New memories

Last month we had a lovely family holiday in New England. Our daughter is 30 and son 27 now and it is a few years since we have been on a holiday together, so this was really special. It was essentially a road trip – I shared the driving with my daughter, and Mrs Darce was in the back, like the Queen! - starting at Boston, where our son joined us for a couple of days, and going anti clockwise up coast to South Portland , across into the White Mountains, down to Providence (where we hooked up again with our son who is doing a research placement at Brown), across to Cape Cod and finally back up the coast to Boston. A truly memorable trip all round.

I managed to fit in a little bit of digging along the way, as you do if you're a vinyl addict like me. What follows is just a taster.

Planning our trip along the scenic byways between Franconia, in the White Mountains, and Providence we noticed there was a township (if that is the right term?) in New Hampshire that shares our family name so it was of course a necessity to pay it a visit along the way and get a family picture next to the town's sign. Just as we drove into the town's outer limits I spotted a thrift store so I just had to haul the rental car in the car park outside stop and have a look inside. Yes, they had some records, and yes they looked like they had mostly been there a long time, and would be spending a lot longer there too! But I was chuffed to find this one particular album and I duly paid my $1.

Jackie Wilson's Higher And Higher. What can I say? What an album this is! This copy - a mono press on nice thick vinyl - has spent 51 years on this planet, has lost its inner sleeve along the way, and bears the marks of much love and attention by the looks of things. The scuffs and small scratches on the vinyl result in some crackle from the speakers, but that is part of its charm really and cannot dim the magnificence of the music contained in the grooves. I am a fan of Jackie's but only possess a handful of his singles (and coincidentally earlier this year I finally got 'round to buying Higher And Higher on 45). It's a while since an album has stopped me in my tracks and demanded my full attention, and it sort of made me feel like a kid again. It's only taken me 51 years to find it! There are so many so many great tracks on this album it blows me away, and I have to say playing it for the first time a week or so ago I got quite emotional, it's that good to my mind.

I will, of course, because of the circumstances, always remember where I found this album. And now every time I play it (and that will be more than a few times, I'm sure) those memories will be triggered, and when Jackie sings over the sublime song arrangements I think it's a safe bet I will shed a few tears of joy each and every time.

Jackie Wilson – I'm The One To Do It 1967

Jackie Wilson – I Don't Need You Around 1967

Reboot

Er... Hello there.

Now, let's see if I can remember how to do this blogging thing!

Yes (Ravel, at least!) it's been a long time since my last post. I didn't say farewell then so any of you still checking into this blog might have thought a) what's happened?, or, reasonably, b) well he could have at least said goodbye!

But the thing is I wasn't intending to stop posting, it just sort of happened. I blame the weather and the World Cup. The summer may seem a distant memory now but here in the UK it was a scorcher. As I get older my desire to be outdoors seems to increase year on year, so the lure of the sunshine was irresistible. Then the World Cup came along and the whole family got hooked (and not just because England flattered to deceive either). We watched a lot of matches (with half times spent out in that sunshine) and stuck a lot of Panini stickers in (the shinies were devilishly difficult to find this time). As a result this blog got shunted into the sidings and when the World Cup was over and the summer waned the blogging habit had gone.

I started to feel the urge to get this show on the road again about a month ago but a family holiday was then just around the corner so decided it was best to leave it a bit longer so I could have a clear run at things. So, finally, here we are, ready to share some more vinyl with you. The vinyl collecting bug has not waned these last few months so I'm sure there is no shortage of gems amongst the random stacks of little ones and big ones that are constantly being shuffled around the house! And many of these have also not received proper playing time for the reasons stated above. So a journey of discovery for you and me awaits!

I thought I had better kick things off again with an extra special record. Well, I think it's extra special, to the point that it now is the most expensive record I have ever bought. I'm not someone who spends hundreds of pounds on a record, not yet anyway, but this 45 set me back more than £1 for each RPM (but less than £2/RPM so I'm not completely mad!).

I think this 45 featured as a “Derek's Daily 45” some years ago. Anyway, wherever it came from, it found its way onto my ipod a few years ago and has stayed on there ever since. Other tracks on the ipod have been refreshed and rotated every few months but it seems I can never remove this one. I can hear it again and again and never get tired of it. It is simply sublime in every way – except I wish it could last a bit longer, maybe only 30 seconds longer, but it could do with one more verse or an instrumental break I think. But then that is the mark of a great record, it leaves you wanting more.

