The Early Bird..

My planned post will have to wait a few days as I have another car boot haul to document.

The signs hadn’t been good for car booting at the weekend, the weather forecast until late in the day on Saturday had been for more(!) rain. But I caught a late forecast that had put the rain back to Sunday afternoon so went to bed Saturday night with some, albeit muted, anticipation. As it happened I actually naturally awoke at 5.30am (unheard of). I looked out the window and, yes, it was dry, and a pleasant looking morning. So I hauled myself out of bed , pulled on some clothes, made Mrs Darce a coffee, fed the cats and (finally) hit the road. Arrival at the car boot was at 6.45am, the earliest I have ever made one, by about 20 minutes. So for once I was very much among the early birds, and dreaming of worms!

Actually, finding the venue might have been a problem if I wasn’t a regular as the whole area was initially shrouded in thick fog! Great. But it soon lifted. There were much fewer sellers (and early birds) there than usual it seemed, and as the minutes passed the numbers didn’t increase as much as expected either. It became apparent that the weather forecast that had prevailed for most of the previous day had put a lot of people off. Typical, I arrive really early for once and there aren’t many wares to inspect. There was an upside though, because it also became clear that the forecast must have put off a lot of the record dealers and collectors too. Most of the regular faces were missing, and the few that were there seemed to be more in my mould i.e. not too pushy. (I had heard a story the previous week, backed up by somebody else telling it the same way on Sunday, that at the same car boot a few weeks ago two guys had all but come to blows over a box of folk albums).  

So, not many stalls potentially offer digging opportunities, but also not many diggers.

A little more than an hour later the early morning had proved that you only need a couple of sellers with an interesting boxes of records and, crucially, not much in the way of digger competition to have a great day. My record bag ended up almost full with the best, and most eclectic, haul I have gathered in quite a while. I haven’t had a chance to play many of them yet but they look to be in generally excellent condition. Here is what I picked up for a total outlay of £11 (all LPS bar a couple and, except for the Jazz LPs, all originals I believe):

Mick Ronson – Play Don’t Worry

Pockets – Come Go With Us (White Label Promo)

Tower Of Power – We Came To Play (WLP)

Lindisfarne – Dingly Dell

John Mayall’s Blues Breakers – Bare Wires

Ashford & Simpson – Found A Cure (12” single)

Dennis Brown – Love Has Found Its Way

The Fatback Band featuring Brother Johnny King – Feel My Soul*

The Dave Brubeck Quartet – Jazz At Oberlin

The Modern Jazz Quartet – European Concert Vol II  

Free Spirit – Love You Just As Long As I Can (7”)

Pink Floyd (The Screaming Abdabs) – The Dark Side Of The Moo

Sandy Denny – Like An Old Fashioned Waltz

John Martyn – Solid Air

Queen – It’s A Kind Of Magic

Talk Talk – It’s My Life

*I’ve always been a fan of The Fatback Band but I have to say their “Feel My Soul” album had completely passed me by. It was their third album release, in 1974, and the final one on their first label, Perception. Looking at their discography I notice that no singles were pulled from it, which I suspect is because they were about to move away from the label, and possibly explains why I was unaware of it until now. Playing Side 1 my initial thoughts were that it has some nice moments, is very laid back and soulful in comparison to their more well known funkiness, and is OK without being great. Side 2, however, completely blows me away. Funkier, and trippier. My son walked in as I was playing it and immediately asked what it was and when was I going to record it so he could get it onto his computer. I see that it has been reissued more recently, but my freshly acquired copy has all the hallmarks of an original – thick card sleeve and paste on back cover, and it has that certain smell (aaahhh that smell, excuse me while I inhale again!), nice! Side 2 also has the smallest runout dead wax I think I have ever seen on an LP. The side is not that long, just under 20 minutes, so there is no reason for it other than the grooves have maybe been stretched out a bit (is that possible?) - it certainly has a really good fidelity. I reckon, as an original, you could easily expect to pay £30 for this in a second hand record shop. I paid 85p so I’m well happy!

So, after a slow start to the digging season, things have picked up in the last few weeks, and this haul in particular will ensure I will be full of optimism and anticipation for the next few weeks at least.  Or then again, perhaps I should give myself some time to properly listen to what I have bought and stop booting for a bit – but I know that’s just not going to happen!

