a @320 vinyl rip(supplied by Toma) of the original Polydor LP including covers.

Tracks
A1 When The Fuel Runs Out 3.37
A2 When The Fuel Runs Out (Instrumental) 4.55
A3 You Believed In Me (Part 1 & 2) 5.58
B1 I’m A Winner Now 3.57
B2 Your Love Is Paradise 3.11
B3 You Got It (Part 1) 2.46
B4 You Got It (Part 2) 3.02

Review by Toma

A few weeks ago i went recordshopping at my favorite recordstore (in Brussels , Belgium) As always first thing i do is go dig in the cheap section, without big expectations, (a few crates of 2.50 euro a record),
I came across this album of Executive Suite 1, never saw it, never heard of it, but as a soul lover (and Hip Hop producer digging for samples), I just had to buy it out of curiousity. And I must say it was a great buy! When I played it I was stunned with the soulfull vocals and the harmony in these great songs, behind every expectations.
Ballads like ‘I’m a winner now’ and ‘Your love is paradise’ , are simply beautifull, I mean tracks like these are the reason why I love Soul music so much.
More uptempo tracks like ‘When the fuel runs out’ and ‘You believed in me’ are just crazy, the arragments are amazing, great horn sections, excellent psychedelic guitar and ‘wahwah’ guitar combined with the soulfull vocals are stunning also at the end of ‘You believed in me’ check out the conga’s coming in, just perfect. Each track is a masterpiece.
I still can’t believe I never heard of this record or artists before, this should have been a classic album in my opinion ,a shame it appears to be overlooked at the time it came out.
After listening to it I went to do some research of it on the web, sadly there was very little to find about it, Though I noticed it was pretty rare and wanted by many, (150 euros and up). So imagining me paying 2.50 euro, that’s just being lucky.
I enjoy this record very much and i’m sure any soul or music lover in general will do too.
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Bio from All Music Guide

Executive Suite was the Philly group that Daryl Hall contributed vocals to on their first single (”Christine,” for Jubilee Records) in 1970. The members were Vincent Unto, Henry Tuten, William Tyler, and Charles Conyers. Their next release, a smooth, Philly ballad named “I’m a Winner Now” from 1972, remains the jewel of their career. Babylon Records picked it up for national distribution in 1973, but the move didn’t help much as the record never expanded beyond the Philly/New York area. A 1974 release, “When the Fuel Runs Out,” embraced disco, Philly style, and achieved some club notoriety. Two more singles “Your Love Is Paradise” and “You Believed in Me,” suffered from indifferent promotion. Polydor released an LP, Executive Suite 1, in 1974 that contains the North Bay singles, produced at Sigma Sound Studios by an assortment of Philly’s finest: Norman Harris, Phil Hurtt, Bunny Sigler, and the Harris Machine. They released one final single “Hey Pearl” on United Artists but the results didn’t change. Unto and Tyler previously sang with the Millionaires on Castle Records; Tyler also sang with the Jewels, and Conyer with the Lovenotes.
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Buy a copy from Groove Collector for 151Euro. While downloading this treasure, listen up the killer “Your Love is Paradise”

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A great sweet soul album.

The first album by John Edwards a richly talented vocalist who would go onto become the lead singer of the Spinners in later years, singing on some of their last big hits. This album’s a very different effort and features John singing in a deep Southern Soul style, mixed with the smoother production of the Hotlanta scene. The real strength of the record, though, is the songs as John sings a great set of tracks by writers like Sam Dees (”I’ll Be Your Puppet”, “Claim Jumpin”, “Stop This Merry Go Round”), Jimmy Lewis (”Careful Man”), Floyd Smith (”You Were Made For Love”, and Bobby & Linda Womack (”It’s A Groove”). Nice stuff, and the production and arranging’s as strong as the writing!

This is a @320 vinyl rip of the original Aware Records LP including covers.

