Penny Goodwin: Portrait of a Gemini (1974)

A legendary bit of jazzy soul recorded by Penny Goodwin, an obscure female singer from Milwaukee. Penny has a warm style that is pretty darn nice on its own, but it's made even better by the great arranger Richard Evan, who helped out a lot on the session, along with Phil Upchurch (G), and Morris Jennings (Ds). The feel is very much in the Chicago sophisti-soul mode and, at times, the record sounds a lot like Marlena Shaw's best work in the '70s, particularly her sides for Blue Note in the early part of the decade. Originally released on a Milwaukie Label, only 2000 copies were Pressed. Used vinyl copies of the original Portrait of a Gemini album were going for five hundred dollars in the collectors market at one point. It includes the great original 'Too Soon You're Old' - a jazz dance classic for many years - plus a stellar cover of Gil Scott Heron's 'Lady Day & John Coltrane', and the tracks 'He's Come Back', 'Amazing Grace', 'Slow Hot Wind', 'Today Is the First Day' and 'Rain Sometimes'. It also features a has-to-be-heard-to-be-believed version of Marvin Gaye's 'What's Goin' On'. http://www.dustygroove.com/, http://www.amazon.com/

Dusty Springfield: Where Am I Going (1967) ... plus

Where Am I Going is a phenomenal album by Dusty Springfield, and though it doesn't have any American chart hits made famous by the icon, it would have been a blessing had every single performance here conquered the Top 40. The British version contains 12 tracks, while the U.S. counterpart, entitled The Look of Love, has 11, four of which are not on the vinyl version of this: 'Look of Love,' 'Small Town Girl,' 'What's It Gonna Be,' and 'Give Me Time' (I have added all these as bonus tracks). To further complicate things, this '90s reissue contains three extra cuts, including 'Time After Time,' 'I've Got a Good Thing' and the Goffin/King tune 'Don't Forget About Me'. The LP cover is great — a black and white of a smiling Springfield with wide-brimmed hat, mini skirt, and a comic book quotation in psychedelic off-pink and orange stating Where Am I Going. The music inside with strings and orchestration is a relentless delight. The Pat Williams arrangement of Bobby Hebb's 'Sunny' with conductor Peter Knight reveals a touch of the James Bond riff, a definite sign of the times. One can hear the wondrous voices of Madeline Bell and Lesley Duncan, the backing voices blending perfectly with the orchestration in songs like 'I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face' and 'Don't Let Me Lose This Dream.' 'Where Am I Going?' is as perfectly surreal as its title suggests — imagine Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music twirling around in the windmills of Springfield's mind. This is not the driving pop of 'I Only Want to Be With You' or 'Wishin' & Hopin',' this is symphonic adult contemporary. 'They Long to Be Close to You' is the serious and dramatic blues that the Carpenters aspired to develop. 'Welcome Home' is out of this world rhythm & blues told with authority. It and other tracks from Where Am I Going? puts Springfield in that elite class reserved for the best of Janis Joplin, Etta James, and Ella Fitzgerald — female vocalists who found notes in niches of songs that were unavailable to lesser mortals. While Springfield was filling the airwaves in America with 'The Son of a Preacher Man' toward the end of 1968, a band called Vanilla Fudge had 'Take Me for a Little While' on the U.S. charts, but their disc was issued in July of 1967 and their success in the States was a delayed reaction. Dusty Springfield takes that great composition and turns it into snappy pop with an amazing vocal. Add 'If You Go Away' and the musicians on these grooves take the listener on a wild ride running the gamut of genres without disrupting Where Am I Going?'s flow. This is a tremendous and often forgotten masterpiece in the repertoire of Dusty Springfield which deserves more attention. It truly is the record which keeps on giving. http://www.allmusic.com/
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Dusty singing live 'Time After Time' on her TV show in 5 September 1967. Now this, ladies and gentlemen, is a REAL singer:

The great diva performing her 1967 single 'What's It Gonna Be':

Ty Karim: The Complete Ty Karim - Los Angeles' Soul Goddess (1965-1980)

