Sandy McLelland And The Backline (1979)

From The Lost Record Covers Club

This terrible cover belies the fact that it contains a gem of an album (the inner sleeve is no better).  Wonderful soul sounds from a tight band, thoughtful and soulful songs with a singer in fine voice.  Very much a radio gem at the time on Capital and nightime Radio 1 although not enough to make them stars. The song "Mediocrity" (Media ocrity - geddit?) talks about the tame playlisting policy of radio stations in the UK.  As the song says "I don't need no part of your mediocrity" - 'fraid he did to sell any of these and he didn't succeed.  This is a real shame as this sits right up there with the British soul bands of the day.  The band are supplemented by The Rumour Brass section and the Kokomo/Voice Squad of Frank Collins, Dyan Birch and Paddy McHugh and features guest appearances from Mark Knopfler (way before the big big time) and the ace guitarist Jim Mullen.  They toured a great deal on the uni circuit.  Shame the Phonogram art department really let them down!

A lot of high ponts but this is the album that introduced me to the Tod Rungren classic song "Can We Still Be Friends?" - this is a smooth version punctuated by relaxed brass.  The Robert Palmer version on "Secrets" followed the arrangement but without the horn section.  This is my favourite version. "Sure Sounds Good To Me" "Heat On The Street" and "Bad Situation" are uptight workouts honed on the live setlist - here they are tight and precise - great sounds. "So So Satisfied" is a Ashford and Simpson song sympatheticaly treated. 
Highly recommended - lots of features on YouTube.  Searches there show that the man has been busy with soundtrack work.
Mercury - 9109 620

Cado Belle - Cado Belle (1976)

From The Lost Record Covers Club

Only one album from another soulful British band of the 70's.  I seem to be developing a theme here.  This band were signed to the Anchor label which didn't last in the UK very long and perhaps this is why they disappeared off the radar so quickly after showing so much promise.  The band were - Maggie Reilly (vcls);Alan Darby (Gtr);Gavin Hodgson (bs); Stuart Mackillop (keys); Davy Roy (drm/perc) and; Colin Tully (sax/flt).  The backing vocals were augmented by two from Kokomo - Frank Collins and Paddy McHugh.  Ace Sax/arranger - Mel Collins also features along with Paul Buckmaster arranging strings.  Difficult to get hold of this on CD although you do see the vinyl every now and then at fairs and ebay. Nice packaging job.  Wonderful Soul Album from Brits again.

From The Lost Record Covers Club

Anchor Records - (pictures scanned from CD ANCL 2015 - Japanese Import)

http://45cat.com/artist/cado-belle

Kokomo - Rise And Shine (1975)

From The Lost Record Covers Club

More Brit Soul from the Kokomo team with them perfecting their sound.  Some changes in line-up from the first album with John Sussewell arriving on drums in place of Terry Stannard and Jody Linscott (Congas) and Jim Mullen (Guitar) moving on.  CBS, taken by surprise  by the reaction to the debut, put more behind this.  Alan Spenner vocals "Use You Imagination"; Tony O'Malley's massive title track and the trio of Birch, Collins and the flamboyant Paddy McHugh providing wonderful vocals front and rear throughout. Recorded at Criteria in Miami with Brad Shapiro (who was responsible for many of Millie Jackson's great productions amongst others) Excellent!

They made one further album later with CBS and had a minor hit with "A Little Bit Further Away"

CBS - 69229

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

Average White Band - Put It Where You Want It/First - (1974)

From The Lost Record Covers Club

AWB were a scottish band that understood the developemnt of soul in the early 70's.  People threw their hands up in horror to think that a white/scottish band would dare make this type of music.  But then they did it really well.  Orginally signed to MCA who seemed confused as to how to market them - they looked like a rock band but played like a real soul combo.  This is actually a repackaged version of the original album "Show Your Hand" which had been issued the year before but here minus the track "The Jugglers".  This was produced by Stewart Levine. AWB would soon move to Atlantic Records under the production wing of the late great Arif Mardin and produce the classic "White Album" and a career's worth of superb soul albums.  I remember hearing "You Got It" for the first time in a Ravel's in Oxford Street and thinking Sam and Dave were recording together again.  Most of this is available on CD on various compilations from Rhino and Atlantic but they haven't been put out in either of it's original (two) forms - you will find them listed under "the Clover sessions".  I saw Alan Gorrie and Onnie McIntyre who keep the name alive with some great side members at the Jazz Cafe last year.  Worth it.  But seeing them in '75 on stage with Kokomo for an encore after a great set - now that was something.

MCA - MCF 2705