Any Major Soul 1976 Vol. 2
It”s 1976 in Any Major Soul land, with Volume 2. It was the last really great year for soul of the great soul decade, and therefore arguably the last really  great year for soul.
One artist who appears here made it big in the 1980s. Luther Vandross features as the lead singer of the group Luther, which presumably took its name not as an homage to 16th-century religious performers. Vandross had already enjoyed a career as a session singer, most famously on David Bowie”s Young Americans album, on which he also co-wrote the song Fascination with Bowie. Later he also backed acts like Roberta Flack, Chic, Sister Sledge, Odyssey, Carly Simon, Average White Band, Bette Middler, Chaka Khan, J. Geils Band and others on their hit albums, duetted on two tracks of Quincy Joiners” Stuff Like That album, joined the group Change, and finally in 1981 released his first solo album, Never Too Much.
Some big names failed to make the cut “” Curtis Mayfield, Bill Withers, The Isley Brothers “” but one soul legend had to feature in 1976: Stevie Wonder. Songs In The Key Of Life, released that year, is the opus in a great decade of soul music. That isn”t to say it is flawless. The fusion work-out that is Contusion is misplaced, and some songs go on for double its natural lifespan (basically all of Side 3). But, oh, Side 4! There are many great songs on the album, so the exquisite Knocks Me Off My Feet features here.
The Choice Four was a Washington DC act that was produced by Van McCoy. The band may be remembered better as a disco act, especially for their hit Come Down To Earth (by the time it became a hit, the group had split). They also recorded the first version of the David Ruffin hit Walk Away From Love. Both featured on In Memoriam ““ July 2017.
The mix kicks off with something rather more obscure. A 12-piece band from Milwaukee, Step By Step released one single album, I Always Wanted To Be In The Band.
Norma Jenkins sounds like a southern soul singer but actually hailed from New Jersey. She released only one album, in 1976, though her recording career went back into the 1960s. After 1976 she disappeared from the music scene.
You may recognise John Edwards as the future lead singer of The Spinners, joining the band in 1977. He led on Working My Way Back to You. He had enjoyed a career before that, enjoying a few hits in the R&B charts. A stroke in 2000 forced his retirement.
The artist who on this mix follows Edwards also has a Spinners connection. Lee Garrett co-wrote the bands hit It’s A Shame. He also co-wrote Stevie Wonder”s Signed Sealed And Delivered (like Wonder, incidentally, Garrett is blind) and Jermaine Jackson”s Let”s Get Serious. As a singer, he enjoyed success with 1976″s You’re My Everything. I picked a different song for this mix.
The cover of Tomorrow”s People“s LP suggests female membership. Not so: the group comprised four brothers. A little gem that was long forgotten (and sought after by collectors), it was re-released on CD recently. With the masters long lost, that CD had to be compiled from various sources. The real highlight of the album is the 20-minute track that fills Side 2.
One of the bright spots in 1990s soul was La Bouche, who were produced in Germany. Hearing their hit Fallin” In Love invariably puts me in a good mood. That song was originally done in 1975 by AOR Â act Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds “” their version featured on the Not Feeling Guilty Mix Vol. 4. Here it is covered by The New Birth, in a way that neither recalls the original nor presages the 1990s cover.
It also closes with an obscure outfit, Sounds Of The City Experience. How this New York City band never broke big is one for the Cold Case Files. And it won”t be too difficult to finger the bad guy: mafia frontman and full-time crook Morris Levy, the template for The Sopranos” Hersh Rabkin (who was rather more likable than Levy). Levy signed this talented band to his tax dodge label. Their one shot at stardom was sabotaged so that it wouldn”t sell, in order to make a scumbag money. Fuck Morris Levy.
As always CD-R length, covers, PW in comments.
1. Step By Step – Cool Days Are Out Of Style
2. The O”Jays – Let Life Flow
3. Zulema – New Day Coming
4. Marlena Shaw – You And Me
5. G.C. Cameron – Include Me In Your Life
6. Al Green – Soon As I Get Home
7. Curtis Mayfield – Only You Babe
8. Stevie Wonder – Knocks Me Off My Feet
9. Al Jarreau – Rainbow In Your Eyes
10. Luther – This Strange Feeling
11. The Choice Four – Just Let Me Hold You For A Night
12. Norma Jenkins – I Did It For Real
13. Carolyn Franklin – From The Bottom Of My Heart (To The Bottom Of Yours)
14. Tomorrow”s People – Hurry On Up Tomorrow
15. Charles Brimmer – Your Man”s Gonna Be In Trouble
16. The New Birth – Fallin” In Love
17. John Edwards – That”s That
18. Lee Garrett – Heart Be Still
19. Rufus & Chaka Khan – Do You Love What You Feel
20. Sounds Of The City Experience – Keep On Keepin” On
Bonus track: Vivian Reed – Baby, You’re A Good Thang
PW = amdwhah
Worth it just for Curtis Mayfield’s “Only You Babe”.
Hi there! Long time follower here, just trying to catch up on my soul-diving. Any chance of a re-up? At your convenience, of course. Count me among the many who are grateful for your efforts!