Don Covay & The Jefferson Lemon Band - "If There's A Will There's A Way" (3:36)
Harvey Mandel - "Baby Batter" (3:40)
Review: Climactic, psychedelic soul and blues brilliance by Don Covay, co-written by Donny Hathaway and backed by a proto-Balearic sweetmeat on the B, Harvey Mandel's 'Baby Batter'. The A-side was originally released one year after (1972) the B-side (1971) on the American Janus label, and the tracks provide a palpable contrast, drawing on the same idiom yet approaching it with remarkable difference. Covay's lyrics are, thematically, overflowing with determination, despite the psychic conflict at the track's heart. Is there any resolution? "The sweeter you, look, mama... the bitterer you treat me..."
Review: Detroit musician and producer Dave Hamilton hears two fantastic early emissions of his reissued via BGP. Known originally as a guitarist and an early member of the Motown house band, Hamilton's influence on music, especially the later Northern soul firestorm in the UK, is perhaps understated. His guitar contributions to the likes of Marvin Gaye's 'Stubborn Kind Of Fellow' and John Lee Hooker's 'Boom Boom' are indeed cherished additions to the Michigan funk and r&b canon, but perhaps it's his later outings as Dave Hamilton and the Peppers - and later founding of the labels Demoristic and TCB - that house the real trinkets. 'The Deacons' and 'Pisces Place' both came out via the TCB label, and brought vibraphonic blues and astrologic easy listens respectively to wax.
Review: A new raw, bluesy punk-garage EP from Mick Hampshire - a zoomed-out existential musing on life, dealing in geological process, speck-of-dust sublimes and personal breaking points. Drawing on Hampshire's well-gained experience as the leading member of garage rock four-piece Mickey & The Milkshakes, Mick now goes rogue, dashing the cream shake to the floor, and turning his hand to a mendicant, roughshod, rock-relief style of blues. In 2022, armed only with his Grimshaw semi-acoustic guitar - unamplified - Mick sang and strummed through these four home-recorded, perhaps phone-recorded jams in an unnamed back room. The result is an honest and grievous sound, reaching its exasperated but shoulder-shaking climax on 'When You're In This Mood'.
Review: Mayer Hawthorne's debut release hears a faithful reissue via Stones Throw. 'Just Ain't Gonna Work Out' was first released in 2008 as the first forerunner to the LP A Strange Arrangement, which was released the following year. Housed on a distinctively oblong, heart-shaped, red 7", the star track hears Hawthorne segue uncertainly from serenade to breakup song, and we're treated to his trademark croaky falsetto too; too nice to pass up. B-sider 'When I Said Goodbye' is a haunting soul reminiscence, giving barbershop harmonies laid down by a ghostly troupe, amid talk of shattered wills and wistful post-breakup apologies.
Review: Haze, an Exeter band that in 1981 endlessly toured the South West of England and released the album "SILVERTOPS REFLECTS HAZE" upon which many contemporary tracks were given the Haze treatment from Barry Manilow's 'I Can't Smile Without You' to Johnny Cash's 'Ghost Riders in the Sky'. In the mix Azymuth's Latin funk anthem 'Jazz Carnival' and Space's legendary electronic 'Magic Fly' surfaced, the latter two of which make up this exceptional 7" release by Panorama records, this relatively new label that celebrates idiosyncratic rarities. Haze seem to like breaking down the original and making space between the beats and yet on this A side an already pumping track pumps faster with an extra electronic edge on the Moog-ish organ, whilst paradoxically Haze's lead guitarist takes on Jose Roberto Bertrami's originally syncopated keys in a more regulated way - not a bad thing if not a jazz dancer but someone who just loves to dance! Intelligently, Panorama have coupled this with Haze's percussion heavy version of 'Magic Fly' on the B side, that even if it remains more so electronic, even poppy, it nicely compliments the Brazilian homage of side A. If you love a rare version, 7" 45s and early 80s jazz funk with a synthesised edge you'll love this.
Review: Northern Soul devotees have long been captivated by unreleased Motown gems, and this one may be the best yet. Written by Chester and Gary Pipkin, 'Stuck-Up' was crafted to replace Mary Wells after her departure from Motown. Although Oma Heard recorded extensively, including a duet with Marvin Gaye, she was dropped for not fitting the label's image. The song was then given to Shirley Gunter, whose 1966 version on Tangerine Records became one of the rarest Northern Soul records, often fetching over 500 quid. Recently, the original Oma Heard version surfaced on a Motown unreleased CD and has been hailed as a classic by Ian Levine. Now, for the first time, it gets released on vinyl by Motown's V.I.P. label.
Review: Heartworms are brand new outfit releasing under Speedy Wunderground - one of the few contemporary imprints giving fresh faces a fighting chance. Their debut EP 'A Comforting Notion' embeds the dystopian vision of one Jojo Orme into our minds - the frontwoman is a grandiose performer, giving tired tropes of delicate female bandleaders a run for its money through means like gritty post-punk and dark synth instrumentation, and a macabre sense of humour. The band's name references a heart-defecting parasite that is commonly found in dogs and is spread through mosquito bites - but don't worry, this EP will make your heart feel nothing but joy (permitting, at least, that you're a fan of bleak music!)
Review: A collaborative new single by sampletronic master Kieran Hebden (aka. Four Tet) and guitarist and composer William Tyler, two acclaimed musicians and both longstanding friends. Part of a recent spewing-forth of Hebden-adjacent material to hit the shelves after the artist's oft-reported-upon "agent of chaos" phase, these two tracks, pressed to a furtive 12", provide a neat counterpoint to that assessment. Rather than a pair of riddim bangers, the record flaunts Hebden's signature electronic textures and Tyler's guitar into a hypnotic, nominally dark soundwhirl, reminiscent of the earliest days of Text, but with a unique edge - a sonic corner never quite scoured before by either artist.
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