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The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 7 - 1967

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1967 contained a bucketload of classic Motown material. Psychedelic and serious-themed soul had yet to take off, so it was pop all the way - and how. Compared to 1964-66, however, there was just a slight drop-off and vague hints of change in the air, just little ones. Songs such as Bernadette (The Four Tops), Love Is Here And Now You're Gone (The Supremes) and You're My everything (The Temptations) stood as examples of songwriters who were wiling to change style. Smokey Robinson's songwriting was also as clever as ever.  Diana Ross & The Supremes' (note the leading lady now credited separately from the other two) Reflections was one of the first Motown records to dabble in Sgt. Pepper-style psychedelia with those strange, spacey sound effects, particularly in its intro.  What Motown's 1967 output ignored, however, were the inner city riots, the Vietnam War and general levels of social unrest that the subsequent years' material began to address. The label sta

Steve Harley RIP

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European maids, hard to ignore You, me and the boys, barred from the shore Fresh-faced imbeciles laughing at me I've been laughing myself, is that so hard to see? Do I have to spell each letter out, honestly? If there's no room for laughter, there's no room for me, for me Try looking at you rather than me No truth is in here, it's all fantasy Since the last time we met I've been through About seven hundred changes and that's just a few And thе changes all tend to be somеthing to do But you've got to believe that they're all done for you, for you Oh you'll think it's tragic when that moment first arrives Oh but it's magic, it's the best years of our lives Lost now for the words to tell you the truth Please banter with me the banter of youth If I knew how to say it, I would say it for you If I knew how to whisper, I'd whisper for you If I knew how to waltz, I'd get up and dance for you If I thought I could run, I'd come running

Kiki Dee: Love Makes The World Go Round - The Motown Years.

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White English vocalist (and later Elton John protégée) Kiki Dee recorded some reasonable stuff for Motown.  Kiki, from Bradford, Yorkshire, was the first British artist to sing for Motown.  Here is a taster of her Motown material. Firstly, we get a genuine Northern Soul treasure -  The Day Will Come Between Sunday And Morning -  with Kiki sounding  like an amalgam of Diana Ross and Martha Reeves. She does a great job on this signed and sealed deep cut gem. Similarly, her take on David Ruffin's My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me) is as good as any interpretation any other Motown female artist may have put out. Kiki doesn't sound out of place at all. Far from it. She, as everyone knows, went on to have some success on Elton John's Rocket label in the mid-seventies. The song was also recorded in the same year (1970) by The Spinners. Johnny Raven was also covered by Michael Jackson on 1973's Music and Me and The Supremes on their 1971 Touch album. Kiki's versi

Yvonne Fair: The Bitch Is Black - 1975

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After knocking around at Motown for over six years - see the sleeve notes on the rear cover at the bottom of the review - Yvonne Fair finally got her first album release in 1975, almost long after the horse had bolted, it seemed. She did, however, get her only big hit single out of it. The material was recorded between 1970 and 1975. The title, of course, was deliberately confrontational and one wonders how the traditionally non-aggressive and at times prudish Motown label allowed it to stand. Yvonne posed with a whip on the cover too, most provocatively.  Anyway, to the music, and a mighty fine album it is too. Make no mistake, either, it is, save for a couple of notable ballads, funky as fuck, as they say (or may not say).   Funky Music Sho' 'Nuff Turns Me on had previously been covered by Edwin Starr and The Temptations, but there is an argument in favour of Yvonne's 1974 version being the best of all. Her voice is gritty, gruff and wonderfully built for funk. The track

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals: Grace Potter & The Nocturnals - 2010

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Grace Potter is one of the many following on from the original inspiration of Janis Joplin and Bonnie Raitt and becoming a "girl with a guitar" like Joanna Connor, Susan Tedeschi, Samantha Fish and the excellent Joanne Shaw Taylor and playing some storming blues rock.  Actually, Potter is a multi-instrumentalist, playing keyboards as well.  She delivers a vibrant mix of searing rock with powerful country-influenced love songs. Her voice is strong, gritty and yet also soft and tender when necessary.  The album kicks off with the searing  Paris (Ooh La La)  a guitar-driven rocker with Grace's raspy vocal taking centre stage. The (at times) dreamy but sharp  Oasis  has some excellent guitar parts too but also a somewhat ambient groove, while  Medicine , from the initial pounding drums and Grace's " ahh ahh, ooh ohh " introduction, rocks. Big time. Great hooks abound throughout the song. Possibly the best track on the album.  The tone and overall sound drops do

The London Souls: Here Come The Girls - 2015

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The London Souls  are a guitar and drums duo -  Tash Neal  (guitar) and  Chris St. Hilaire  (drums) from  New York City .  They also use a bassist called  Kyoshi . This is their second album. It is largely derivative revivalist piece of work with influences from  Jimi Hendrix ,  Led Zeppelin ,  Cream  and  The Beatles  with blues, rock, soul, psychedelia and occasional folkiness all present in the album's tracks. By the end of the album, for me, it is the folkiness that sticks in the mind. It starts off rock-ish but by the end, seems to have got far more laid-back and acoustic.  The first track, the poppy and lively  When I'm With You  is a very  Beatles -ish number, with hints of  David Bowie  at certain places in the vocal delivery, while  Stead y  is a muscular piece of heavy rock in a  Hendrix-Cream  style.  Hercules   is an acoustic-backed, folky song like something off  Led Zeppelin III  or  Paul McCartney 's first solo album.  Alone  has a  Doors -like rhythm to it. 