Tracks
A1 Stop This Merry-Go-Round (2:58)
A2 Spread The News (2:29)
A3 Careful Man (2:33)
A4 Claim Jumpin (2:25)
A5 I’ll Be Your Puppet (3:25)
B1 You Were Made For Love (3:14)
B2 Messing Up A Good Thing (2:56)
B3 It’s A Groove (3:00)
B4 Exercise My Love (5:05)

Arranged By - Skip Lane
Producer - Floyd Smith

Once an extremely popular regional attraction, John Edwards moved from the chitin circuit to the big time when he joined the Spinners. Born in St. Louis, Edwards began singing in men’s clubs while stationed in Germany during his Army days. When he was discharged, Edwards came to Columbus, GA. He appeared once with Wilson Pickett and then did several dates in Chicago, where he met Curtis Mayfield in 1968. Mayfield got Edwards a session at Weis Records and Jo Armstead produced “If I Don’t Lose My Head” in 1969. Armstead produced other singles for Weis and Twin Stacks before Edwards moved to Bell in 1972. Floyd Smith co-wrote and produced “The Look on Your Face,” after which Edwards moved again to Aware, in 1973. Smith produced his LP John Edwards, and “Messing up a Good Thing” generated some attention. But it was “Careful Man” in 1974 that got Edwards his first and only hit as a single act; it reached number eight. When Aware folded, Edwards did a few dates with The Spinners in 1973, but continued his solo career with Cotillion. His 1976 LP Life Love and Living contained some excellent deep soul tunes, particularly “Baby, Hold on to Me,” but didn’t get much attention. Edwards joined The Spinners full-time in 1977 and remains with them currently. “Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me, Girl” and “Cupid/I’ve Loved You for a Long Time” in 1980 are the biggest Spinners hits featuring Edwards to date.

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John Edwards - 1976 - Life Love and Living

Kind of a key transitional point for Edwards slicker than his southern soul material for the Aware label, but not as polished as his work with The Spinners later in the 70s. The album was produced by David Porter, and has an odd Carribean groove on many cuts not really reggae, but with kind of a light tropical flourish over the top. The real strength, though, is Edwards’ voice which on the best cuts has a strong vibe that runs the gamut of southern soul influences (Al Green, Sam Dees, and others) from the time. Titles include “You, Trouble, & Me”, “That’s That”, “The Key To My Life”, and “Baby, Hold On To Me”.

This is a @320 vinyl rip of the original Cotillion Records LP including covers.

Tracks
A1 I (Who Have Nothing) (3:29)
A2 Honey, I Don’t Mind (3:11)
A3 Forced To Fight (This Losing Battle) (3:07)
A4 The Key To My Life (4:02)
A5 Thats, That (3:24)
A6 Sister Rose (3:00)
B1 You, Trouble And Me (6:19)
B2 (You’ve Got) My Mind Working Overtime (4:44)
B3 Baby, Hold On To Me (4:53)
B4 Nobody, But You (4:07)

You can buy John Edwards’ vinyl here or here and listen his first hit “If I Don’t Use My Head”

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A must have for every soul brother and sister! Everything is perfect here, the chemistry is right, Etta swindles from the sheer contempt of “Tell Mama”, to the poignancy of “The Love of my man”, to the exuberant “Security” and the moving “I’d rather go blind”….Five stars are not enough!!

A classic album from Etta recorded at Muscle Shoals, with deep soul backing that’s different than that used on many of her Chicago-recorded albums of the 60s! Etta’s back in hard-belting R&B-tinged territory here a bit more sophisticated than the 50s, with a good mix of hard soul numbers and ballads, opening up in some southern territory that really suits her well.

This is one of the greatest soul albums ever recorded, and is certainly among etta james’ best work.

This is a @320 vinyl rip of my original Cadet record with covers.

