(This review first appeared in issue #63 of Shindig! magazine.)
Ace
CD
New York in the '70s
may have been a city on the verge of financial meltdown but judging
by this 24-track compilation its soul scene was in rude health.
Mainstream Records started out as a jazz label but by the mid '70s
focused almost exclusively on soul, with a roster that included big
name signings (The Dramatics, Little Richard), established R&B
names from the '60s (Doris Duke, Lenny Welch, Freddie Scott)
alongside less well-known singers and groups.
Highlights include the
slinky and seductive 'The Lonely One' by Special Delivery Feat. Terry
Huff, pentatonic bass riffs on '(I'm Your) Friendly Neighbourhood
Freak Pt 1' by Calvin Arnold, and the strings 'n' funk mix on Doris
Duke's 'Business Deal'. You'll also find vocal harmony groups,
proto-disco, Afrobeat and woman-to-woman style talked vocals. Not
everything here is killer but you'll be hard pushed to find a
collection that better encapsulates the time, place and spirit.
(This review first appeared in issue #62 of Shindig! magazine.)
Ace
CD
Sweden in the 1960s had
yet to prove itself as an international pop force yet this
compilation shows it had a wealth of home-grown talent waiting in the
wings to help its exportation of pop rival that of Volvo. The
collection kicks off with a track apiece from pre-ABBA Agnetha and
Anni-Frid before expanding into lesser known femme-pop territory.
It's a stylistic smorgasbord ranging from funky soul grooves, breezy
MOR, sassy girl group sounds to street-smart contemporary pop.
Sweden's pop industry
clearly took its cues from Britain and the US as shown by a heavy
reliance on covers: 'Summertime', 'Love Grows (Where My Rosemary
Goes)', 'Gimme Little Sign', 'Music To Watch Girls (Boys?) By' and
more are all given a Swedish language makeover. While some tracks may
have had a whiff of cash-in at the time they sound remarkably fresh
and spirited now. Proof the Swedes had much to offer before ABBA
mania.
Take a look at your record or CD collection, or at the mp3's on your player. Chances are the vast majority of tunes are by white westerners, usually male to boot. Certainly the case for my own collection, I'm afraid to say. This CD compilation, released in 2009 goes some way to rectifying this embarrassing fact.
Like Britain, Japan is an island nation with a complex, sometimes suspicious interaction with the rest of the world. Just over a couple of centuries ago no foreigner was allowed to enter the country and all foreign trade was conducted via a man-made gated island at the port of Nagasaki. (For an insight into this era I recommend reading David Mitchell's excellent novel "The Thousand Autumns Of Jacob De Zoet").
Japan also has an amazing track record of hardiness and re-invention after suffering devastating horror and destruction, both natural and by mankind. Think of Nagasaki, Hiroshima, along with devastation caused by the recent tsunami. Japan may currently be suffering and greiving but the new Japan that emerges from this most recent disaster will certainly be a country worthy of our respect and admiration.
But I digress, we're here to talk about music, so what can you expect from this CD? 25 tracks of 60's kitsch, western influenced grooviness that would help Austin Powers get his mojo back. The clue is in the title really, the songs here have borrowed heavily from British and American pop from the same era, as well as taking cues from the French yé-yé scene. There's something extremely refreshing about not having a clue as to what's being sung about, and the range of emotion on offer is broad. From jaunty and disposable (Eiko Shuri - Yé-Yé), to sophisticated and longing (Mari Atsumi - Suki Yo Ai Shite). And it's emphasised by all the hallmark instrumentation of the time, fuzz guitars, sweeping strings, muted brass, Farfisa organs, and McCartney-esque bass counter-melodies.
It was released on the Ace Record label and was compiled by girl-group expert Sheila Burgel, who also wrote the fantastically imformed sleeve notes. It's worth checking out Sheila's wonderful website dedicated to all things girl pop. www.chachacharming.com
Here's the first track from the CD, Jun Mayuzumi's "Black Room"...
