Thursday 20 January 2011

Mr Double Down Presents Talkin’ About Hey Love

Welcome back Soul Children!

I hope you managed to snatch Larry Grogan’s fantastic second instalment for our ongoing guest mix series last week, if not go and grab the 1’s and 0’s now!
Things have been pretty hectic here on planet Hook And Sling as we hurtle towards the final crescendo of Christmas. As well as trying to put some real life issues to bed, I’ve been putting the final touches together for our New Years Eve Soul Special at La Havana Bar in Chichester. Tickets are selling pretty healthily at the moment, and with only 2 weeks left until kick off I would strongly recommend securing yours early enough to avoid disappointment as this will be strictly a ticket only affair!

On to business and I’ve pulled together a new bunch of 45’s for you. With the manic hustle and bustle leading up to Christmas I’ve decided to knock the tempo down a few notches and drop a brand new mix of slow burners and deep soul ballads (or ‘weepies’ as we like to call them round these parts!).



So we get things going with Charles Mintz and ‘Finders Keepers’, the flip to the sought after ‘Give A Man A Break’ on Gene Lawson’s Uplook Record label. This is a stone cold burner of the very highest order, and while the 45 is fairly easy to pick up the price always seems to constantly fluctuate from around a score all the way up to £75. Interestingly, prior to his death Otis Redding was trying to get Charles Mintz to sign to the Stax Record label after he had covered one of Mintz’s cuts, ‘Free At Last’. Unfortunately the deal never materialized due to Otis Redding’s untimely demise.

Little Beaver’s ‘Do Right Man’ is one of the true heavy weight 45s out there, with the few copies that even manage to make it to auction hitting well over $1000 in the past. Luckily the good folks at Jazzman Records have put together a collection of 45s from the highly collectable Saadia Records, which will suffice until I can score an OG!

Jackie Wilson is an artist that is regularly featured on these pages as well as being well played out at our regular nights. ‘For Your Precious Love’ was written by Jerry Butler and also features renowned band leader Count Basie. This is a real show case of Jackie Wilson's awesome vocal talents.

Gloria Walker is a personal favourite of mine, having recorded several sides with The Chevelles for the Flaming Arrow label. ‘My Precious Love’ was put out in 1971 on James Brown's People Records, a label I’ve harped on about many many times before. This 45 is coupled with ‘Papas Got The Wagon’ and can be picked up fairly cheaply with a little patience and digging.

King Floyd is probably better known for his 1971 hit ‘Groove Me’ on Atlantic Records, however 6 years earlier he knocked this angsty little number out on Original Sound Records. Fairly elusive, it can be scored for about £20 depending on it’s condition, but I’m pretty sure you’ll agree it’s worth every penny.

JB-alike vocalist Lee Fields has produced several 45s that I would place amongst my favourites, and this is definitely one of them for sure. ‘Honey Dove’ is a track I’ve previously featured on these pages in a mix before (We Got Soul) but once I got in the swing of things with today’s mix I knew I had to pull it out and include it again! Pure quality, no questions asked!!

Into the back straight and Herman Hitson, who is definitely another Hook And Sling favourite gives us ‘You Are Too Much For The Human Heart’. This is about as deep as it goes and proves to be a real grower with each listen. A pretty tricky 45 to find as the A-side is the funk staple, ‘I Got That Will’, which was also released by Lee Moses

Gladys Knight & The Pips step up next with an alternative spin on the Smokey Robinson And The Miracles standard. Released 5 years after the original, this 1970 cut is slightly more melodic, and by far and away one of the better cover versions out there of this classic.

The Illusions Featuring Carlton Basco take us into the finish. While I know little about who The Illusions were, I know the OG on Freedom, a label owned by Carlton Basco and his brother George Basco consistently fetches over £200. This reissue on Tramp Records is coupled with Carlton Basco’s ‘Don’t Chain My Soul’, another awesome 45, which is also hugely popular on the funk scene. A careful ear should be able to pick out Carlton Basco's Hammond B3 on the track. Top Stuff!

That concludes today’s broadcast sports fans! We’ll be back here soon with more of the ‘Good Stuff’ for you as well as a few Christmas tinged goodies to boot. I hope you enjoyed listening to this as much as I did putting it together. Enjoy!

Track List


Charles Mintz - Finders Keepers – Uplook

Little Beaver - Do Right Man - Saadia (Jazzman Reissue)

Jackie Wilson And Count Basie - For Your Precious Love - Brunswick

Gloria Walker - My Precious Love - People

King Floyd - Walkin' And Thinkin' - Original Sound

Lee Fields Featuring the Expressions - Honey Dove - Truth & Soul

Herman Hitson - You Are Too Much For The Human Heart - Atco

Gladys Knight & The Pips - The Tracks Of My Tears - Soul

The Illusions Featuring Carlton Basco On Hammond B3 - It's Just An Illusion - Tramp Records




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