Decca released a serie of 8 compilations at the end of the 90's, gathering their 45 rpm released in the 60's in the wake of The Beatles early success. Decca A&Rs were looking for the next Beatles, a band they declined to sign, and the label started to churn out 7" made by bands with a name starting with "the". Most were just one hit wonders, giving up everything they had on two sides and then vanishing into showbiz obscurity, even if people like Joe Cocker, The Knack or Andrew Oldam had a nice career afterwards. It's good old fashioned rock'n'roll with a nice poppy garage british swag.
Fourth post in a row on a label compilation. This time, it's the Eastside sound of Rampart Records. Eastside goes for the Eastside part of Los Angeles and its Mexican American community and musicians. The entire Eastside scene success was due largely to one man, Eddie Davis, that produced and pushed hundreds of records from 1958 to the early nineties. His biggest selling record was Land Of 1000 Dances by Cannibal And the Headhunters, the kind of garage anthemic sound the Eastside bands were famous for. They followed all the musical trends, from rock'n'roll, doo-wop, funk, soul and even disco, spicing it up from times to times with traditional Mexican instrumentation like a mariachi trumpet on The Majestics' (I Love Her So Much) It Hurts Me, the Santana sound alike latin rock of Tocayo (Con Safos) or on Mickey & The Mex-Tex's Borracho. The Frog by The Village Callers is the real curiosity on Pachuco-Soul! because it saw this latin soul band venturing into bossa territories. Another massive song is Skylite's Boogie Butt and its infectious bassline. Break diggers will go directly to One G Plus Three's Poquito Soul. You won't find only songs released on Rampart Records here but others as well released on labels like Faro Records, Linda Records or Valhalla Records. The legacy of the Eastside sound is still well alive today inside the Mexican American community, especially thanks to the lowriders fans who made of doo-wop and sweet soul their official soundtrack (cf. the excellent article on this scene published in the number 49 of Waxpoetics).
Ember Records was founded in London by Jeffrey S. Kruger. He enlisted a journalist, John Abbey, to seek out soul nuggets in America to give them a proper UK release. With a discerning licensing policy and the subsequently constant quality of his soul 45" releases, Ember Records became a major force in British music industry. Most of the artists Ember licensed never really made it, except maybe The Jones Girls or Johnny Otis, but all need to be absolutely rediscovered, from the psyche soul of Milt Matthews Inc to the gospel of Mary Frazier Jones. Adidas paid Pilooski to make an edit of Why Can't There Be Love by Dee Edwards for a commercial a few years ago and the original is also featured on this compilation. Good To The Last Drop (the name of a Johnny Otis song) gives is a good occasion to have a large overlook (23 tracks) on this rich and excellent catalogue. Most of the songs featured had never been released before on CD and have never been released again since so, Northern Soul and Mods heads just enjoy.
1) You will only find here music released between 1950 and 1989.
2) You will find here an eclectic selection of records I possess personally.
3) You will only find here records I digged with love during long hours spent in records shops (yes, there are still some existing and pretty good ones) or in any other place where you can find records.
4) You will only find here records I like and that I think deserve a better recognition. If you like them too, don't forget you can buy them. There's certainly a way to find them somewhere for a cheap price.
5) If you own the rights on some of the music featured here and think that my posts decrease dramatically your sales, just send me a mail or leave me a comment. I will withdraw the downloading link immediately.
6) I spend a lot of time on each post, riping, scanning, uploading, writing a little and all that with a lot of pleasure.
7) Re-uping records pisses me off. If a link is dead, just subscribe to this blog or become a member and you won't miss anything in the future.
8) Don't hesitate to leave comments: they're soothing my tourmented soul and it shows your appreciation or your concern.
9) You will only find here records ripped from original vinyl or CD source.
10) If you notice that something is not working technically, don't hesitate to leave a comment. Some do it and it helps me a lot, thanks.