Brian May: Back To The Light - 1993

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Brian May’s first solo album sounds extremely dated now - lots of big riffs, semi-programmed drums and, unfortunately, Brian’s weak vocals, which just can’t cope with the heavier material.  It reeks of nineties “stadium” rock, but, of course, old Brian could play a mean guitar, so it is listenable in places due to his trademark input on songs such as  Back To The Light ,  Love Token ,  Rollin’ Over , the synth-rock of  Resurrection  and the hit single, the gloriously riffy, singalong  Driven By You  - the album’s best track.  The album’s other well-known cut was the moving Queen ballad  Too Much Love Will Kill You , initially written by May about his marriage break-up, but re-recorded in a tender tribute to Mercury, having been played for that reason at the Freddie Mercury Tribute concert the year before.  The ballad  Just One Life  is nice, but very mid-eighties in its sound and  Let Your Heart Rule Your Head  reminds me of Queen’s ‘39 in its folky vibrancy. These two aren’t bad, to b

Journey: Escape - 1981

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When this was released, new wave, post punk, two tone and new romantic were all the rage, yet somehow, AOR albums like this always sold well and found an audience. In a way it was a few years ahead of its time in its classic "arena rock" as it was called then. It was, unsurprisingly, huge in the USA and is one of the best-selling rock albums of all time.   Don't Stop Believin'  is my old punk's guilty pleasure and, you know what, I don't give a damn, it's bloomin' marvellous - the piano intro, that  Neal Schon  "diddly-diddly-diddly" guitar bit that gets louder and louder at 0.55 seconds onwards, then the power chords and, of course,  Steve Perry 's classic soft-rock vocal. Love it. Sorry. It is a genuine rock anthem.  "Some will win, some will lose, some are born to sing the blues.... " is one of the great rock lyrics of all time. Now get that air guitar out, man. Everyone becomes a rock star for a few minutes while this is on.

Journey: Journey - 1975

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  This is the debut album by  Journey , erstwhile stadium rockers-to-be. This is nothing like the output of the later, famous incarnation of the group.  The group here contains  Santana  refugees  Neal Schon  and  Gregg Rolie  and respected session drummer  Aynsley Dunbar  of  David Bowie 's  Pin Ups ,  Lou Reed 's  Berlin  and  Ian Hunter 's  All American Alien Boy  fame. He also drummed with  The Jeff Beck Group . It is a sort of prog rock meets jazzy experimentation sort of thing, with some heavy rock bits here and there.  It is not bad in places, but it ultimately suffers for not really knowing what it really is, or where it is going. It is not proggy enough for the hippies, not heavy enough for the rockers and not jazzy enough for the jazz rockers either.  The cover's sub-Yes style is awful too.   A track like Of A Lifetime has its good parts, mind - its guitar passages (particularly the mid-song solo), the drums, the vocals. In fact, all of it is pretty good, but

The Law: The Law - 1991

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This was a collaboration between ex- Free  and  Bad Company  legendary blues rock vocalist  Paul Rodgers  and  Small Faces-Faces-Who  drummer  Kenney Jones .  I t got underwhelming critical reception upon its release in 1991. God knows why. I think it's great. Rodgers' classic, eternally great blues rock voice is sensational, as is Jones' powerhouse drumming. The guitar riffage is excellent too.   Tracks like the storming opener  For A Little Ride ,  Miss You In A Heartbeat  and  Stone Cold   are muscular rockers easily the equal of a lot of Bad Company's output. Indeed,  Stone  sounds just like a typical Bad Company rock ballad.  The sound quality is outstanding on the album - big, bassy and warm. I literally cannot see what was many people's problem with this album. Maybe they found it a bit "AOR" and "commercial heavy rock" in style on tracks like  Come Save Me (Julianne)   and I guess I can see that but this is Paul Rodgers we're talking

Leslie West: Mountain - 1969

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This was the first album from blues rock (with a bit of soul) singer-guitarist  Leslie West , who looked a bit like a large-sized  Ray Dorset  from  Mungo Jerry .  Released in 1969, it was titled  Mountain  and a group was formed from the album's title, performing under that name at Woodstock, but this was credited as a Leslie West album. It was played by a trio - West, bass/keyboard player  Felix Pappalardi  and drummer  N.D. Smart II . The trio thing brings to mind  The Jimi Hendrix Experience , but there is a definite bluesy soulfulness to the material that puts me in mind of similarly underrated artist  Terry Reid  who was releasing his first material at the same time.  Blood Of The Sun  is a sort of  Hendrix  meets  Cream  buzzy, slightly heavy-ish rock workout that highlights West's superb growling voice and guitar prowess. The sound quality is excellent for the time too.  Long Red  begins with a bit of proggy organ before an acoustic guitar leads us to West's powerfu