Rob Jones reviews soul records from his vinyl collection.
Norvells - Why Do You Want to Make Me Sad (1967)
A high quality yet underrated tune which was also released on the Janis label and can still be found relatively cheaply. The Norvells were a Chicago-based vocal soul group whose tracks were written and produced by the legendary Chicago DJ and producer Richard Pegue for Penny Records. After the Norvells disbanded, Richard Pegue reformed the line-up with several of the original members and renamed the group the Perfections, pulling the 1967 master tape of 'Why Do You Want to Make Me Sad' from his Penny Records sessions and re-releasing it on Twinight Records in 1969 to give the song another chance at radio play under the new group name. This was common practice in 1960s soul and R&B production due to strict budget constraints. Despite the label confusion, one play of the video below will reveal a tune which in my opinion should be ranked up there with the best of them.
Notations - Think Before You Stop (1975)
The Notations were originally a 1960s Chicago vocal harmony group who recorded on the local Eddie Silvers-owned Tad Records before being discovered by Syl Johnson and signed to the Twinight label from 1970 to 1972. The band members consisted of Clifford Curry, LaSalle Matthews and James Stroud. When the Twinight operation folded, the Notations regrouped, having replaced James Stroud and adding new members Bobby Thomas and Walter Jones to the line-up to become a quartet. They later signed with Curtis Mayfield's Gemigo/Curtom organisation where their signature harmonies and sound became more polished and dance-oriented. The band released several singles in 1975 along with an album simply titled 'The Notations'. The classy 'Think Before You Stop' reflects the band's transition into a more modern era while still retaining their soulful roots.
The Gemigo demo 45 featured in the video below has mono and stereo versions, but the general release had the more midtempo 'I'm Losing' on the flip and also came out on the UK Curtom label the same year. Certainly a record no '70s soul collection should be without!
O'Kaysions - Love Machine (1968)
Yet another seemingly overlooked classic today, 'Love Machine' was the follow-up single to the more widely known O'Kaysions hit 'Girl Watcher'. The song featured the classic line-up of the North Carolina band, consisting of Donnie Weaver (lead vocals and organ) Wayne Pittman (guitar) Jimmy Hinnant (bass), Ron Watson (trumpet), Jim Spiedel (saxophone) and Bruce Joyner (drums). 'Love Machine' is certainly a great tune as you will hear in the video below, but if you're not familiar with it, the reason for that may become clear as we delve into the somewhat chaotic history behind the song itself - which makes rather interesting reading to say the least.
Having struck gold in the summer of 1968 with the aforementioned 'Girl Watcher', the O'Kaysions looked poised to conquer the beach music landscape, yet by November 1968 when ABC Records dropped 'Love Machine', the band was already trapped in a web of industry exploitation, conflicting contracts and management gridlock despite which, the song found respectable regional success and briefly entered the national music charts. The trouble began when (according to guitarist Wayne Pittman), the band's original regional label North State Records claimed legal ownership over the group's career direction, and without the band’s permission or signatures, North State signed the group's booking and management rights over to the powerful Atlanta-based music publisher and promoter Bill Lowery, with whom the band quickly became disillusioned due to his failure to book them enough live gigs to sustain their momentum. In defiance, the band unilaterally cancelled their agreement with Lowery and signed a new contract with the Associated Booking Corporation in New York City.
Never one to take such things lying down, Bill Lowery (a massively influential industry gatekeeper with vast networks), used his leverage to blacklist the band. Wayne Pittman recalled that word quickly filtered back down to the musicians that Lowery had put the "kiss of death" on them, in turn causing a wary ABC Records to withhold any promotional backing just as 'Love Machine' hit the radio airwaves. In addition to all this, ABC Records executives recognised that Donnie Weaver's distinct soul vocals were the primary product and the label quietly signed him to an individual exclusive contract which isolated him legally from the rest of his bandmates. Caught in this unfortunate loop between an unsupportive label and legal gridlock, the band's original line-up fractured entirely.
While Donnie Weaver stayed behind to fulfil his individual ABC contractual obligations, regional promoters took the remaining pieces of the band's name to Atlantic Records' subsidiary, Cotillion and by 1970 a new version of the O'Kaysions were recording completely different material but still under the old name.
In my opinion, 'Love Machine' is a soul classic which deserved a much better fate, but instead it stands as a prime example of how quickly industry greed, unauthorised contracts and executive overreach could derail a band right at the peak of their creative power.
Penny Carter – We Gotta Try Harder (1966)
The second of only two records Penny Carter made on the Verve label and an absolutely brilliant tune with an authentic soul classic feel which I've played on the radio on more than one occasion. Penny was a former member of the Masterettes before they changed their name to the Exciters.
Phenomenons - Without Your Love (1978)
A sometimes overlooked classic on the flip of 'You Gave Me Happiness'. Information on the Phenomenons is pretty sparse to say the least, but it's likely they were an AVI studio group rather than a touring band. AVI was formed in Los Angeles in 1968 by Seymore Heller, Ed Cobb (who composed 'Tainted Love') and Ray Harris, although this release came at a time when the label was later expanding into the gospel/soul/disco genres. Unfortunately AVI seems to have failed to document the band members and apart from a few production notes, that's about all I know - except to say I once had a white demo but I have no idea where that went. 😄
If you were a Phenomenon, do get in touch with this website to set the record straight via the email address at the bottom of this page - which I believe has to be copied and pasted into an email in an effort to thwart the dreaded bots.