One could call bassist Ronnie Baker, guitarist Norman Harris and drummer Earl Young unsung heroes, but it’s not quite accurate to describe the triumvirate of musicians, songwriters, producers and arrangers as unsung. Individually or collectively, Baker, Harris and Young helmed productions by Blue Magic, The Trammps, First Choice, Ben E. King, Eddie Kendricks, The Whispers, The Persuaders, and so many more. As part of its ongoing series restoring the Salsoul Records catalogue to R&B
It's Good For The Soul! The Salsoul Orchestra's "Nice 'n' Naasty" Arrives In Expanded Edition
The third song on the first side of The Salsoul Orchestra's second album proclaims "It Don't Have to Be Funky (To Be a Groove)." But under the leadership of vibraphonist Vince Montana, Jr., the grooves were most certainly funky...as well as soulful, jazzy, and above all, danceable. 1976's Nice 'n' Naasty, just reissued in an expanded edition by Big Break Records, is an even more eclectic collection than its predecessor. It continues Big Break's top-flight program celebrating all aspects of
What's It All About: Burt Bacharach Celebrated On PBS, Lost Song Included on "Dionne Warwick Sings Burt Bacharach"
The first voice you’ll hear on My Music: Burt Bacharach’s Best, now airing on PBS stations nationwide, is that of The Maestro himself. “What’s it all about, Alfie?,” he sings in his familiar, quavering tone, finding the fragility in the Hal David lyric that he calls his favorite. Then comes “What the World Needs Now is Love,” sung by its composer with an assist from that International Man of Mystery, Austin Powers (Mike Myers). It’s appropriate that the solo Bacharach introduces this
BBR Goes For The Total Experience with Gap Band, Billy Paul Reissues
Today we're taking a look at two recent reissues from Big Break Records. Both Billy Paul's Lately and Gap Band VII were originally released by Total Experience Records, and both were the production work of Jonah Ellis. Big Break has expanded and remastered both albums. Billy Paul, Lately (Total Experience, 1985 - reissued Big Break CDBBR 0224, 2013) Could anyone among us have an inkling or a clue, what magic feats of wizardry and voodoo you can do? And who would ever guess what powers
Let's Celebrate: Big Break Goes Deep Into The Salsoul Groove with Candido, Skyy
Following last year's releases from The Salsoul Orchestra, First Choice, Instant Funk and Double Exposure, Big Break Records continues its exploration of the Salsoul Records catalogue with two new reissues from Skyy and Candido. These discs can be said to offer another side of the Salsoul legacy as neither are locked into the Philly grooves of Vince Montana or Baker-Harris-Young. Instead, they show just how far the New York label could push the dance/R&B envelope in the waning days of
Nancy Wilson Goes Pop and Philly Soul With New Two-For-One CD Reissue
By 1970, Nancy Wilson had already been a marquee recording artist for Capitol Records for a decade. The supreme song stylist never allowed herself to be pigeonholed into one musical style, having made her successful debut single with a Broadway showtune ("Guess Who I Saw Today"), dabbled in R&B ("Save Your Love for Me") and collaborated with jazz greats such as Cannonball Adderley and George Shearing. All in all, Wilson was a leading light of adult pop, selling out nightclubs and even
BBR Keeps A Light In Its Window For The Lost Motown Classic "Caston and Majors"
Like a fine meal, Caston and Majors begins with an appetizer. "Child of Love," on cursory listening, is "just" a bright pop song with a funky groove, employing booming drums, surging strings and a catchy chorus ("Rise now, child of love/No time for wastin'/Rise now, child of love/Stop hesitatin'...") along with a "Hey, hey" cheer that invites singing along. But a closer listen to the lyrics finds songwriters Leonard Caston and Kathy Wakefield giving voice to a higher power: "You must be a
Dance A Little Bit Closer: Gold Legion Uncovers "The Salsoul Records Story"
Just in case you didn’t already know, there’s plenty of gold to be found from the Gold Legion label. Since its inception, Gold Legion has reissued and remastered classic disco records from master tape sources, adding copious annotation and bonus tracks to flesh out the stories behind the music. Some of Gold Legion’s previous releases have been dedicated to iconic singer-actress-model Grace Jones, “Turn the Beat Around” diva Vicki Sue Robinson, The Emotions as produced by Maurice White and
