Top 10 Stone Cold Soul Grooves

Hello friends! Well, it's been a while, huh? Yeah, sorry about that... side projects, side trips, and a day job have made it a little more difficult to sit down and think up moddy things to write about. Well, today, I'm taking the easy way out... with a Top 10 song list!

I'm a huge fan of soul music, especially the type that gets you off your feet. But man, I'm an equal fan of the mellow sounds, especially when I'm at home with the lights dim and a nice drink in my hand. Now, I've mentioned before my Top 10 mellow songs, more in a folk/country vein, but let's get into the slow soul grooves.

The following list is definitely not complete and there's a lot missing (i.e., Curtis Mayfield, The Temptations, Aretha), but I just wanted to get into what I was digging on today with a mix of old AND new soul sounds. So, relax, take a load off, and if you're able to, grab a glass of wine and mellow down easy as I present to you my Top 10 Stone Cold Soul Grooves (in no particular order, of course):

1.  The Superlatives - I Don't Know How (To Say I Love You) - Listen, when my wife first moved in with me, she brought a lot of things into my life: love, companionship, help with washing the dishes... and this amazing 45! As soon as she first stepped through that door and dumped her record boxes onto the floor, I dropped her suitcase, accidentally pushed her to the side, and delved into those boxes. And this song was the cream of that crop!

2. Solomon Burke - Fast Train - It's well known that Solomon Burke has a solid catalogue of amazing soul songs from the 1960s. But have you explored his work in the 2000s? Oh man, this song (written by Van Morrison!) is a strong example of an old soul moving his sound forward. Slow, sparse, with a steady build up, this songs hits just right. The rest of this album (Don't Give Up On Me) is highly worth checking out as well. Hey, if it's good enough for The O.C.'s Peter Gallagher, then it's good enough for you!

3. The Spinners - Bad, Bad Weather - Aw man... do I even need to write anything about this one? Come on... how can you beat a line like "now my little room reminds me of Londontown, when the evening sun goes down, and it's cold and misty and oh so foggy and it's hard to find my way around"?

4. Candi Staton - You Don't Have Far To Go - Another example of a 1960s soul star doing what she does best TODAY. That nice, steady, building beat is in full force on this song with great back-up vocals and strong horns. Can we all just forget that 1980s over-production on soul songs ever happened? Too many soul stars fell victim to that back then, but now, mistakes have been learned!  

5. Darondo - True - Uh huh, oh yeah... sometimes, you just need a little funk with your mellow groove. And it don't get much funkier than this Oaktown soul man's track. If you have that glass of wine in your hand, whatever you do DON'T get up and walk around! Otherwise, your hips might start shakin' and your back might be movin', and you just might spill that drink all over the place! 

6. Nick Lowe - Homewrecker - Yup, I'm including Nick Lowe on this list. Nick Lowe has written some amazing music over the years, but his greatest song, 'What's So Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding', was featured on The Bodyguard soundtrack. Big deal, right? Well, the money he received from those royalties enabled him to not have to worry about selling hits again, instead concentrating on just making good music on his own terms. And songs like this are the result of that.

7. Donny Hathaway & June Conquest - I Thank You - Donny Hathaway put out one of my most favorite live soul albums, Live, back in 1972. But dig on this punchy number with June Conquest from a couple of years earlier. Once featured on the Derek's Daily 45 blog and for good reason... pure Chi-Town sweet soul!

8. Laura Lee - Dirty Man - Just a powerful song about a strong woman ridding herself of a cheatin' man. A strong Muscle Shoals backing help bring out the grit behind Laura Lee's voice as she kicks this fellow out onto the curb. Ladies, hopefully it doesn't happen to you, but if you are ever wronged, just take some inspiration from this song.

9. Sugar Billy - Super Duper Love - One of my most favorite soul songs, EVER. Slinking guitar licks, funky drumming, blasting organ, rolling horns, and Sugar Billy's unabashed declaration of love kill me every time I hear this. This is the kind of guy Laura Lee needs after that last song! Both parts are here for your pleasure.

10. Eli Reed - Am I Wasting My Time? - Another newer soul track, this time from young soul man, Eli Reed. A strong voice with great instrumental backing shine through on this one. 

BONUS TRACK: 11. Lorraine Ellison - Stay With Me Baby - Okay, I had to throw this one in there! I ain't even gonna talk about it. Let it speak for itself. (And afterward, compare it to the Terry Reid version to keep the awesome moving!)

Alright, that's it for today. Hope these songs hit the spot for you!

Top 10 'NEW' Soul/Funk Songs

I love old soul 45s, I really do. And I'm sure I collect them as much... well, almost as much, as the next Mod soul DJ. But we live in an awesome time of new music right now and, yes, even new soul 45s. I find it pretty exciting to hear new soul songs being released on them little 7-inch discs.

Sometimes, it's easy (and very understandable) to get lost in the greatness of soul/funk 45s from the '60s and '70s because there's still so much out there to unearth. At the same time, however, we have new opportunities to keep up with a great contemporary soul/funk scene and get in on tomorrow's rare vintage soul 45s today. So, take a break from work and switch into dance mode as I present to you my personal current Top 10 NEW Soul/Funk 45s!*

*(And by 'new' I mean within the last several years.)

1. Paul Weller and Andy Lewis - Are You Trying to Be Lonely - I really don't know why Paul Weller never stuck with incorporating more soul into his music. I get that he's always trying to move forward, and hit or miss, you gotta respect that. But when this guy gets into a soul groove, he blows it away. Take this song, in which he collaborates with one of my favorite current producers, Andy Lewis. Now this is some 'Heavy Soul'!

