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7"
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SOUL7 048EP
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Singer Andy Stokes, billed as the "Northwest King of Soul Music," may have recently worked with such industry luminaries as Snoop Dogg but, way back in the late '70s, he was fronting a hopeful Jazz-Funk group struggling to break into even just the Oregon circuit. Despite boasting members from internationally successful acts like Fantasy Records' own Pleasure, Lights Out never saw their one demo -- cut in 1982 for the well-established Solar Records -- even get a promo pressing. Two of the tightest and busiest of their dancefloor wreckers from the session now grace their only 7" to date. Important note: The B Side is entitled "Surrender Your Love" and not "Take It" as printed on the label.
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7"
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SOUL7 047EP
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Though allegedly a Texas native, Milton Davis first recorded in Los Angeles in 1967 as a member of the Four Tempos. When that act split, he trekked up the coast in stages, eventually settling in Portland. Here he secured the lead vocal role for local scene heroes, Slickaphonic. Though a full album of their own was taped, another reel of material was cut centered on Milton as a solo artist. Neither set of tracks saw release in their day, but from the latter collection Soul7 has pulled a bona fide 1977 disco-soul smasher and a mid-tempo flipside with a sheen that belies its depth. First time ever on 7" 45, dinked center hole with picture sleeve, 500 numbered copies only.
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7"
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SOUL7 046EP
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Soul7 is back with bang with a double-sided treasure from the early '80s by a little known Detroit band called Pure Pleasure. It's hard to decide which of the two sides is better, the outstanding, uplifting "By My Side" is considered "the track" -- but don't dismiss the flip! Co-written and sung by Barbara Love, "By My Side" is a super charged mid-tempo vocal dancefloor fave that's a blinder from the start with driven, tight horn and bass stabs swinging into a stunning two step soul track with the perfect beat.
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SOUL7 045EP
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Joey Irving & Just Us were an obscure Canadian band that released a couple of 45s on various small labels but never really attained any notoriety. "There's a Man" is a cover of the original version by Leroy Lane and the Upstairs Maids, an uptempo dancer that hints to the funky side of Northern Soul. The original issue of this 7 rarity was pressed in Belgium on the Baltic label, supposedly because Baltic was a label that pressed everything nobody else wanted to press such as Flemish chanson and elevator music.
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SOUL8 041EP
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Awesome R&B/early soul out of Detroit. One of the hottest R&B double-siders ever from the otherwise unknown, one-and-done vocalist Johnny West. Stick on "Tears Baby" and from the evocative intro onwards, you feel it doesn't get much better than this, until you flip it over and play "It Ain't Love" which builds and builds into a climax of howling, wailing gospel-tinged vocal screams.
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SOUL7 044EP
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Hopelessly obscure and off the radar to even the most dedicated soul-and-funksters, here's a real gem of a funky soul double-sided dancer! The Georgia Soul Twisters started out in the early '60s, led by owner and manager Mose "Pop" Braziel. A 10-member touring band, they played all of the southern states, heading north when gigs presented themselves. The band recorded their third and final recording at a small central Florida recording studio some time in the very early '70s. Look Out (I'm Gonna Blow Your Mind)/Mother Duck was self-financed and self-released, and remains extremely elusive in its original form.
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SOUL7 043EP
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"Without Your Love" is a heady, mid-tempo Detroit funky soul mover from vocalist Diane Lewis (erstwhile member of the group The Adorables, alongside her sister Pat Lewis). Recorded in 1968, this was one of a spate of releases on Wand featuring some seriously full-bodied production from Detroit native Herman Griffin, in what appears to have been an attempt at emulating the sound and success of Motown. And while such rewards may have evaded "Without Your Love" on its original release it has found a natural and enduring home on the Northern scene.
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SOUL7 041EP
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Beautiful up-tempo, funky-edged northern soul with atmospheric and uplifting group vocals from The Gentlemen Four, an outfit who seem to have been prodigies of Dionne Warwick (she is credited as producer here and their next release appeared on her own Sonday label). The flip-side is a superior group-vox mid-tempo ballad.
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SOUL7 042EP
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Much is said in the mainstream media about million-selling records, yet the opposite is true of the no-hitters -- obscurities that sold badly and sank without a trace. Bobby Moore has the bittersweet experience of both. He gained fame and fortune with his Checker 45 Searching for My Love (1965), but his 1976 album Dedication of Love is hardly known today. Yet the music contained therein, in terms of heartfelt soul, is pure gold. For the first time on 45, here are two tracks from the album, a Holy Grail that is set for a complete reissue on Jazzman.
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SOUL7 040EP
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Pure Californian funky soul sunshine from drummer and bandleader Edward "Apple" Nelson, who first featured for Jazzman way back on our California Funk compilation with the tough and gritty "Curse Upon the World." Originally issued in scant numbers on Apple's own Sagittarius imprint, "Love Brings Out the Best in You" is a far lighter affair, a breezy northern soul dancer that lilts away like a hot Cali afternoon.
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