2014 Year End Poll
This year, along with highlighting their five favourite Ace releases, we also asked our compilers to pick a 'Project of the Year' and a 'Cuckoo in the Nest' (a release from one our peers).
Selected releases
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Roger's Project of the Year
Compiling CDs and even LPs once again is at times a peculiar art form and for me none more peculiar than putting together the 2nd volume of tracks played by Charlie Gillett on his 70s radio show Honky Tonk. It had been under discussion for a while and then Charlie became ill, and in the last few weeks of his life he sent me copious lists of tracks that might end up on the compilation. So it took me some time to assemble these into a reasonable impersonation of what Charlie might have intended had he lived to see the project through.
Some records compile themselves, which was pretty much the way with the "Boogie With John Lee Hooker" LP for instance. Then there are the multiple choice compilations, fitting in the appropriate tracks to suit an idea, often part of a series, that make for a pleasant and reasonably coherent listening experience. There are even compilations where the basic concept is shaped by the tracks chosen and evolves more clearly through the choice. But they all have in common the personal touch of the compiler, based on taste, knowledge, obsessions and sometimes even availability of the material.
In the case of "Honky Tonk 2" it was all about taste, given the huge number of possible tracks to choose from. Charlie was an impeccable and meticulous compiler with great taste and strong views on music, so I can only hope that I have done him some justice in putting together this tribute to a much respected and highly regarded DJ and indeed music man of the first order.
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Roger's Cuckoo in the Nest
Söndörgö ~ Tamburocket (Hungarian Fireworks) / World Music Network TUGCD1084
Fast furious and completely in control, these Hungarian maestros still manage an emotional punch whilst using up all the notes that there ever were in the World. They are made up of three brothers a cousin and a good mate, so mostly in the genes then I would say. Spectacular live and if you are wearing a hat you will have to hold onto it. I should mention that it is produced by Ben Mandelson, friend of Mustapha, GlobeStyle co-founder and one of my best mates – but he sure produced a hot one here.
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Cracking The Cosimo Code: 60s New Orleans R&B And Soul
Louisiana/New Orleans
Various Artists (Studios)
CD £13.12
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Singles As & Bs 1965-1970
Psych / Garage
The Seeds
CD £11.70
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Southern Soul Brother: The Murco Recordings 1967-1969
Southern Soul
Eddy Giles
CD £11.70
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Rhythm 'n' Bluesin' By The Bayou: Rompin' & Stompin'
Louisiana/New Orleans
Various Artists (By the Bayou)
CD £11.70
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Louie Louie
Rhythm & Blues
Richard Berry
LP £22.14
Roger's Top 5 Ace Releases of 2014
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Ady's Project of the Year
I had long been an admirer of the Superbs but knew little of them and had not delved into their career with any serious intent. Having acquired the Dore catalogue it was our duty to represent their career as best we could. Having access to Dore’s files was a huge advantage but immediately gave up a dilemma. The lead on their first record had been attributed to songwriter Frances Lark in an acclaimed study of Los Angeles R&B; this was even backed up by one of the group whom I managed to track down. However we had the original contract which credited the group at the time as having Eleanor Green as the only female member of the outfit. Eleanor was undoubtedly the star of the show on the heartbreaking ballads they created in the mid 60s; a captivating You Tube viewing of their 1964 R&B hit ‘Baby, Baby All The Time’ converted me from admirer to disciple.
Los Angeles soul singer and music enthusiast Marva Holliday put me in touch with Eddie Stovall who currently sings with a Platters group in the resort town of Branson, Missouri and had been a member in the latter days of the 80s. That sounded interesting but possibly not a huge help with the convoluted recording career of the 60s and 70s. Eddie was charming and very helpful on his time with the group but told me the guy I really needed to speak to was fellow Platter Lawrence Lockard. I knew Lawrence had composed some of the late 60s songs so that was going to be another area covered with some authority. The phone call proved to be illuminating as not only had Lawrence been a full member from 1968, he had been founder member Walter White’s best friend, flatmate and acted as the fifth group member and permanent understudy throughout the preceding years.
Lawrence gave me chapter and verse on most of the group’s career and I eventually got in touch with Ronnie White and Claudia Lennear, the muse for ‘Brown Sugar’ and Bowie’s ‘Lady Grinning Soul’. I solved the lead singer of the debut single conundrum by the simple expedient of listening to Frances Lark’s tough vocal on her solo Dore single which sounded nothing like Eleanor Green’s plaintive singing on ‘The Story Book Of Love’. I eventually made contact with Eleanor a few months after the CD's release and she confirmed that was her voice.
Eleanor was very pleased with the package and the icing on the cake was Claudia, the inspiration for ‘Brown Sugar’, describing the package as “awesome” in her thank you email.