Review: Dick Jensen, "Dick Jensen" - A Lost Philadelphia Soul Classic
When Dick Jensen was signed to ABC’s Probe Records label in 1969, only one album title seemed appropriate: White Hot Soul. The Hawaiian-born entertainer’s stage moves earned him comparisons to James Brown and Jackie Wilson, while his voice recalled the booming sonorities of Tom Jones or Engelbert Humperdinck. Tucked away on Side Two of that Don Costa-produced LP, Jensen included The Soul Survivors’ “Expressway to Your Heart” as part of a medley. That 1967 Top 5 hit, of course, was written by
Big Break Goes Disco with KC and the Sunshine Band, George McCrae, Johnnie Taylor
The Temptations had sunshine on a rainy day, John Denver had it on his shoulders, and the O'Jays took their cue from an old standard to address a loved one as "my sunshine." But Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch, forming Miami's KC and the Sunshine Band, had sunshine both in the band name and in the joyful, exultant brand of music they played. Big Break Records has recently reissued one title recorded by those disco titans, one title produced by them, and one with another connection to the
Holiday Gift Guide Reviews: Etta James and Sarah Vaughan, "Complete Albums Collections"
Etta James and Sarah Vaughan: by any and all accounts, two formidable women of song. Now, these late legends are both receiving the deluxe treatment from Legacy Recordings on two box sets as part of the Complete Albums series. Though Etta James' most enduring recordings were made during her sixteen years (1960-1976) at Chess Records, including her oft-imitated but never-topped perennial "At Last," the former Jamesetta Hawkins recorded for over fifty years in a variety of genres for a variety
Reviews: Bunny Sigler and Billy Paul's Philadelphia International Classics from BBR
When Philadelphia International Records turned 40 this past year, there was no single campaign to recognize the milestone. In the U.S., Legacy Recordings offered up the sizzling rare concert Golden Gate Groove, and the U.K.'s Harmless label delivered the most comprehensive box set to date of the label's music. But a great deal of the heavy lifting has come from another U.K. label, Big Break Records. The BBR team has delivered a selection of generously expanded, beautifully designed album
Do The (Salsoul) Hustle: Big Break Celebrates Salsoul Records Legacy with Four Reissues
By 1975, Philadelphia soul had become too big even for the City of Brotherly Love. In the first half of the decade, Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff had, along with the third member of their Mighty Three, Thom Bell, reinvented the sound of soul music. The Pennsylvania city had become synonymous with sweeping strings, punchy horns and the hi-hat cymbal of drummer Earl Young, offering up music that could be dramatic, sweet and funky, sometimes all within the same three-minute song! Bell had long
All the Love in the World: Dionne, Aretha Classics Are Remastered by BBR
The eighties aren't traditionally remembered as a halcyon period for classic soul. R&B eventually took on new meaning as it splintered into hip-hop, rap and urban genres that were as integral to their day as street-corner doo-wop and soul were to their own. Big Break Records, a Cherry Red imprint, has long been committed to rediscovering perhaps-neglected works by some of the biggest names in soul and R&B, and a particularly fascinating series of recent reissues has turned its
Déjà Vu: Expanded Reissue of Dionne Warwick's 1979 "Dionne," Produced by Barry Manilow, Arrives on CD
Dionne Warwick recently announced a new album, produced by Phil Ramone. Entitled Now, the projected October release will reflect on a storied career that’s lasted 50 years. But Warwick was in a very different place then, meaning in 1979. The sophisticated soul singer was at a crossroads. Her unprecedented string of pop and R&B hits written and produced by Burt Bacharach and Hal David at Scepter Records were far in the rearview mirror. Bacharach and David had bitterly split after just
Review: Booker T. & The M.G.s, "Green Onions: 50th Anniversary Edition"