A tall, elegant and emotionally dynamic singer, Ty Karim was a local legend on the L.A. soul circuit, although she never really received her due on a national level despite having released several powerful dance tracks on various small labels from the mid-'60s through the early '80s. Most of her releases, which included the Northern Soul favourite 'Lighten Up Baby,' were produced by her second husband Kent Harris, whose own singing career was all but over when the two met. Harris devoted his creative energy to Karim's career, wisely featuring and giving full reign to her husky voice on their productions, many of which originally appeared on Harris' own Romark imprint. A 12" collaboration with George Griffin, 'Keep on Doin' Whatcha' Doin',' in the early '80s was a hit in the U.K. and brought Karim a good deal of attention in Europe. Karim died in 1983, and aside from serious fans of soul and R&B, her impressive body of work was all but forgotten. Such a shame, as she was a hell of a great talent, starting out in the '60s with upbeat Northern Soul groovers, then moving into the '70s with material that was even deeper, and a bit more sophisticated laidback numbers that really show a maturation in style, and which are filled with wonderful twists and turns. Ty's vocals have a burning quality that's quite surprising, given her kittenish look on the cover, making the whole package a really wonderful journey in soul. And although most of the tracks here were recorded by tiny indie labels, they often have a very full, spacious approach to production - one that's really trying to hit the heights of Detroit or New York at the time. A good number of these cuts weren't issued at the time, and together with the rare singles, they really go a long way towards filling in the gaps in Ty's too-short career on record. Titles include 'I Ain't Lying', 'Natural Do', 'You Really Made It Good To Me', 'Help Me Get That Feeling Back Again', 'All at Once', 'Only a Fool', 'Lightin Up' (the the '70s remake of 'Lighten Up Baby'), 'I Ain't Lying', 'You Just Don't Know', 'I'm Leavin' You', and 'Don't Make Me Do Wrong.' Ty was along with so many other artists such as Sandi Sheldon, Bettye Swann or Dee Dee Warwick, a marvellous artist who never broke through to the mainstream. However the quality of her music is undeniable and this set is essential for fans of '60s and '70s soul music. Thanks to Daniele for this one!! http://www.allmusic.com/, http://www.dustygroove.com/

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Big Maybelle Smith: Chronological (1944-1968)

Mabel Louise Smith (1 May 1924, Jackson, Tennessee, USA, d. 23 January 1972, Cleveland, Ohio, USA) was discovered singing in church by Memphis band leader Dave Clark in 1935. When Clark disbanded his orchestra to concentrate on record promotion, Smith moved to Christine Chatman’s orchestra with whom she first recorded for Decca Records in 1944. Three years later, Smith made solo records for King and in 1952 she recorded as Big Maybelle when producer Fred Mendelsohn signed her to Okeh Records, a subsidiary of CBS Records. Her blues shouting style (a female counterpart to ‘Big’ Joe Turner) brought a R&B hit the next year with 'Gabbin’ Blues' (a cleaned-up version of the ‘dirty dozens’ on which she was partnered by songwriter Rose Marie McCoy). 'Way Back Home' and 'My Country Man' were also bestsellers. In 1955, she made the first recording of 'Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On', which later became a major hit for Jerry Lee Lewis. Big Maybelle was also a star attraction on the chitlin’ circuit of black clubs, with an act that included risqué comedy as well as emotive ballads and brisk boogies. Leaving Okeh for Savoy, her 'Candy' (1956) brought more success and in 1959, she appeared in Jazz on a Summer’s Day, the film of the Newport Jazz Festival. Despite her acknowledged influence on the soul styles of the '60s, later records for Brunswick Records, Scepter and Chess Records made little impact until she signed to the Rojac label in 1966. There she was persuaded to record some recent pop hits by the Beatles and Donovan and had some minor chart success of her own with versions of 'Don’t Pass Me By' and '96 Tears'. She also covered 'Eleanor Rigby', Los Bravos' 'Black Is Black', and recorded the Northern Soul stomper 'Quittin' Time'. Big Maybelle’s career was marred by frequent drug problems, which contributed to her early death from a diabetic coma. I have gathered here a collection of 130 tracks, consisting of a fair amount of the sides the R&B chanteuse recorded for King, Okeh, Savoy, Brunswick, Scepter and Rojac between 1944 and 1968, including the entirety of her albums What More Can a Woman Do? (Brunswick, 1962), The Soul of Big Maybelle (Brunswick, 1965) and The Gospel Soul of Big Maybelle (Scepter, 1968). Enjoy!! http://www.oldies.com/

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Big Maybelle singing 'I Ain't Mad at You', live at the Newport Jazz Festival, 1958:

Manifiesto “En defensa de los derechos fundamentales en internet”

Ante la inclusión en el Anteproyecto de Ley de Economía sostenible de modificaciones legislativas que afectan al libre ejercicio de las libertades de expresión, información y el derecho de acceso a la cultura a través de Internet, los periodistas, bloggers, usuarios, profesionales y creadores de internet manifestamos nuestra firme oposición al proyecto, y declaramos que…

1.- Los derechos de autor no pueden situarse por encima de los derechos fundamentales de los ciudadanos, como el derecho a la privacidad, a la seguridad, a la presunción de inocencia, a la tutela judicial efectiva y a la libertad de expresión.

