Too Much Pain

 

It's been a long while since any Southern Soul has graced these pages and probaby even longer since  I've featured anything from the Kent Soul label. So today I give you King's Serious Soul:Too Much Pain (CDKEND 194)

In the R&B world, the King label has a hugely well deserved reputation, but it's only been with the recent releases of King Funk" (CDBGPD 135) and "King Northern Soul" (CDKEND 185) that widespread appreciation of its contribution to soul music has occurred. Now "Too Much Pain" reveals the southern and deep side of King - and its affiliated concerns such as Federal and Hollywood. Arguably this was the strongest aspect of the company's musical output in the 60s."(Ace Records)

I've chosen 2 of the 24 tracks pretty much at random in the full knowledge that they will be of a sufficiently high quality.

There's also King's Serious Soul Volume 2: Counting Teardrops (CDKEND 206)on the shelves which is also overdue a feature. Stay tuned.

Thomas Bailey -I Wish I Was Back (In Your Arms Again)

Gloria Walker - When My Baby Cries

Masks

 

While rooting around the S section on the vinyl shelves looking for She Drew The Gun I stumbled upon another EP by a band called Skinny Dipper.

The title of the EP and the title of one of the songs seemed appropriate given that Scotland has now gone into an even more stricter lockdown regime again.Hopefully it is the storm before the calm.

Skinny Dipper are made up of members from an array of Scottish talent including: singer Alex Kenzel (blochestra), bass player Vicki Cole (Randolph’s Leap) violinist Heather Thikey (Randolph’s Leap, Kill The Waves), trumpet player Ali Hendry (Randolph’s Leap), keyboardist and vocalist Gillian Higgins, violinist Cat Calton (Aerial’s Up), Ruth Campbell (Aerial’s Up, Quickbeam), Monika Gromek (Quickbeam) and Iain Symes-Marshall (Trapped In Kansas).

From 2014 on the ever wonderful Olive Grove Records I think it is still available digitally on Bandcamp

A bit cold at the moment for skinny dipping!

Skinny Dipper - Landing

Skinny Dipper - Hospital Bed

The Delta Sweete

 

In one of my end of year round ups I mentioned that I was quite taken with Deluxe version of The Delta Sweete by Bobbie Gentry which has recently been released.

I saw this as a good excuse to revisit some of the songs from this which was originally her 2nd album from 1968 on Capitol Records

The Delta Sweete is a concept album based on modern life in the Deep South. Gentry wrote eight of the album's 12 tracks, which detail her Mississippi childhood and includes vignettes of home and church life as well as recollections of blues and country hits she heard as a youngster.The prevailing sound on the album was a swampy, folk-tinged combination of blues and country, with uptown touches like strings and horns seemingly added to reflect the then modern styles of soul music and the Nashville Sound (Wiki).That'll do for me.

I've just discovered that in 2019 Mercury Rev issued  an album Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited with a lot of interesting collaborators. I'm off to track that down. You can't have too much of a good thing.

Bobbie Gentry - Okalana River Bottom Band

Bobbie Gentry - Mornin' Glory

Trouble Every Day

 

I don't listen to 6 Music as often as I should .One of the reasons is that  I use my time in the car to catch up with CDs and downloads that I havewn't had time to listen to. Also it often results in me spending money on the music that they are playing.

I've enough to buy without them throwing in curve balls. One such example is Trouble Every Day by She Drew the Gun from 2019 on Skeleton Key Records.I ended up forking out for the EP

I'll let XS Noize tell the story: A reinterpretation of Frank Zappa’s original, She Drew The Gun frontwoman Louisa Roach has updated the lyrics to reflect our troubled times. Louisa comments –

I heard Trouble Every Day and thought it would make a great cover, Frank Zappa wrote it based on the TV coverage of the Watts riots in LA back in the 60’s, so I rewrote some of the lyrics to reflect what I’ve seen reported on the TV in more recent times, from English riots to the Extinction Rebellion protests. It takes a look at the issues that are facing us at the moment from the rise of the far right to the threat of climate change and the role the global media corporations play in supporting neoliberal ideology.

The revisions to the lyrics received the full blessing of the Zappa estate who were keen to hear the song adapted to suit contemporary times. 

It has in fact caused me to fork out more money tracking down the original

She Drew The Gun - Trouble Every Day

The Mothers of Invention - Trouble Every Day

Val's Vinyl

 

Yet again  Val has excelled herself on the quality stakes.

From 1966 this week we have The Tempations Greatest Hits  which peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 Album chart where it remained for 120 weeks. On the Gordy label (ie Motown)  with the strapline "The Sound of Young America.

Featuring the classic line up of  David Ruffin, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, Otis Williams and Eddie Kendricks.

I'm featuring what are probably  two of their  greatest songs and which I'm ashamed to say have never graced these pages before.First of all we have My Girl written by Smokey Robinson and Ronald White with David Ruffin on lead vocals. This is followed by Get Ready  another Smokey number this time with Eddie Kendricks on lead vocals.

It really doesn't get any better than this.

The only down side is that the testimony on the back of the sleeve is provided by Bill Cosby

The Temptations - My Girl

The Temptations - Get Ready

It's Saturday, Right?

 

It's Saturday, right?

I'm at the stage that I actually know the date for once but haven't a clue as to which  day of the week it is. If it is Saturday then I've three more days off before heading back to work on Tuesday.Not much time to get my act together.

I'm also a bit befuddled when it comes to posts. I had things lined up to the New Year than nothing except Val's Vinyl. I may need help and am open to suggestions.

As nothing else came to mind I somewhat lazily dipped into the hard drive and plucked out a few songs pertaining to Saturday Night. Coincidentally I was listening to Lefty just the other day. There are more in the tank for a mini series over  the next couple of Saturdays if I still find myself stuck.

Dave Edmunds - Almost Saturday Night

Elton John - Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting

Lefty Frizzell - Shine,Shave, Shower (It's Saturday)

Leighton Buzzards - Saturday Night Beneath The Plastic Palm Trees

New Year's Day Homage

 

Happy New Year to you and yours.
If you have been reading this nonsense for any length of time you should know the drill by now.

It is a long standing tradition (from 2014 onwards) on New Year's Day for CCM to pay homage to two of the greatest artists of all time who both died on this day.

Hank Williams died on the 1st of January 1953 aged just 29 and Townes Van Zandt in 1997 aged 52.

I think that it is also traditional to announce that it will be downhill from here on in in respect of anything else posted this year.

Townes Van Zandt - Kathleen

Hank Williams - Long Gone Lonesome Blues