Great sounding and dense with information
Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities, Vol. 2
is a true labor of love, compiling 24 solid tracks on the
Kent
label, a follow-up to the first volume released in 2001, four years before this wonderful sequel. It is sonically superior to another 2001 classic,
Northern Soul Connoisseurs
on
Spectrum/Uni
, the huge quantity of these anthologies from this music genre almost as overwhelming as the 45 rpm singles they collect.
Ady Croasdell
delivers 12 pages of liner notes on slick paper rife with photographs and copies of the actual labels from some of the 45s contained herein. The music is breathtakingly magical, the
"Heatwave"
beat driving
the Extremes
"How I Need Your Love"
sliding quickly into
Jimmy "Bo" Horne
's
"I Can't Speak,"
hardcore
doo wop
merging with '60s
pop
creating sweet
soul
confections that stand up to repeated, endless spins.
Isaac Hayes
and
Joe Shamwell
combine to write the superb
"Sea Shells"
as voiced by
the Charmels
, produced by the legendary
Hayes
/
Porter
combo. It's followed by
William Hunt
's dynamite version of
Bobby Hebb
"Would You Believe,"
also recorded by original
Procol Harum
drummer
Bobby Harrison
, as well as
Grady Tate
Kenny Lonas
. The song lineage here will no doubt make
Northern soul
fans' mouths water for more versions of these hard-to-find classics.
Lonas
' rendition goes for a good hundred dollars if you can find it,
Hunt
's version that's included here is probably even rarer as it came from a
Steamside
demo. For students of the genre,
Croasdell
's liner notes are thorough and worth putting on the xerox machine to enlarge and cherish as you read them and listen to
Janice Christian
with
Johnny & the Charmers
performing
"Just a Bad Thing,"
which sounds like
Barbara Lewis
the Toys
'
Barbara Harris
all rolled into one -- and how can you not help but love that!
Jennifer Wells
"Dining in Chinatown"
is bright and full of fun, reminiscent of
Ramona King
"Oriental Garden,"
though more up-tempo.
Jackie Washington
"Why Won't They Let Me Be"
is also a standout, but there's not a bad track on these two dozen sides which have not only stood the test of time, they've escaped total obscurity by virtue of their inclusion here. ~ Joe Viglione