Tracks
A1 Tell Mama (2:20)
A2 I’d Rather Go Blind (2:33)
A3 Watch Dog (2:06)
A4 Love Of My Man (2:37)
A5 I’m Gonna Take What He’s Got (2:32)
A6 The Same Rope (2:39)
B1 Security (2:44)
B2 Steal Away (2:19)
B3 My Mother In Law (2:20)
B4 Don’t Lose Your Good Thing (2:26)
B5 It Hurts Me So Much (2:34)
B6 Just A Little Bit (2:11)

1
California singer, then plagued with personal demons, went to record her best 1960s Southern soul outpost Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, was where the work. Accompanied by the same house bluesmen who’d roweled Aretha Franklin just months earlier, James unleashes “Tell Mama” (a Top Forty hit in 1967), “I’d Rather Go Blind” (her magnum opus), and ten pearls of slightly lower luster. Her vocals throughout are paragons of female virility.

2
The ever-vivacious Etta James is one of R&B’s true greats, an artist whose work will always stand the test of time and this album, originally released in 1968, is one of her best-known and most powerful. More dynamic than expressive, James was a gal who clearly knew how to rock, capable of the same sort of expansiveness as Jimmy Rushing or even jump blues shouters such as Wynonie Harris, but also with a touch of the sleekness seen in Dinah Washington and Ella Fitzgerald. The “Tell Mama” album is a flawless, timeless crowd pleaser, packed with upbeat, compact material, a tailormade showcase for James’ mousy snarl. Backed by the best of the Muscle Shoals crew, this is music that can’t easily be faulted;

3
More soul than blues, Etta James’ “Tell Mama” originally came out in 1968 as a twelve-track LP. The sound is terrific, clear and realistic, as is the production by Rick Hall. And those who feel that Etta James’ Chess recordings featured too many violins and not enough power need to pick up “Tell Mama” right away!

The original album was top-notch in its own right, featuring the all-time classic soul ballad “I’d Rather Go Blind”, excellent covers of Ed Townsend’s “I’m Gonna Take What He’s Got”, Otis Redding’s “Security” and Jimmy Hughes’ “Don’t Lose Your Good Thing”, and a couple of driving up-tempo numbers, most notably Don Covay’s “Watch Dog” and the magnificent title track.
Etta James never sounded better than during these four 1967-1968 sessions, and the various musicians never set a foot (or a finger) wrong.

There really isn’t a single weak track among the twelve songs originally issued. Even practically unknown songs like the swaggering soul stomper “My Mother In Law” and the slow “It Hurts Me So Much”, which have never been covered by anyone and don’t appear on any of Etta James’ compilation albums, are highly enjoyable, and Etta’s rendition of “Just A Little Bit” (AKA “I Just Want A Little Bit”) is a supremely funky slice of soul-blues.

4
Having already been an established leading soul singer for 13 years and having 18 R&B hits to her name, in 1967 Etta went to record in Alabama at the legendary Muscle Shoals studio. The result was her most accomplished album, on which her voice had been mixed to perfection, allowing her to sound strong on the previously distorted high notes. James was rightly seen in a different light as one of the great soul voices of all time as she belted out powerful tracks such as “The Love Of My Man” and “Watch Dog.” Her slower numbers were equally arresting, including the wonderful “I’d Rather Go Blind.”

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Surely one of the most impressive albums to come out of Motown during early 70’s was “People – Hold On”, only the second album from Mr. Eddie Kendricks since his split from The Temptations some three years ago.
He is noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style and was one of the lead singers of the Motown singing group The Temptations during the 1960s and early 1970s.

Simply amazing album.

This is a @320 vinyl rip of my original Motown record with covers.

