The Persuasions - "More Than Before" (1974)

Tracked down one of my long lost favourites both as a 7" single and as a track on this album. Awful artwork! Good Music!  This includes a "Live Side" with covers of Bobby Womack and Temptations songs together with a studio side where they finally used instruments to (to quote the cover) add " a little instrumental colouring".

US Copy A+M - AMLS 63635

for more about my search for this go to BoyRed's Lost And Found - Persuasions

Kokomo - Kokomo (1975)

From The Lost Record Covers Club

Sixth form banter produced a record club where groups of us used to vie with each other to find the next big thing.  Discoveries included Supertramp (circa Crime Of The Century); Cockney Rebel; Moon and Kokomo. 


The seventies found a number of UK bands producing viable white soul music and Kokomo alongside the Average White Band Cado Belle, Pacific Eardrum, FBI and Moon leading the pack.
As this was released and gained airplay via John Peel and others they embarked on their first headlining tour.  I took my wife on a first date to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London.  They were supported by Upp (more of them in a later post).  They perfomed all of this album and much of the about to be released "Rise and Shine".  A must see live act.  This gig was the one.  One of the killer tracks is featured below, a driving version of Bobby Womack's "I Can Understand It".  We later saw them supporting AWB when they returned after their success stateside.  Kokomo came back on stage for a massive version of "Grapevine" which also features on the AWB's "Person To Person" live set.


Members of the band came from Joe Cocker's Grease Band so soul was in their pedigree.  The singers Dyan Birch, Frank Collins and Paddy McHugh together with singer/bass player Alan Spenner would go on to ee the chosen session players for a host of premier bands including Roxy Music.  There is a twofer CD of these first two albums and a compilation (go for the former)

Columbia - PC 334422 (this is a US White Label Promo)


http://45cat.com/artist/kokomo

This is an ad from UK Blues and Soul magazine

Various - Soul From The City Volume 1 (1969)

From The Lost Record Covers Club

Where do I start.  I'm 11. Visiting my mate Terry during the Summer holidays in 1969/70 - when his brother isn't around he gets all his records out.  This floors me.  At home we had a lot of soul singles but real poppy stuff - Motown mainly - this was something else.  The original of "It's All Over Now" - before the Stones got their hands on it.  Bobby Womack would become much more important to me once I got into the tracks he made for Minit/UA at Muscle Shoals.  Sylvia would impress with "Pillow Talk" then later running the All Platinum then Sugarhill labels whilst always recording herself.  Obviously we knew Billy Preston had something to do with the Beatles.  The great track for me and the reason I sought this out decades later, was for the Bessie Banks version of "Go Now" a hit here for the Moody Blues when Denny Laine was a member.  The sleeve says that Bessie's version is "..still regarded by some as the definitive soul record" - there's something I could argue with myself about!

Soul City was a small independent that licensed US recordings that weren't going to see the light of day in the UK otherwise.  This seems so a non-point now with i-tunes, the internet and general acceptance of all types of music have their place.  Back in the 70's music was played on the radio if it charted (and visa versa if you see what I mean).  Finding gems like these meant you had to search and know where to search.  Or in my case knew someone who did.  This is mono, still says 331/3rpm on the back cover in case two speeds confused you.

Soul City - SCB-1