Deciding which track to play from this Fatback Band album is difficult. It has to one from Side 2, but I could easily post the whole side. I’ll settle for tracks 2 and 3 which are the funky meat in a trippy sandwich. Johnny Flippin’s bass just kills me on these, the horns are none too shabby either. After listening to these be sure to head over to YouTube and Feel My Soul.

The Fatback Band featuring Brother, Johnny King – Makin Love 1974   

The Fatback Band featuring Brother, Johnny King – Why Is It So Hard To Do 1974                 

Buy the album Feel My Soul

        

PS: Never satisfied?: The box I pulled a few of these from I didn’t get to first. At least one person had three from it ahead of me. Now, I wonder? If I hadn’t made my wife a coffee, and left the cats to cry for their breakfast, what else might I have found?                  

PPS: The best overheard car boot “nuggets” of the day:

1.      Lady seller draws up and of course is immediately surrounded by a hoard of booting vultures (yes, including me). Opening the car door she immediately says “I haven’t got any records, jewellery, or mobile phones”.

2.     Girl, about 15?, running back from a distant stall: “Mum, they’ve got a great pair of daps up there, but they’re £2”.       

Sunbeams

It has been a couple of weeks since my last post and I could blame the weather – you have to take advantage of the sunshine when you can in the UK – but it has been as much about blogging apathy, a state that has been difficult to shake for most of this year in truth. I am almost awash in my recent vinyl purchases though so hopefully, like little sunbeams, these will spur me on to some more regular posting in this little corner of the ‘net.    

     

I was very pleased to pick this 45 up at a local record fair recently. The fair focuses primarily on ‘50s and ‘60s sounds – rock & roll, early r&b, early British pop stuff, that sort of thing. But there are usually some boxes of soul to root through. So while the rock & roll and rockabilly was blasting out in the room on seemingly duelling turntables there was I, no doubt being a tad unpopular,  intermittently commandeering a communal deck to listen to my little stack of possibilities, and struggling to turn the volume on the headphones up loud enough to hear them!

I made a few purchases and this 45 from The Emotions is probably my favourite of the bunch.             

I love the label on this one, and this is my first Twin Stacks 45 (Does anybody know why the label was so named? a local landmark?) . The Hutchinson sisters as The Emotions had their first releases on the Chicago based sister labels Brainstorm and Twin Stacks in late ’67 and ’68. Robert Pruter, in his excellent book “Chicago Soul” comments that their initial two releases were local hits only. National chart success would evade them until they signed to Volt, and of course in the ‘70s, when they teamed up with the Earth, Wind & Fire collective, international success would follow.

My interest in music began in the ‘70s and I am always fascinated to delve into the back catalogs and learn the back stories of many of the artists and groups that burst onto the UK scene for the first time back then. They all seemed like new talent to me then, but in many cases of course these artists had “paid their dues” and had been on the scene for a number of years. The Emotions very much fell into this category. Like most of the black soul singers that came up in the ‘60s Sheila, Wanda, and Jeanette Hutchinson first exercised their vocal cords in church as young children. They became the Emotions in 1967 and had a total of five releases on Brainstorm/Twin Stacks before  Pervis Staples took them under his wing and got them a deal with Stax/Volt. The Chicago releases had not been their first recordings, however. Taking various names, including The Hutchinson Sunbeams (I like that name) in the early ‘60s their first release was entitled  “Santa Got Stuck In The Chimney” that appeared as early as 1962 and there would be at least one more 45 before they settled on The Emotions as an identity.  Whilst at Stax/Volt Jeanette would leave the group for a time to concentrate on motherly duties, to be replaced by a friend, Theresa Davis. Jeanette returned to the group in 1974 and stayed until 1977 during which time, with the exception of their duet with EWF “Boogie Wonderland”,  they would enjoy their biggest hits, particularly “Best Of My Love”. When Jeanette left the group again to pursue other interests, another sister – Pamela – took her place. Very much a sister act then throughout their career.                  