2. Frank Popp Ensemble - Love Is On Our Side - For the last several years now, Frank Popp's been blowing away the DJ/remix scene by incorporating a ton of 1960s influences. I first heard of him off a cover of Dave Pike's 'Mathar,' and I was blown away by the layered instrumentation on that cover down to the use of trombone! You gotta hand it to him... he knows how to get a dance floor going.

3. Ben From Cordoroy - With A Little Help From My Friends - Okay, I'm totally cheating with this one. I don't have this on 45... it's off an LP (gasp!). But I had to include it because A) it's Ben Addison from one of my favorite '90s Acid Jazz acts, Corduroy (if the name of the band didn't give it away), B) it features vocalist Mayka Edyole from The Sweet Vandals, and C) it's one of the best Beatles covers I've heard in a while.

4. Lord Large featuring Clem Curtis - Stuck In a Wind-Up - I don't know much about Lord Large, other than that he sports some slick, quirky style and that he's put out a couple of great 45s, including a collaboration with soul legend, Dean Parrish, covering an early, unreleased Paul Weller song and infusing some soul into it. This song, though, is the one that gets my feet all twitchy... a collaboration with Clem Curtis, lead vocalist of The Foundations.

5. Myron & E with The Soul Investigators - Cold Game - Aw man, California soul in the house! Yup, I'll admit it... I live in a pretty great state. We got a lot of great musicians out here, including Myron & E, who lay down some pretty gritty but smooth soul for feet shufflin'.  Of course, you can't ignore that amazing backing band, Finland's The Soul Investigators, probably most known for backing up Nicole Willis several years back.

6. The Stance Brothers - Pick'n'Roll - One of my current favorite labels of the last few years has been Ricky-Tick, which boasts a pretty great stable of jazz/soul/funk artists, including these guys, The Stance Brothers. Now, I'll be honest... I'm a little nervous posting songs like this out to you guys. I'd rather you all be fighting over rare soul 45s from the 1960s, so I can have stuff like this all to myself. But, my mama raised me right and taught me how to share. So, go ahead... click 'play' on this video and prepare to re-think your $400 Ebay bid on that rare, scratchy 45. 

7. Kendra Lou and The Miracles - Everyday - I'm a fan of tight drum beats. In fact, all my favorite dancefloor 45s have some kind of funky drum break to them. This song below, by Kendra Lou and The Miracles, fits that bill for me. Now, what they may lack in creative band names (The Miracles... really?) they more than make up for in hip-shakin' goodness. Like the Sleestak says, I like it!

8. John Nemeth - Name the Day - Some more American soul brought to you by blues guy, John Nemeth. This song caught me off-guard when I first heard it. Straight-up, Memphis-cooked soul that was happening right now! One of my pet peeves is when people harp on about how much 'music sucks today.' People who rant and rave about that just aren't looking in the right places. John Nemeth proves that all you gotta do sometimes is search out the good stuff... and sometimes, it's right there in your own backyard.

9. The Third Degree - Mercy - Man, when Duffy busted out with this video for 'Mercy', I was sold! The song had a great beat that made a great pop hit. And the footwork displayed in the video helped punctuate that. But then, The Third Degree came along and blew her version away! Oh sure, they didn't light up any fires with their dance moves, but their version of 'Mercy' is blistering with Mod soul power!

10. Andy Lewis (with Lynda Laurence) - See You There - Alright, we started this list off with Paul Weller and Andy Lewis, so now I end it with another Andy Lewis collaboration, this time with ex-Supreme, Lynda Laurence. Without a doubt, this is my current favorite soul 45 to DJ at the moment. It's got that driving beat, piano and organ work, horn arrangements, and those amazing vocals. If this 45 doesn't convince you to start paying more attention to today's soul scene, I don't know what else to tell you. And that's okay... I have no problem buying this stuff up without competition!

There ya go, my current Top 10 NEW Soul/Funk 45s. There's a lot more out there, but maybe I'll save that for another day. Hopefully these songs prove that there's music being produced NOW, that's worth searching out.

On that note, if you all up in a dancing mood now and live in the Bay Area, I've got a suggestion for you. Drop on by the Make-Out Room after work tonight and spend happy hour with us! I'll be playing some 45s (old and new) along with my pal, DJ Major Sean, while you kick back and enjoy some drinks. Then, stay for one of the best rocksteady nights around right after, Festival '68. It'll be a fun time! And look... a target!

Saturday DJ Faves!

So, I was sitting around on the computer right now, waiting for my wife to get ready for the evening, when I read a great post on the Parka Avenue blog's Top 10 Northern Soul and R&B faves. This inspired me to go through some of my own records and lay down my current Top 10 favorite soul/r&b/funky records to DJ. This past Thursday, I DJed for the first time in months, and it got me excited again!

Now, I don't want to make this blog too music oriented as I'd rather concentrate on Mod male style, but heck... I got time to kill. So, here they are, in no particular order, my Top 10 soul/r&b/funky DJ selections (apologies to any friends who may have been to one of my DJ nights and have gotten sick of hearing these!):

1. The Spinners - I'll Always Love You - Motown

2. Willie & The Mighty Magnificents - Funky 8 Corners - All Platinum

3. Major Lance - Follow The Leader - Dakar

4. Vernon Garrett - If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time - Modern

5. Bobby Marchan - Shake Your Tambourine - Cameo

6. Tyrone Davis - Is It Something You Got? - Dakar

7. Georgie Fame - El Bandido - Imperial

8. Eddy Giles - Losin' Boy - Murco

9. Alfreda Brockington - Your Love Has Got Me Chained and Bound - Phil L.A. of Soul

10. Roger Collins - Foxy Girls In Oakland - Galaxy (This record is pretty much mandatory for any Oakland DJ by this point in time... but it's still a local fave. And for good reason!)

There it is! Have a great weekend guys!