Stax Records and Concord Music Group have brought the cool to this hot summer. Music simply doesn't come much cooler than the hip Green Onions, from Booker T. & the M.G.s. The landmark album is being celebrated for its fiftieth anniversary in an expanded edition (STX-33960-02, 2012) as part of the ongoing Stax Remasters series that last delivered a new edition of Albert King's I'll Play the Blues for You. The main attraction is doubtless the title song, a favorite of the Blues Brothers
Reviews: First Family of Soul - Rare Albums From Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick, Cissy Houston Reissued and Expanded
If there's such a thing as a First Family of Soul, it might as well be the combined Houston/Warwick clan. Born in Newark, New Jersey in 1933, Emily "Cissy" Drinkard sang gospel with her family as part of The Drinkard Singers, which counted Cissy's sister Lee Warrick among its members. Marie Dionne Warrick was born in 1940 to Lee and her husband Mancel; Delia Mae "Dee Dee" Warrick followed in 1942. Though The Drinkard Singers remain an important part of the history of gospel music, said to
Review: A Quartet From BBR - The Pointer Sisters, Buddy Miles, Pharoah Sanders, Greg Phillinganes
Among the most recent reissues from Big Break Records is a 1974 album from Electric Flag founder and Jimi Hendrix drummer Buddy Miles entitled All the Faces of Buddy Miles. But one could easily title any given batch of music from the Cherry Red-affiliated label as All the Faces of BBR, so reliably diverse is each group of the label's releases. Today's capsule reviews look at four of the latest from the Big Break team! Buddy Miles, All the Faces of Buddy Miles (Columbia KC-33089, 1974 -
Aces High! "The London American Label: 1957," "Mod Jazz Forever" and "Smash Boom Bang: Feldman-Goldstein-Gotteher" Available Now
Smash! Boom! Bang! The ace compilation experts at, well, Ace Records are offering up plenty of Smash, Boom and Bang (both in impact and in label name!) for your buck with their diverse slate of February releases. You'll find top-drawer pop, rock and soul for connoisseurs and beginners alike among the label's latest. Perhaps the most unexpected is the new entry in the label's long-running Songwriters and Producers series. Smash Boom Bang! The Songs and Productions of
Review: The Cool Revolution Continues - Four From CTI and Kudu
When he established Kudu as an offshoot of his titanic jazz label CTI, Creed Taylor wore his ambitions on his sleeve. The label was named after the long-horned African mammal and its logo adorned with Afro-centric colors, as Taylor intended to do no less than make Kudu a home for releases "indigenous to the black popular music of the United States." Taylor always knew the importance of a visual, and much as CTi releases were recognizable for their striking, provocative cover photographs and
Review: "Our Lives Are Shaped By What We Love: Motown's Mowest Story 1971-1973"
The sound is familiar but different. The harmony is spellbinding if a bit woozy. You've only given me a flower/I wish I had the whole bouquet... The track, led by acoustic guitar and gently funky percussion, is spare and raw. If I should ask you for an hour/Is there a chance that you would stay/And maybe spend the day? The falsetto is recognizable but eerily haunting. The song is "You're A Song (That I Can't Sing)" performed by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons for the album Chameleon, the
Review: Jackie DeShannon and Doris Troy, Anthologized by Ace
It may have been sheer coincidence that Ace dropped I'll Do Anything: The Doris Troy Anthology 1960-1996 and Jackie DeShannon's Come and Get Me: The Complete Liberty and Imperial Singles Volume 2 on the same day. But different though these two singers may be, their similarities are striking. Both were pioneering female songwriters, with Troy penning her biggest hit, "Just One Look," and DeShannon offering up the likes of "When You Walk in the Room" and "Put a Little Love in Your Heart." Both had
New Review - Whitney Houston: The Deluxe Anniversary Edition
Need a cure and tonic from the truly dismal Grammys, currently invading airspace across the East Coast? The inimitable Matt Rowe at MusicTAP has been kind enough to post another catalogue review of mine. This time it's Legacy's neat reissue of Whitney Houston's 1985 debut LP. While I can't yet confirm if I "might just be the next MusicTAP," as Matt very kindly speculates, I am more than happy to try. To that end, check out the review here and keep reading The Second Disc for all the expanded
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