Tracks

A1 If You Let Me (3:10)
A2 Let Me Run Into Your Lonely Heart (2:59)
A3 Day By Day (3:07)
A4 Girl You Need A Change Of Mind (7:30)
A5 Someday We’ll Have A Better World (3:35)
B1 My People… Hold On (5:40)
B2 Date With The Rain (2:42)
B3 Eddie’s Love (3:20)
B4 I’m On The Sideline (2:56)
B5 Just Memories (5:50)

1

If you were ever to buy an Eddie Kendricks album, THIS would be the one to get. It’s by far his greatest work. There’s some easy going Soul numbers like If You Let Me, Day By Day, Eddie’s Love, I’m On The Sideline with their catchy, sing along lyrics. Those compare with the more upbeat Let Me Run Into Your Lonely Heart with its funky guitar line that has a strong Sly Stone influence to it. Of course, the most well known track might be the expansive Girl You Need A Change Of Mind that has lyrics for the first half, and then just turns into a jam session. I always thought the lyrics were really interesting as well because it seems to be a reply to the Feminist movement that they shouldn’t overlook racism and civil rights and not discriminate against all men. He even gets a little experimental with the heavy percussion and group chorus of My People … Hold On that’s tempered by Kendricks’ sweet singing. He finishes off with Just Memories with its dramatic horn intro before going into a ballad. In the fact the remaining tunes, Someday We’ll Have A Better World and Date With The Rain are also good making this an excellent record from beginning to end.

2
For his second outing People … Hold On (1972), former Temptations leader Eddie Kendricks expanded his horizons, dabbling with communally conscious soul and making initial forays into dance music that would predate disco. As he had done for Kendricks solo debut All By Myself (1971), producer Frank Wilson contributes several tunes. Among them is “If You Let Me” that kicks off the disc with a bright groove, custom made for the vocalists’ sanguine lead. Things get downright funky on the sanctified “Let Me Run Into Your Lonely Heart”. The mercurial beat is bathed in distortion and wah-wah guitar that trades back and forth with a syncopated clavinet. All the while, Kendricks shows off his range-free tenor as he effortlessly vacillates in and out of his trademark overdrive falsetto. The sacred influence of “Day By Day” is underscored by some stellar keyboard with organ and piano runs that could just as easily have been heard in a Sunday morning prayer meeting.

The nearly eight-minute “Girl You Need A Change Of Mind” is nothing short of an epic precursor to the extended four-on-the-floor numbers that would soon be christened as ‘disco’. In addition to providing an above average R&B groove, Kendricks’ new band — the Washington D.C.-based Young Senators — are joined by the unmistakable touch of Eddie “Bongo” Brown’s rhythmically limber congas. The record buying and radio listening public obviously agreed as the song was edited and issued on a 45 rpm that made it to the Top 15 R&B Singles survey.
Returning to the project’s thematic motif “Someday We’ll Have A Better World” is a mid-tempo optimistic number with a plea for a more peaceful co-existence. The project’s title composition “My People … Hold On” is stunning on a completely different level as the artist reconnects with his musical heritage with a languid and methodical bed over which Kendricks raps, practically begging for sanity within the socially troubled African American community.

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An unknown gem, lost in the music lover’s collections.

This is a @320 vinyl rip of my original Alithia record with covers.

Tracks
A1 I’m Sorry (2:55)
A2 I’m Living A Lie (2:45)
A3 Lil’ Baby (3:46)
A4 Danger Signs (2:30)
A5 Baby I’m A Want You (2:28)
B1 So Many Ways To Die (3:20)
B2 Just Like A Lady (3:07)
B3 All This (3:40)
B4 Don’t Make Me Over (2:23)
B5 Love Story (3:06)

Barbara Jean English was a member of the popular New Jersey girl group the Clickettes and recorded many pop-soul sides with them in the late ’50s and ’60s. She returned in the ’70s to record two albums of lushly produced soul with a concentration on sensual ballads. After a brief hiatus, she re-teamed with the Clickettes in the ’90s to tour the oldies circuit. “I’m Living A Lie” is included in several northern soul compilations. A great cover of Bacharach/David “Don’t Make Me Over” and Francis Lai “Love Story” are the highlights of this forgotten gem.

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