Tuesday, January 17, 2023

VA - Ain't Nothing But a House Party, 60s and Early 70s Club Soul Classics [2022] (3 x CDs)

 

60s & 70s HOUSE PARTY

VA - Ain't Nothing But a House Party, 60s and Early 70s Club Soul Classics [2022] (3 x CDs)

Ain't Nothing But a House Party: 60s and Early 70s Club Soul Classics is a stellar collection of tracks that live up to the title and provide a perfect soundtrack for rolling up the rugs and getting a sweat going doing the jerk, the twist, the hucklebuck, or maybe even the monkey. The first two discs take a good look at the sweet soul coming out of the United States, and the third disc compiles selections from U.S. artists who recorded in the U.K., mods and rockers taking a crack at soul, and a few homegrown soul singers to boot. The selection of artists on the first two discs range from all-time greats like Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield to middleweights (Solomon Burke, Edwin Starr) to names only known to obsessives (Rex Garvin, Mack Rice), while in the process touching on Motown, Philly soul, Stax, Chicago soul, and early funk to craft a solid primer of what was going on at the time. Plus, whether the songs deal in abject heartbreak or strutting joy, they each have a hip-shaking, finger-snapping beat that never stops. Frantic workouts like the Show Stoppers' "Ain't Nothing But a House Party" fit in nicely next to laid-back grooves like the Drifters' "One Way Love," tough rockers like Chuck Wood's "Seven Days Are Too Long" sound good next to slick productions like that of Dobie Gray's "See You at the Go-Go," and there's never a time when the Ramsey Lewis Trio's "The In-Crowd'' doesn't sound like a perfect song. Same with Bobby Bland's majestic "Shoes" or Eddie Floyd's thrilling "Big Bird." It's an impressive job of compiling, one that would be hard to beat most anywhere. The third disc is not as jam-packed with classic songs or classic artists, but it does do a fine job of gathering up fun examples of expats doing their thing -- typified by a smooth cut from the mighty Geno Washington -- along with Brits taking a hearty swing at soul and mostly connecting. Paula Parfitt's "Love Is Wonderful" is a lovely take on Motown-style girl group sounds, Carl Douglas' "Crazy Feeling" is a hard-rocking, big-band soul stomper, and Jason Knight's pop-soul "Our Love Is Getting Stronger" was good enough for him to be offered a contract by Motown. Even if the disc doesn't rise to the stunning heights of the first two, it does provide enough solid senders to keep the party going strong, and that's what this excellent compilation is all about.(AMG review by Tim Sendra) 