There are a number of presses of this 45, all issued around the same time I believe. The misspelling of the title on my copy might hint it was a first press, subsequently corrected, but I don't think that is necessarily the case. I love seeing a misspelling on a label. I'm sure it wouldn't happen nowadays with a more professional approach in the recording industry. I think a misspelling is indicative of a simpler time when many record labels and recording enterprises were run on a shoestring and the time from song conception through recording to issue was often very short. No time for proof reading a label for instance, just get it pressed and get it out to the rack jobber. But because of that I think the essence of the record – its soul – is preserved and shines through so much more.

The Brothers Of Soul were Fred Bridges, Richard Knight, and Bobby Eaton. They released a number of singles in their own right and also produced and wrote many more for Ruby Andrews among others, including another sublime – and expensive – record James Shorter's Modern Day Woman. A potted history can be found at Discogs.

Just listen to the strings and the horns on this track – a B side! - a killer arrangement.

Brothers Of  Soul – I'd Be Greatful* 1969                  

*sic

Instant disco for a Friday night

Sometimes only a classic (or three) will do. Put The Emperor into the mix and there is nothing else to do but GET ON DOWWWNN!!

The Rosko Show excerpt

Rosko's BBC Radio 1 Saturday shows were required listening for me back in 70s. A true artist from when DJs were something else.

Back to the future

It had been nagging away at me for months that I had not refreshed my ipod music for a long time – I reckon some tracks had been on there for at least a year. Not a problem I suppose if it only gets sporadic use. But I cycle to work regularly and nearly always have the ipod fired up.

There was a time not so long ago when I would be loading fresh (to me) tracks onto my ipod every few weeks. Those tracks would in nearly all cases have been downloaded from blogs like this one. My desire then for hearing something new (to me) was insatiable.Times have changed, many of my go to blogs have shut up shop, and as they have so my appetite for blog grazing has dropped away. As a result there are not so many new mp3s appearing on my computer.

Anyway, last weekend I finally got around to refreshing the ipod, and a good majority of what I put on it were tracks copied from my own vinyl collection, many of which I have featured here over the years. (Now, there's a novel idea!) And the refreshed ipod has refreshed me, and my cycle to and from work. I've always enjoyed cycling to work but had forgotten how much of that enjoyment was down to my listening experience whilst pedalling. I realise now the cycle had been becoming as much of a drudge as work itself. Now with my ipod rejuvenated I am at least once more looking forward to the cycle at each end of the day.

This has also made me appreciate my record collection much more and, even if I say so myself, it underlines the fact that Feel It has featured plenty of quality tunes!

It has also made me realise many of those tunes I have not played enough – too often it seems the pattern has been: stumble across it, buy it, binge play it for a day or two, share it with you, file it. It seems obvious now that I should use my ipod and my cycle to work to reacquaint myself with my own record collection!

There is a faint feeling of nostalgia running through this post. Ted Taylor is not an artist who appears on my ipod at the moment. But he no doubt will soon. I have just bought yet another of his Ronn 45s. I must have most of them now (what am I talking about, I quick tot up tells me I only have about half of them). That 45 has yet to arrive in the post but it got me thinking it was about time I featured another of his singles. He has made about six appearances here over the years, possibly the most of any artist, but the last time was in 2015. I am a great fan of his. His voice, being well up in the register, may not be to everyone's taste but there is no doubting that every phrase he utters is drenched in Soul. Looking at the YouTube entry for this track there are quite a few comments from people who I am sure live in the Southern States of the USA talking about their parents who would play Ted's records over and over, and still have fond memories of his songs. I can imagine these people listening to Ted on the radio back in the 60s and early 70s, and maybe singing along. Those comments and my thoughts make me feel even closer to Ted Taylor and his magnificent catalog of recordings. 

Ted Taylor – Only The Lonely Knows 1971

Filed

I've just completed another reorganisation of my vinyl horde. Long overdue it was too, Mrs Darce had been giving the record room (formerly the dining room) some increasingly pointed looks lately. Now, at least for a while, the random piles have been sorted and filed, or moved out. It got worse before it got better as it entailed a fairly fundamental reorganisation. There is once more some genre separation, and my long standing desire to keep records I acquired in my “youth” separated from more recent acquisitions has finally been abandoned. So, I suppose you could say the collection has become more and less integrated at the same time! Makes things much easier to find though.