2.- La suspensión de derechos fundamentales es y debe seguir siendo competencia exclusiva del poder judicial. Ni un cierre sin sentencia. Este anteproyecto, en contra de lo establecido en el artículo 20.5 de la Constitución, pone en manos de un órgano no judicial – un organismo dependiente del ministerio de Cultura -, la potestad de impedir a los ciudadanos españoles el acceso a cualquier página web.

3.- La nueva legislación creará inseguridad jurídica en todo el sector tecnológico español, perjudicando uno de los pocos campos de desarrollo y futuro de nuestra economía, entorpeciendo la creación de empresas, introduciendo trabas a la libre competencia y ralentizando su proyección internacional.

4.- La nueva legislación propuesta amenaza a los nuevos creadores y entorpece la creación cultural. Con Internet y los sucesivos avances tecnológicos se ha democratizado extraordinariamente la creación y emisión de contenidos de todo tipo, que ya no provienen prevalentemente de las industrias culturales tradicionales, sino de multitud de fuentes diferentes.

5.- Los autores, como todos los trabajadores, tienen derecho a vivir de su trabajo con nuevas ideas creativas, modelos de negocio y actividades asociadas a sus creaciones. Intentar sostener con cambios legislativos a una industria obsoleta que no sabe adaptarse a este nuevo entorno no es ni justo ni realista. Si su modelo de negocio se basaba en el control de las copias de las obras y en Internet no es posible sin vulnerar derechos fundamentales, deberían buscar otro modelo.

6.- Consideramos que las industrias culturales necesitan para sobrevivir alternativas modernas, eficaces, creíbles y asequibles y que se adecuen a los nuevos usos sociales, en lugar de limitaciones tan desproporcionadas como ineficaces para el fin que dicen perseguir.

7.- Internet debe funcionar de forma libre y sin interferencias políticas auspiciadas por sectores que pretenden perpetuar obsoletos modelos de negocio e imposibilitar que el saber humano siga siendo libre.

8.- Exigimos que el Gobierno garantice por ley la neutralidad de la Red en España, ante cualquier presión que pueda producirse, como marco para el desarrollo de una economía sostenible y realista de cara al futuro.

9.- Proponemos una verdadera reforma del derecho de propiedad intelectual orientada a su fin: devolver a la sociedad el conocimiento, promover el dominio público y limitar los abusos de las entidades gestoras.

10.- En democracia las leyes y sus modificaciones deben aprobarse tras el oportuno debate público y habiendo consultado previamente a todas las partes implicadas. No es de recibo que se realicen cambios legislativos que afectan a derechos fundamentales en una ley no orgánica y que versa sobre otra materia.

Este manifiesto, elaborado de forma conjunta por varios autores, es de todos y de ninguno. Si quieres sumarte a él, difúndelo por Internet.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION IN COMMENTS.

Irene Reid: The World Needs What I Need (1971) ... plus

Irene Reid was born and raised in Savannah, Georgia. She sang in church and in high school in Georgia, and moved to New York City in 1947 after her mother died. Toward the end of 1947, she tied out for an amateur contest at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, and won the competition for five straight weeks. Soon after she was offered a slot as the featured vocalist with Dick Vance at the Savoy Ballroom, which she held from 1948-1950. In 1961-62, Reid sang with Count Basie's orchestra, and recorded for Verve Records(Room for One More, 1965; It's Too Late, 1966). She later performed in a Broadway production of the musical The Wiz. Additionally, she sang with Carmen McRae, Sarah Vaughan, Aretha Franklin, and B.B King. In 1971 she recorded her lone Polydor effort, The World Needs What I Need. Arranged and conducted by Horace Ott, this album reinvented the singer for a new dawn, jettisoning the jazz sensibilities of previous efforts in favor of a bottom-heavy psychedelic soul approach perfectly matched to her potent vocals. While nowhere near as tripped out as concurrent Polydor releases from the likes of Roy Ayers or Edwin Birdsong, the album definitely boasted all the label's early-'70s hallmarks: thick, percolating grooves, panoramic arrangements, and a deep sensitivity for a universal consciousness far greater than the music itself. Navigating well-chosen covers like 'Son of a Preacher Man' and 'Didn't We', and funky originals like 'Hey World, Let Love In' with aplomb and self-possession, Reid never seems out of place in such radical environs; indeed, the performances here are among her very finest, and it's a shame the album's commercial failure spelled such an extended absence from the limelight. It wasn't until the late '90s that she returned to prominence, recording some albums for Savant and appearing at the Savannah Jazz Festival in 1991, 1994, and 1996. I have extended her 1971 album with 11 bonus tracks, consisting of 9 tunes from her '60s repertoire, including 'Once a Thief', 'Just Loving You', 'I Must Be Doing Something Right' 'We're Gonna Make It' and 'My Heart Said (The Bossa Nova)', plus a couple of songs from her album The Uptown Lowdown (2000). http://www.answers.com/, http://music2all.byethost18.com/