“Somebody New”, their second 45 as The Emotions, was a local Chicago hit in the spring of 1968. The sisters ranged in ages from 15-18 at the time this was recorded, and this was also written by the eldest of the three, Jeanette. It's a gorgeous slow mid-tempo meander, perfectly suited to the lovely weather we have been having lately , and has been getting a lot of plays at the Darcy abode in recent weeks. (As I write the impending Jubilee Bank Holidays here in the UK have, true to form, seen off the good weather though, for the time being at least).

(The Hutchinson Sunbeams freshly minted as:)

The Emotions – Somebody New  1968  

We've done it!

I don’t make a habit of showing my colours here but…..

I started supporting Chelsea in 1966. I vaguely remember them losing to Spurs in the 1967 FA Cup Final. But actually the televised game I remember more clearly from that first season as a football supporter was for some reason the 1967 European Cup Final where Celtic of Scotland defeated Inter Milan 2-1. Even though I was British I remember wanting Inter to win, I think probably because their black and blue striped shirts were a closer colour match to the Chelsea blue than Celtic’s green and white hoops (come on! I was only 9).

All those years ago – 45! - did I then dream of Chelsea lifting the European Cup? I think I was probably too young to appreciate what a big trophy it was. Over the years The European Cup has of course changed from a simple knock out cup sprint into the Champions League, a, some would say, over bloated league/knock-out marathon. Nevertheless it has made it hellishly difficult to win. Chelsea have come close, very close, in recent years to winning it and finally, in this most unlikely of seasons, last night they did!

I thought I would cry if that day ever came around, but I didn’t. I think, sat in the pub with my fellow fans, we collectively just couldn’t quite believe it.

Watching the celebrations in Bayern Munich’s stadium suddenly a familiar tune was playing – The Liquidator. Harry J’s classic reggae instrumental has, I believe, since its release in 1969 been played at Chelsea’s home - Stamford Bridge – on match days before the kick-off. It sounded, somehow, incongruous amongst all the glitz and crazy money that is now top flight football and the Champions League that this tune was playing and being beamed around the world to the countless millions that were watching. Wholly appropriate though, it was one for the fans (it took me straight back to the ‘70s and the first times I went to Stamford Bridge to see my beloved team play). A good answer too to the home fans' banner stating "our stadium, our club, our trophy". Ha!          

“We’ve” won it! Finally!

Harry J & The Allstars – The Liquidator 1969       

On a roll

I snapped up this little piece of Bristol musical history for 50p this afternoon at my local Cancer Research charity shop (this is the closest charity shop to our house, and I also refer to it as the “shirt shop” as I seem to be constantly buying really good shirts in there). On first play this 45 was a bit crackly but after a quick clean with the magic fluid (sat out in the garden – in the sunshine, now there’s a thing!) it has come up as good as new.

Charity shop to blog in under three hours – there’s service for you! 

   

As Steel Pulse were to Birmingham I guess you could say Talisman were to Bristol. For a few years In the 90s Brendan, the sax player and manager of Talisman, and I worked in the same company (the company I still work for, in fact) and worked together at times.  This time possibly corresponded with a low point in my interest in music and although I was aware that Brendan was a musician I think it completely passed me by at the time that he had been a key member of Bristol’s (and one of the UK’s), finest reggae group.    

The label it was released on was distributed by Revolver, which was my favourite record shop back in the day. Like many others, it is sadly no longer there.

I am very happy with my latest purchase. The charity shop it came from was one of the ones that contributed (and I to it if you see what I mean) to my haul last weekend. I’m on a roll, with a Spring in my step.

Right, I need to get spruced up. We’re going to friends for dinner in an hour. Dinner and a fair few drinks I’d wager. I’ll raise a glass to you all. I may have a headache in the morning.

Talisman – Wicked Dem 1981     

Lost in vinyl

Having been away last weekend in Italy* with work the boot sale withdrawal symptoms were apparent as this weekend drew close, so I was hoping for at least one day of good weather. (*Unlike the UK, Italy had been sunny and very warm, not that I could enjoy it as most of the time was spent in the office – only managed to eat out for two of the five nights I was there, it was take in pizza the rest of the time). As it happened yesterday was OK weatherwise hereabouts, but in the end I didn’t feel the need to haul myself out of bed at stupid o’clock for car booty action because I had already sated my vinyl urge very well at the local chazzas on Friday and Saturday.