During this enjoyable exercise (you don't have to play records to enjoy them if you are a vinyl nerd) quite a few albums surfaced that I had forgotten about, and a fair few I have probably never played before!

As an example, this album by Amina Claudine Myers has, I estimate, been in the collection for about four years now and I think has had only one previous play. It has had another two plays now in the last few days and is finally fully appreciated.

Amina has released a total of eight albums since 1979, but I suggest has been well under the radar. As a child she played the organ and sang in and directed church and gospel choirs. She then moved into the jazz world and has toured and played with the likes of Archie Shepp, Arthur Blythe, Sonny Stitt and Charlie Haden among others. She has also been involved in various theatre productions.

The album Amina admirably showcases her many talents: composition, arranging, vocals, and,last but not least, keyboards.

So where have I filed this album in my new regime? It's difficult. It could be argued that she is a singer-songwriter; there is a flavour of soul and gospel to her work; and she also almost approaches classical music at times There is a strong jazz element to her work though and so she has taken her place in the contemporary jazz section, which in my collection really encompasses everything 70s and beyond that has a jazz leaning.

Reading more about her just now I learnt that it is Amina's birthday today (just). So, Happy Birthday Amina.

Amina Claudine Myers – Arms 1988

Twelve

This blog continues to stumble along and today has reached the ripe old age of 12. Something of a dinosaur in the whirlwind that is the internet and “soshul “ media now.

If the blog stats can be believed then a few people still drop in. But the numbers have dropped off markedly, with another dive in the last couple of years. Then again, my posting frequency has dropped off too. It seems, like many things, the blog stats are not quite as good/believable/revealing as they once were. The complexity nowadays of internet routing and server location may have something to do with it I suppose, but the link and referring stats seem to be of little use. I sometimes go to a blog or site that has, so say, linked here and often find the blog has no evident links here, and is usually not even music related.

To my few regulars and any of you who continue to drop by I say thank you. It is nice to think you do, and it continues to keep me going.

The 45 I present on Feel It's 12^th birthday is one I picked up at the local record fair earlier this year. I had gone only with the intention of catching up with a friend and perhaps just idly browsing. I wasn't feeling the urge to buy (I often don't nowadays at mainstream record fairs), but found a new (to me) dealer who had a few boxes of interesting Soul stuff. This 45 wasn't cheap, but was a good deal anyway.

Almost nothing is known of Alice Clark. She has left us with a recording legacy of just three high quality singles and one rare and highly sought after album, released in 1972. The 45 I'm featuring was her first, and amazingly it also actually got a UK release (on the Action label). Typical of mid to late Sixties Soul 45s it has an upbeat dancer on the A side and a deeper slowie on the B. If you are a regular here you will know the deep and soulful ones are really my bag, and so it is the B side of this 45 that seems particularly apt to share on this blog's birthday.

Alice Clark – Say You'll Never (Never Leave Me)  1968

PS: Happy Birthday Candi Staton.

White stuff

So here we were in our little corner of the UK thinking it was a bit nippy but wondering where all the snow was, and was it really that bad elsewhere? Then at about 3pm yesterday, right on cue (the weather forecast is remarkably accurate nowadays), it started snowing - properly. So we no longer feel left out. Plenty of snow now, and cold enough I think. Let's try not to get carried away though when talking about the “beast from the east”, it might “feel like” -13C, or whatever is being quoted at the moment in places, but back in 1982 (I think it was) the mercury told us it was actually -21C in these here parts. I can't help thinking “feels like” temperatures are just one more weapon in the newsroom hyperbole armoury now.

This is quite a cool (in more ways than one) picture my daughter took at 1:30am last night, no flash or fancy metering involved. We were both struck by how light it was. There was certainly no moon beaming down. But there was a vaguely orange wash over everything. Another sign of the times – light pollution reflecting back off all the snow.

A brief cast around for a suitably apt track to play for this snow event drew a blank really. I've settled for something by Danny White (Geddit? Groan), and with artistic licence let's just imagine the light pollution I referred to was the moon beaming down.

Danny White – Moonbeam 1964