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Mike Carr with his Trio and Irene Reid performing 'Fever':

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VA: Here Come the Girls Vol.5 - Sisters from the City (1963-1974)

Subtitled Sisters from the City, volume five in the consistently wonderful Here Come the Girls series that Sequel Records released in the '90s, isn't a girl group collection per se, at least not in the conventional Shangri-Las/Chiffons/Ronettes sense of the phrase. The subject is instead soul sides dating from between 1963 and 1974, relative light years in musical terms that encompass everything from the primal R&B of Betty Harris' deep-soul ballads 'Cry to Me' and 'His Kiss' to the insistent Philly proto-disco of Ecstasy, Passion & Pain's 'I Wouldn't Give You Up'; although the set consequently lacks the focus and clarity common to the remainder of the Here Come the Girls series, the quality of the assembled material is nevertheless high throughout. Five of the disc's 20 tracks (mostly drawn from the Roulette and Calla vaults) spotlight the unjustly neglected Jean Wells, whose incendiary gospel-inspired vocals combined with the slinky production of the great Clyde Otis to yield a series of strong singles like 'I Feel Good' and 'Have a Little Mercy,' all of which earned little notice during the Summer of Love. Other highlights: the Fuzz's beatific 'Like an Open Door,' Betty Lavette's Northern soul perennials 'Let Me Down Easy' and 'Only Your Love Can Save Me', Doris Troy's 'I'll Do Anything' and Oohna Truth's funky 'If It Feels Good, Do It.' http://www.allmusic.com/

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Dee Dee Sharp Gamble: What Colour is Love (1977) / Dee Dee (1980)

After marrying Kenny Gamble, Dee Dee Sharp seemed to inherit his smooth Philly soul style as part of the family and her records for Philly International are head and shoulders above her earlier work as a girl singer in the '60s. Over a five-year period as Dee Dee Sharp Gamble, she recorded a total of three albums for the label, Happy 'Bout The Whole Thing (1975), What Color Is Love (1977) and Dee Dee (1980). The first one I posted it already. Now it is the time for the other two. When What Color Is Love came out in 1977, it looked like a sure thing that Dee Dee would obtain legendary status, as this collection is filled with soul-stirring performances, from the beautifully haunting ballads 'What Color Is Love?' and 'Flashback', to the passionate plea in 'Nobody Could Ever Take Your Place'. Other highlights are her version of 'I Really Want to See You Tonight', which is far better than the original, and the remake of Barry Manilow's 'Tryin' to Get the Feelin' Again'. The second album, sadly her last to date, came out in 1980 to great reviews but no radio support, which was hard to figure out because so many of its tracks could have been hits (and a couple actually were). Dee Dee has some nice mellow midtempo cuts, like 'If We're Gonna Stay Together' and her duet with legendary Jerry Butler 'Everyday Affair', which stands up along with any of the greatest ever duets along with Dinah & Brook or Marvin & Tammi. 'Invitation' is a smoldering and riveting scorcher that will give pleasure to anyone who loves great passionate vocals, while the sultry and hypnotic 'I Love You Anyway' was a Top 100 R&B hit. But the album also has a number of great funky dance numbers, including 'Let's Get This Party Started', 'Easy Money' and 'Breaking and Entering', a song that spent four weeks at number 1 on Billboard's Disco/Dance chart. Those who only know Dee Dee Sharp for her '60s work will be surprised by the mature, sexy Dee Dee. If you love the Philadelphia sound this is a must for your collection. http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.dustygroove.com/

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Laura Lee: The Hot Wax / Invictus Anthology (1970-1974)