It is a long time since I had had much luck browsing the charity shops, and my vinyl hunting focus has very much shifted to car boot sales lately. Having said that, very recently I have been getting a bit disillusioned with those as it seems there are more and more vinyl hunters around, and not much vinyl around in early season visits. So it was a pleasant surprise to score some good vinyl finds at my local charity shops in the last few days. It was strange, but almost all the shops I visited seemed to have some new stock, and a variety that I had not seen for a long time. Perhaps it’s the spring cleaning effect; or are the chazzas finally cottoning on that Mantovani and James Last just don’t shift; or is it the “vinyl revival” stories encouraging them to put more out front? It’s just coincidence I’m sure, and probably a flash in the pan too, but meantime I’m very happy.

My haul includes some keepers (Jess Roden, early Bonnie Raitt, and late Captain Beefheart for instance) and a few that I will probably sell on that will hopefully more than cover the cost of the keepers. As it has been a typically wet Bank Holiday here in the UK what better way to spend the day than playing all my newly acquired vinyl.  

Here is one that I am very happy with, especially at the princely sum of 99p, Madeline Bell’s 1976 album “This is One Girl”.

Madeline Bell is a fine singer who should be better known than I think she is. You may know her as the female singer of the late 60s-early 70s pop/rock group Blue Mink. (Their “Bannerman” single was, I think I can say, the first song I ever obsessed over).  Looking at her back catalog it was a surprise to me that she actually has as many as eight album releases to her name, but it is as a background vocalist, session singer,  and stage performer that she has plied most of her trade. Her background vocals can be found on early Elton John, Rod Stewart, and Joe Cocker releases for example, and often in conjunction with the likes of Lesley Duncan, Kiki Dee, and Clare Torry.

The album “This Is One Girl” features the rare groove classic (so I am informed by the interweb) “That’s What Friends Are For”. This track is held in such high regard in that genre it got a 45 re-issue on the Jazzman label a few years ago. So is this album a one tracker? Certainly not, in my opinion. The session artists on this album include some erstwhile Blue Minkers, and the credits also read like a who’s who of the UK Library music scene – for instance Alan Hawkshaw, Duncan Lamont, and Alan Parker appear. “That’s What Friends Are For” is credited to Alan Parker/Madeline Bell and there are three other tracks on this album with the same credit that are all worth an admission price of much more than 99p.

Inceidentally, Alan Parker has also had an interesting career, and if you grew up in Britain from the 60s on you will have undoubtedly heard his guitar playing (uncredited on some famous albums – Bowie’s Diamond Dogs for example), and compositions on the TV (he has composed many TV and film theme tunes and incidental music). The other track I’m featuring from the album, it seems made an appearance on an episode of the long running, cult(?), UK TV series Prisoner Cell Block H! (presumably as a backing track and originally as a piece of Library music?) Don’t let that put you off what is another lovely vehicle for Madeline Bell’s voice and Alan Parker’s guitar.     

    

Latin flavours….

Madeline Bell – That’s What Friends Are For  1976

A prison kitchen lullaby?!....

Madeline Bell – Love Is All  1976

Tapping My Feet #14

I’m listening to BBC 6 Music more and more lately. The mix of DJs and music seems to be getting better and better and music of black origin finally seems to be getting a much fairer crack of the whip (or is it just that it’s dance month?).

It was great to hear this on the radio recently, and again today Huey Morgan played Richie Haven’s version.

Used to play Lamont Dozier (the original) and Odyssey’s version a lot back in my DJing days. 

Lamont Dozier – Going Back To My Roots 1977

This YouTube entry for Odyssey’s version is worth look and listen. The sound quality is superb – and the dancing (and spelling) is awful (definitely Top Of The Pops styley and not Soul Train).     

Retuning

Ooh – went off station for a while there.

I need to follow on from my previous post with some more from the Five Stairsteps as a way of retuning.

This is for you Ben, your request duly dug out from near the back of the A-G box (soul, collecting phase 2).    

Once again a sublime B-side in “Little Boy Blue” originally recorded by The Impressions in 1964. Curtis is in the house!

The A-side is well worth a spin too.

Five Stairsteps & Cubie – Little BoyBlue  1969

Five Stairsteps & Cubie – Madame Mary  1969