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Pt.1     Pt.2 

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Track list

CD1

01 Show Stoppers Ain’t Nothing But A House Party 2:38

02 Shirley Ellis Soul Time 2:39

03 Bobby Sheen Dr. Love 2:23

04 Marvin Gaye Can I Get A Witness 2:48

05 Soul Sisters I Can’t Stand It 2:41

06 Edwin Starr Agent Double O Soul 2:44

07 Impressions You’ve Been Cheatin’ 2:34

08 Temptations Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue) 2:13

09 Marvelettes I’ll Keep Holding On 2:22

10 Little Anthony & The Imperials Gonna Fix You Good (Everytime You’re Bad) 2:31

11 Contours Just A Little Misunderstanding 2:42

12 Darrell Banks Open The Door To Your Heart 2:35

13 Soul Brothers Six Some Kind Of Wonderful 2:41

14 Sam & Dave You Don’t Know Like I Know 2:40

15 Jr. Walker & The All Stars Tune Up 3:31

16 Martha & The Vandellas In My Lonely Room 2:30

17 Solomon Burke Keep Looking 2:40

18 Aretha Franklin Save Me 2:19

19 Ike & Tina Turner Finger Poppin’ 2:49

20 James & Bobby Purify Shake A Tail Feather 2:07

21 Jackie Lee The Duck 2:19

22 Darrow Fletcher The Pain Gets A Little Deeper 2:24

23 Astors Candy 3:01

24 Tony Clarke Landslide 2:15

25 Booker T. & The Mg's Hip Hug-Her 2:25

26 Miracles Mickey’s Monkey 2:47

27 Rufus Thomas The Memphis Train 2:33

28 Johnny Otis Country Girl 2:34

29 Wilson Pickett Baby Don’t You Weep 2:09

30 Mack Rice Baby I’m Coming Home 2:25

31 Bettye Lavette Witch Craft In The Air 2:38


CD2

01 Curtis Mayfield Move On Up 2:48

02 Marlena Shaw Let’s Wade In The Water 3:28

03 Ramsey Lewis Trio The “in” Crowd 3:18

04 Dobie Gray See You At The “Go-Go” 2:56

05 Little Carl Carlton Competition Ain’t Nothin’ 2:31

06 Four Tops Something About You 2:49

07 Chuck Wood Seven Days Too Long 2:20

08 Olympics The Same Old Thing 2:14

09 World Column So Is The Sun 2:47

10 Eddie Floyd Big Bird 2:59

11 R. Dean Taylor There’s A Ghost In My House 2:15

12 Velvelettes Needle In A Haystack 2:31

13 Kim Weston Helpless 2:50

14 Bobby Bland Shoes 2:46

15 Drifters One Way Love 2:26

16 Capitols Cool Jerk 2:34

17 Homer Banks A Lot Of Love 2:38

18 Falcons Has It Happened To You Yet 2:22

19 Doris Willingham You Can’t Do That 2:44

20 Robert Knight Love On A Mountain Top 2:29

21 Willie Tee Walkin’ Up A One Way Street 2:42

22 Otis Redding Hard To Handle 2:20

23 Rex Garvin & The Mighty Cravers Sock It To ’em J.B. Part 1 2:39

24 O'jays Working On Your Case 2:42

25 Bobby Wells Let’s Copp A Groove 2:25

26 Mr. Flood's Party Compared To What 3:48

27 Chairmen Of The Board Give Me Just A Little More Time 2:41

28 Freda Payne Band Of Gold 2:56

29 Fork In The Road Skeletons In The Closet 2:21


CD3

01 Garnet Mimms As Long As I Have You 3:42

02 Little Richard Get Down With It 3:15

03 Herbie Goins & The Night-timers Number One In Your Heart 2:44

04 Madeline Bell I Really Got Carried Away 2:16

05 Jackie Edwards I Feel So Bad 2:03

06 J.J Jackson Come See Me 2:19

07 Jimmy James & The Vagabonds Hi Diddley Dee Dum Dum (It’s A Good Good Feelin’) 2:44

08 Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band I’ve Been Hurt By Love 2:42

09 Timebox Beggin’ 2:50

10 Kenny Bernard Ain’t No Soul (Left In Those Old Shoes) 2:03

11 Ferris Wheel Number One Guy 1:57

12 Jason Knight Our Love Is Getting Stronger 2:11

13 Lorraine Silver Lost Summer Love 2:02

14 Paula Parfitt Love Is Wonderful 3:02

15 Elmer Gantry The Painter 2:56

16 Carl Douglas & The Big Stampede Crazy Feeling 2:47

17 Alan Bown Set Emergency 999 2:30

18 Foundations Am I Groovin’ You 3:10

19 Lucas With The Mike Cotton Sound Jack & The Beanstalk 2:57

20 Soul Brothers Good Lovin’ Never Hurt 2:20

21 Ronnie Jones My Love 2:13

22 Bobby Johnson & The Atoms Tramp 3:19

23 Sugar Simone It’s Alright 2:58

24 Wynder K Frog I’m A Man 3:21

25 Gene Latter Sign On The Dotted Line 2:40

26 Val Mckenna Love Feeling 2:40

27 Major Lance The Right Track 2:55

28 Jack Hammer Swim 3:06

29 Tommy Hunt Loving On The Losing Side 3:02

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8 comments:

  1. This box is a real treat. I have yet the great majority of these songs. Bur surely I will discover new gems. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is always something new in these boxes. I hope it's an enjoyable experience for you, Raciti.
      Cheers.

      Delete
  2. Thanks for this BB, lots of great songs here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Have fun, Bob Mac.
      I remember when house parties were part of every weekend life.
      We played other music too. This could be a massive series...
      Cheers.

      Delete