Various
Soul Of America In London 1966-1972 (3cd)
Collection of performances recorded between 1966 and 1972. Includes BBC broadcasts. Full colour booklet with informative liner notes and archival imagery. Professionally remastered. Housed in a digipack. When Mary Wells won the hearts of The Beatles and came to London in 1964, it kickstarted the Motortown Revue the following year and the Stax/Volt Revue two years later. Britain had already fallen for the soulful charms of Motown's finest but was now in the grip of many other black singers who were emerging from the USA predominantly through imported 45rpm records. Apart from a fairly successful UK tour, a Ready Steady Go! TV special saw an array of Motown stars perform and 'soul' music was becoming the new voice of black America after the blues and R&B boom had begun to fade. As ever, the BBC eventually caught on and their resident pop music host Brian Matthew was given the job to introduce and interview several big name artists from across the pond who performed exclusive versions of their songs for radio listeners. This highly anticipated release brings together an array of American soul and R&B stars, recorded in England in 1966 to 1972. For the first time ever, we can now enjoy these previously unreleased gems and catch a glimpse of how the soul of America really sounded, back in London in its halcyon heyday. DISC 1: 01. Robert Parker - Barefootin' (11/10/66) 02. Robert Parker - Happy Feet (with interview) (11/10/66) 03. Robert Parker - Let's Go Baby (Where The Action Is) (11/10/66) 04. Lou Rawls - Love Is A Hurtin' Thing (03/10/67) 05. Lou Rawls - Uphill Climb To The Bottom (03/10/67) 06. Lou Rawls - They Don't Give Medals (To Yesterday's Heroes) (03/10/67) 07. Maxine Brown - I Was Made To Love Her (03/10/67) 08. Maxine Brown - One Step At A Time (03/10/67) 09. Maxine Brown - Hold On I'm Coming (03/10/67) 10. Gladys Knight & The Pips - Take Me In Your Arms (01/12/67) 11. Gladys Knight & The Pips - I Heard It Through The Grapevine (with interview) (01/12/67) 12. Gladys Knight & The Pips - Just Walk In My Shoes (01/12/67) 13. Brenton Wood - Gimme A Little Sign (with interview) (30/10/68) 14. Brenton Wood - Oogum Boogum Song (30/10/68) 15. Sly & The Family Stone - M'Lady (with interview) (16/09/68) 16. Sly & The Family Stone - Are You Ready (16/09/68) 17. Sly & The Family Stone - Stone Life (16/09/68) 18. The Showstoppers - Ain't Nothing But A Houseparty (15/10/68) 19. The Showstoppers - Eeny Meeny (with interview) (15/10/68) 20. The Showstoppers - If You Love Her (15/10/68) DISC 2: 01. Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon - Breaking Down The Walls Of Heartache (06/12/68) 02. Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon - Stoned Soul Picnic (06/12/68) 03. Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon - Pride Comes Before A Fall (24/08/70) 04. Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon - Breaking Down The Walls Of Heartache (24/08/70) 05. Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon - Sweet Inspiration (24/08/70) 06. Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon - Games People Play (04/11/70) 07. Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon - (Blame It On The) Pony Express (04/11/70) 08. Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon - Something (04/11/70) 09. Johnny Johnson - Sweet Inspiration (13/05/71) 10. Johnny Johnson - Mr Tambourine Man (13/05/71) 11. Wilson Pickett - Hey Jude (06/02/69) 12. The Flirtations - Nothing But A Heartache (06/05/69) 13. The Flirtations - What's Good About Goodbye, My Love (with interview) (06/05/69) 14. Marv Johnson - Baby How I Miss You (20/10/69) 15. Marv Johnson - I'll Pick A Rose For My Rose (20/10/69) 16. Marv Johnson - I'll Pick A Rose For My Rose (with interview) (20/05/70) 17. Marv Johnson - I Miss You Baby (20/05/70) 18. Marv Johnson - Abraham, Martin And John (20/05/70) 19. Edwin Starr - 25 Miles (26/01/70) 20. Edwin Starr - Time (26/01/70) 21. Doris Troy - Jacob's Ladder (08/09/70) 22. Doris Troy - Special Care (08/09/70) DISC 3: 01. Clarence Carter - Looking For A Fox (21/10/70) 02. Clarence Carter - Patches (with interview) (21/10/70) 03. Johnny Moran - Talks To Clarence Carter (21/10/70) 04. Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - Jimmy Mack (25/01/71) 05. Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - I Gotta Let You Go (25/01/71) 06. Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - Forget Me Not (25/01/71) 07. Tami Lynn - I'm Gonna Run Away From You (21/06/71) 08. Tami Lynn - What's Going On (21/06/71) 09. Al Green - Back Up Train (14/12/71) 10. Al Green - Let's Stay Together (14/12/71) 11. Al Green - Tired Of Being Alone (14/12/71) 12. Al Green - Let's Stay Together (13/01/72) 13. Al Green - I Can't Get Next To You (13/01/72) 14. Johnny Nash - That's The Way We Get By (05/06/72) 15. Chairmen Of The Board - Let Me Down Easy (16/10/72) 16. Chairmen Of The Board - Elmo James (16/10/72) 17. Chairmen Of The Board - Working On A Building Called Love (16/10/72) 18. Mary Wells - My Guy (02/08/72) 19. Mary Wells - Do Your Thing (02/08/72) 20. Mary Wells - You Beat Me To The Punch (02/08/72) 21. The Stylistics - I'm Stone In Love With You (10/10/72) 22. The Stylistics - Point Of No Return (10/10/72)