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Bring It On Home: Black America Sings Sam Cooke
60s Soul
Various Artists (Black America Sings)
CD £11.70
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Brent: Superb 60s Soul Sounds
60s Soul
Various Artists (Time Brent Shad)
CD £11.70
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Good All Over: Rare Soul From The Westbound Records Vaults 1969-1975
Modern Soul
Various Artists (Westbound)
CD £11.70
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Satisfaction Guaranteed! Motown Guys 1961-69
60s Soul
Various Artists (Motown)
CD £13.12
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Hall Of Fame Volume 3
Southern Soul
Various Artists (Fame)
CD £11.70
Ady's Top 5 Ace Releases of 2014
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The London American Label Year By Year: 1965
Rock'n'Roll
Various Artists (London American)
CD £11.70
Tony's Project of the Year
The Ace release that I worked on this year that I am most pleased to see out is London American 1965. Bringing it to final fruition was a lengthy, arduous and at times extremely testing task, not just for me as the compiler/annotator but also for Ace’s intrepid licensing person, Liz Buckley, who had to break the news to me so many times that we weren’t going to be able to get this track or that track. What on paper might originally have seemed to be an easy job was littered with problems both major and minor, including the difficulty in obtaining certain mono masters, loss of a few tracks after they had already been licensed due to change of ownership of the masters halfway through the process, unavailability of titles from certain labels because nobody could find out who actually owned them now, a general lack of releases on the UK London label in 1965 (less than 75, of which around one third are already available elsewhere on an Ace-owned label) to prevent us from sticking to our previous one-track-per-artist policy, and numerous other behind the scenes hardships that plagued us every step of the way during the preparation of this volume. Those hardships plagued us right down to the pressing plant, when a track had to be removed just as the CD was going to manufacture. I can’t tell you how often it crossed my mind that we might have to skip from LAYBY ’64 to ’66 without issuing a ’65…
Fortunately we didn’t, and the series has continued with an entry that is both representative of the year and a jolly good listen. Those who eagerly await the next volume will be pleased to know that it’s close to being fully cleared, and I am sure that the unbridled optimism I have that it will be out in the early spring of 2015 is not in any way misplaced!
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Tony's Cuckoo(s) in the Nest
Chas & Dave: The Rockney Box 1981-1991/
Round The Horne: Compete Series 1
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Sings Big Soul
Southern Soul
Little Milton
CD £11.50
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The Complete S.A.R. Recordings
60s Soul
L.C. Cooke
CD £7.63
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The Very Best Of
60s Soul
The Superbs
CD £11.70
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Singles As & Bs 1965-1970
Psych / Garage
The Seeds
CD £11.70
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The Knox Phillips Sessions: The Unreleased Recordings
Rock'n'Roll
Jerry Lee Lewis
CD £7.63
Tony's Top 5 Ace Releases of 2014
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Brent: Superb 60s Soul Sounds
60s Soul
Various Artists (Time Brent Shad)
CD £11.70
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Lay This Burden Down: The Very Best Of Mary Love
60s Soul
Mary Love
CD £11.70
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Vamps Et Vampire: The Songs Of Serge Gainsbourg
Pop
Various Artists (Songwriter Series)
CD £11.70
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Rhythm 'n' Bluesin' By The Bayou: Rompin' & Stompin'
Louisiana/New Orleans
Various Artists (By the Bayou)
CD £11.70
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Cracking The Cosimo Code: 60s New Orleans R&B And Soul
Louisiana/New Orleans
Various Artists (Studios)
CD £13.12
Alec's Top 5 Ace Releases of 2014
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Pieces Of A Man
Vocal Jazz
Gil Scott-Heron
CD £7.63
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Come Spy With Us
Pop
Various Artists (Fun Time)
CD £11.70
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Vamps Et Vampire: The Songs Of Serge Gainsbourg
Pop
Various Artists (Songwriter Series)
CD £11.70
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No More Doggin' - The RPM Records Story Vol 1 1950-53
Rhythm & Blues
Various Artists (Kent/ Modern)
CD £17.95
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Southern Soul Brother: The Murco Recordings 1967-1969
Southern Soul
Eddy Giles
CD £11.70
Dean's Top 5 Ace Releases of 2014
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Mick's Project of the Year
Over the last few years we’ve released 13 collections of 1960s Motown recordings here on Ace and Kent, each of them made special by the inclusion of exclusive previously unissued titles from the company’s vaults. I’ve compiled about half of these projects, and my colleague Tony Rounce has done the honours on the rest, each of us very ably guided by Motown historian Keith Hughes, a man with more Hitsville USA information at his fingertips than any other. “Finders Keepers: Motown Girls 1961-67” is the top seller so far, which is gratifying, as female singers and groups are pretty much my designated area of expertise. From the outset, it was always our plan to follow up that compilation with a similar all-male edition. With thanks to support from our friends at Motown’s New York HQ, the project turned out better than Keith and I could ever have expected, given that none of its hand-picked tracks have been released before on CD or vinyl.
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Mick's Cuckoo in the Nest
Dee Dee Warwick – The Complete Atco Recordings (Real Gone Music/Rhino)
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Vamps Et Vampire: The Songs Of Serge Gainsbourg
Pop
Various Artists (Songwriter Series)
CD £11.70
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Cracking The Cosimo Code: 60s New Orleans R&B And Soul
Louisiana/New Orleans
Various Artists (Studios)
CD £13.12
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Come Spy With Us
Pop
Various Artists (Fun Time)
CD £11.70
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Nippon Girls 2 - Japanese Pop, Beat & Rock'n'Roll 1965-1970
Girls
Various Artists (Big Beat International)
CD £11.70
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Singles As & Bs 1965-1970
Psych / Garage
The Seeds
CD £11.70
Mick's Top 5 Ace Releases of 2014
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