Guest Post: The Beat

My guest poster for today has gone the extra mile and brought us not one but three dynamite tunes from his 45 collection. I met DJ Adam H (Sons of Bob) through another DJ mate, the inimitable Gary The Tall. Adam spins all sorts of 60s stuff, including many a mod fave. He will be joining me behind the decks at The Haggerston in East London this Friday. If you're in the area, drop by for a shuffle.



Sam Ambrose - They'll Be Coming

This storming instrumental was released by crazy horse records in 1969. The talented Miami born musician played all the instruments on the track and was a prolific singer, dancer and musician on the New York circuit. It’s no surprise that this cut was picked up by Northern soul DJs and widely appreciated by the dancers. As with many Northern Soul instrumentals this side was favoured over the vocal on the flipside, often due to clichéd lyrics taking away from quality of the track. The steady hammering beat accompanied by the repetitive trumpet and keys make it difficult to stand still. Guaranteed floor filler.



Jackie Ross - Dynamite Lovin'

Like many female soul singers, Jackie Ross came from a Gospel background. With a voice like Jackie’s, Chicago was the right city to move to upon leaving her native St Louis. The legendary Sam Cooke signed her to his own label; SAR records where she released her first single ‘Hard Times’. ‘Dynamite Lovin’ was released three years later in 1965 on Chess records. I’m not going to say much about the track itself, from start to finish it is pure class. I could listen to this all day, female vocal at its very finest. Enjoy!



Major Lance - The Beat

Major Lance had very little chart success in the UK but was adored by MODS in the late 60s with his gritty R&B sound and distinct vocal. He signed to renowned R&B label Okeh in 1962 under the recommendation of his old school mate Curtis Mayfield. In the early 70s Lance’s popularity spread from the MOD crowd to the northern soul scene with many of his rarer records (such as this one) getting regular spins at Manchester’s ‘Twisted Wheel’ and Stoke on Trent’s ‘The Torch’. Lance moved to the UK to make the most of this popularity from the Northern underground movement. Major Lance became a regular live act at all-nighters at ‘The Torch’. The guitar and snare combo kick this record off to a flying start. It does exactly what it says on the tin... ‘IT’S THE BEAT!’

Hi-Heel Sneakers

Tommy Tucker - Hi-Heel Sneakers

From 1964, here's the original version of Hi-Heel Sneakers, a song that's been covered many times, most of the greats have had a go at it. This version, by Tommy Tucker AKA Robert Higgenbotham of Springfield, Ohio, made it to number 11 on the Billboard charts. It features Welton Young on guitar and Brenda Melson on bass, who also recorded as Dean & Jean. Tra La La Suzy is one of their tunes that may appear on Diddy Wah at some point.

Guest Post: Poem of the Ra Man

I first met Tim Franklin at The Haggerston pub, where we both drink and play records. As well as being another pseudo-Australian Londoner, Tim's also a keen purveyor of vinyl. His tastes are fairly squarely focused on Brazil -- check out this brilliant mix he's uploaded to SoundCloud. I asked him to consider contributing to this blog. After giving it some thought, he's pulled something special out of the bag. And, bugger me, it's not even Brazilian!



Os Tubaroes - Poema do homem-rã (7" EP, Alvorada, 1968)

I promised Diddy Wah a single of some sort for his blog and finally I've gotten round to it. Hopefully he agrees that here we have quite an interesting nugget of Portuguese freakbeat/garage – heavy-ish in parts and pretty trippy. I paid a fiver for it from a friend, Dave, who had it mixed up with 3 rubbish Samba and Roberto Carlos EPs.

The title track, Poema do homem-rã, translates to Poem of the Ra Man. Not too much info is available in English about these guys, who formed in 1963, and there's probably not too many of their records around either.

Actually, freakbeat isn't really my bag and I haven't much knowledge of Portuguese music either. I find that the Brazilian interpretation of the language within music, and also in speech, to sound more enticing than that of their one-time colonial masters. Regardless of my musings, please judge this track for yourselves. Valeu!!

Still Raunchy

Ernie Fields - Raunchy

This recording had me a little confused. In 1957 pianist Ernie Freeman had a hit with his cover of the song some claim as the first rock'n'roll instrumental, Bill Justis' Raunchy. At the time Freeman, along with Plas Johnson, René Hall and Earl Palmer, was a member of the Ernie Fields Orchestra. But the label of today's selection clearly states that the recording I've posted was first published in 1960. So the group must have re-recorded the tune without Freeman. The thing is, the two versions are, perhaps unsurprisingly, seriously similar. It's only after several back-to-back listens that I can tell them apart. If anything, this later recording is a slight improvement, since Hall's guitar is more prominent and sounds twangier, which is always a good thing.