Alright somebody that knows a lot of stuff needs to give me some info on some good Soul records. I've heard a little bit o' soul (ha, pretty cheesy) and I'd like to get into some more. What are your favorite records of the R&B, Northern Soul, etc. variety?

One of my favorite recent ones is GET IN THE GROOVE from Norton Records. It's a got a recent (2006, I think) concert -- Norton honcho Billy Miller's 50th birthday party --featuring Andre Williams, Nathaniel Mayer, Barrence Whitfield, Bettye LaVette, Lonnie Youngblood and more. Hosted byh Rudy Ray Moore A good soul blog is Funky 16 Corners: http://funky16corners.wordpress.com/ I recently caught Andre Williams at South by Southwest. He's still cool, but seek out his old stuff. The collection RIB TIPS & PIG SNOOTS is wonderful.

What Troggy said.

If you must know why R. Dean Taylor isn't soul, listen to his only hit "Indiana Wants Me" (#5 in the fall of 1970) and you'll see why he isn't considered soul. Yet he did co-write "Love Child" for The Supremes and "There's a Ghost In My House" is very big on the Northern Soul circuit, so go figure.

But I must concur with those who say check out the Norton catalog. They've got literally tons of raw soul and R&B so you can't go wrong with them at all. And while you're there, do check out their King Coleman release, "It's Dance Time" for some great raw stuff.

Yeah I was just joking with the Little Bit Of Soul, althought I'd say it has plenty of soul of the teenage variety. I think they had a good singer. I saw Dirty Water on "blue eyed soul" compilation a while back. I thought that was interesting. Why is R. Dean Taylor not soul? Pardon my ignorance. I'm definitely new to the whole thing. I hope that question doesn't open up a "what is and isn't soul" can of worms. I never really liked that kind of thing.

Try Benny Speltman's Fortune Teller, A lot of bands in the 60's covered it or The Right Track by Billy Butler. As For A Little Bit Of Soul it wasn't really a Soul Record as such. R. Dean Taylor's Ghost in My House again not really Soul track even though it was on the Motown Label. Funny thing is a lot of Garage Tracks have ended up being played on the Northern Soul scene like The Human Beinz - Nobody But Me and The Outsiders - Time Won't Let Me.

Excellent! I have not listened to that podcast, but now I must. I don't know if r&b and northern soul and such go together, but I was just listing some off the top of my head. I haven't heard much northern soul, but how can you not like Gloria Jones' "Tainted Love"? Great song. And what genre does Johnny Thunders' "I'm Alive" belong to? What ever it is, it's awesome.

Yeah, see? Kopper thinks so too.

H.

Jamie, have you ever listened to Rob Baker's podcast, Hot Slop? Any fan of old '60s soul (greasy R&B, too) needs to check it out. I'm sure you can find a few new favorites from within his grooves. Just a tip!

Just like 60's garage-rock, the R&B/soul scene is so full of one-hit-wonders & no-hitters that a question like this can turn into a pissing-match over amazing obscurities. An excellent place to start is the HOT SLOP podcasts available here on this very network. Me personally, I'm not a fan of the Northern sound, weak and poppy to my ears, and I'm not really crazy about funk; what I like tends to be R&B with a connection to 50's rock or deep soul with heavy-duty wailing vocals. Some fairly common, fairly prolific artists you could pick up on 45.s without busting your trust fund as follows: WILLIE MABON - sort of a 50's rocker, but more on the black-music tip. Made a bunch of good records. COASTERS - THEE classic rockin-uptempo-doowop band, can't forget them. OLYMPICS - Runners-up in the uptempo-doowop category, lotta fun, goofy sorta like the Rivingtons. ROUZAN SISTERS - Girl-group with a real crude, made-in-the-basement sound, nice rough edged vocals. They only made 4 or 5 records, but when you can find them they're usually pretty cheap and mm-mm-good. LITTLE JOHNNY TAYLOR - there's two Johnny Taylors, but only the little one interests me. He made a bunch of great 45.s on Galaxy label, real powerful, emotional vocalist. While you're exploring, don't turn your nose up at church music -- 50's/60's gospel can rock as hard as secular music, you can find some really wild stuff if you look. Hope this helps -- Hugo M. pmadreenter@yahoo.com http://pocamadreenterprises.bravehost.com NP: blessed silence.