When Holland-Dozier-Holland broke up with Motown in 1968, two female vocalists proved crucial in putting the songwriters' newly established record labels on the map. First Freda Payne was signed to Invictus and scored a massive crossover hit with 'Band of Gold' in 1970. Out of contract with Chess, Laura Lee was convinced to record for Invictus' sister label Hot Wax. The title track of 1972's Women's Love Rights made up for its average chart success with its perfectly timed manifesto and rallying cry for downtrodden women. Three decades later, music magazine Mojo would also recognize the album's anthem-like qualities by including 'Wedlock Is a Padlock' in a Top 100 of protest songs for its May 2004 issue. In its turn, the bolshie monologue preceding the Buddy Johnson ballad 'Since I Fell for You' would be acknowledged as the lyrical jump off point for Millie Jackson. Although it spawned four Top 40 R&B chart hits, Lee would always remain more of a critics' favorite. The singer would go on to record two more albums for Holland-Dozier-Holland of which Two Sides of Laura Lee nearly matches her debut. On Two Sides she added a new element to Brenda Holloway's classic 'Every Little Bit Hurts,' turning the waltz-tempo whiner into a deep soul extravaganza, while her heartfelt versions of two standards, 'At Last' and 'Guess Who I Saw Today,' made them accessible to soul listeners who normally wouldn't give them the time of day. Her last Hot Wax effort, I Can't Make It Alone, had crack arrangements by HB Barnum and Eugene Moore which mixed strings and soul into a stellar blend. The album featured the breakbeat classic 'Crumbs Off the Table' (also included on Two Sides), plus the cuts '(If You Want to Try to Love Again) Remember Me', 'Mirror of Your Soul', and 'I Need It Just As Bad As You'. Lee left Hot Wax in 1975 and signed with Ariola Records, but became seriously ill shortly afterwards and retired from the music industry for several years. I have gathered here most of Laura Lee's Hot Wax / Invictus repertoire, including her three LPs for the label (not the duplicated tracks, obviously), plus all but three of the non-album sides, including an extended version of 'Her Picture Matches Mine'. http://www.dustygroove.com/, http://www.allmusic.com/

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Laura Lee, performing her Blackpool Mecca anthem 'To Win Your Heart', recorded for Ric-Tic Records in 1965:

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Annette Snell: The Collection (1970-1977)

Annette Snell, a Miami native, was a member of The Fabulettes, a girl group that recorded for Fred Foster's Monument and Sound Stage 7 labels in 1965 and '66. She had gotten her start as a member of a Florida outfit called the Mar-Vells that had been laying down background vocals in Miami studios as early as 1960. That was where she met Paul Kelly. Kelly had come up as a member of Miami bands like the Valadeers and the Del-Mires. Buddy Killen had signed him and fellow Del-Mire Clarence Reid to Dial in 1964. Killen would produce some of his best records on Paul, not only for Dial, but for Warner Brothers in the early seventies as well. Kelly had taken Annette Snell with him to New York in 1968, on a trip to shop some demos of songs he had written. She cut one of those songs, 'Since There Is No More You' for the small Love Hill label under the name Annetta (it was specifically a duet between Paul Kelly & Annette Snell). The record, although leased by Juggy Murray for national distribution, didn't make much noise. Paul brought her to the attention of Killen, who was suitably impressed. 'Footprints on My Mind' was recorded at The Soundshop with both Kelly and Killen producing. Dial first released it as the A side of 'I'll Be Your Fool Once More' in 1972, and again as the B side of 'You Ought to Be Here With Me' the following year, which would break into the R&B top 20 in the fall of 1973. 'Get Your Thing Together' would follow, and reach the top 50 in early 1974. 'Just As Hooked As I've Ever Been' would crack the Hot 100 later that year, and be the last tune she would wax for the label. All had been written by Kelly. Times were changing, and Buddy worked out a deal with his distributor, EPIC, to release some of his 'product' on the parent label. They decided to hold Annette's next sessions in Muscle Shoals, where she cut 'It's All Over Now,' at Broadway Sound. Only promotion copys were distributed before her ultimely death. She was returning home after working on some tracks for a supporting album when her plane went down somewhere in Georgia on April 4, 1977. She would not survive. At the time of her death she was married to Pete Jackson of Touch of Class. I gathered here all of the sides Annette Snell released on Dial Records, as well as 'It's All Over Now' and 'Since There Is No More You' (I am afraid this track skips several times, but it's all I could get, sorry!); eight cuts in all. http://redkelly.blogspot.com/, http://www.boogalooinvestigator.com/

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