How does it compare to the artist's other releases
Not applicable
Value for Money
Excellent
Advantages:
38 tracks
Disadvantages:
some fillers
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
This is an oddity for me, I've seen collections of cover versions before and this is the reverse a collection of original recordings later covered by in the main more famous artists.
Track listing 1. Money (That's What I Want) - Strong, Barrett 2. Angel (Of The Morning) - Kelly, Pat (1) 3. Use Me - Withers, Bill 4. Strawberry Letter 23 - Otis, Shuggie 5. Cocaine - Cale, J.J. 6. Papa Was A Rollin' Stone - Undisputed Truth 7. Work To Do - Isley Brothers 8. Am I The Same Girl - Acklin, Barbara 9. Taj Mahal - Ben, Jorge 10. Give Me Just A Little More Time - Chairmen Of The Board 11. Nathan Jones - Supremes (1) 12. Harlem Shuffle - Bob & Earl 13. Gotcha - Scott, Tom 14. You See The Trouble With Me - White, Barry 15. Daydream - Kallmann, Gunter Choir 16. I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself - Springfield, Dusty 17. Something Stupid - Sinatra, Frank & Nancy 18. Feeling Good - Simone, Nina 19. Wild World - Stevens, Cat 20. She's The One - World Party 21. I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun - Rotary Connection 22. Love Rollercoaster - Ohio Players 23. Take Me Home - Cher 24. Love Machine - Miracles 25. Ready Or Not Here I Come - Delphonics 26. California Soul - 5th Dimension (1) 27. When Did You Stop Loving Me When Did I Stop Loving You - Gaye, Marvin 28. Relight My Fire - Hartman, Dan 29. Gimme Some Lovin' - Davis, Spencer Group 30. Tainted Love - Jones, Gloria 31. Tears Of A Clown - Robinson, Smokey 32. Twist And Shout - Isley Brothers 33. Tide Is High - Holt, John 34. Mas Que Nada - Ben, Jorge 35. Oye Como Va - Puente, Tito 36. Can't Get Used To Losing You - Williams, Andy (1) 37. Be Thankful For What You've Got - DeVaughn, William 38. Les Fleur - Riperton, Minnie
Some superb vintage Northern soul, some lilting reggae numbers
The standout track has to be the absolutely delightful, "She's the one" by "World Party" the depth and emotion of the vocal leaves Robbie Williams looking on jealously and wishing it was him.
this track is closely followe by Barbara Acklin ( WHO ? ), managing to outdo the fabulous "Dusty springfield" on "Am I the same girl ?".
other great tracks include :-
>> splendidly funky version od he fatalistic "Use me", which was later incredibly outfunked by the Sly and Robbie/Grace Jones collaboration
>>Nina Simone's seminal big band stomper "Feeling good"
>>Classic feelgood soul from Chairmen of the board.
It almost makes you want to say, "they don't make them like that anymore"
In my opinion the most intriguing tracks are those which have seen major changes during their reinterpretation:-
"Tainted love" goes from Northern soul stomper by Gloria Jones ( whose last hit was as one half of a duet in a mini with Marc Bolan), to the Camp Electronica of Soft Cell.
"The tide is high", goes from highly emotional down-tempo organ-riff-laden reggae from "John Holt", to uptempo classic pop from Blondie.
"Wild world", goes from folksy acoustic from Cat Stevens to pop-reggae from maxi Priest.
Disappointing tracks for me were the latin tinged "mas que nada" and "oye como va", just don't float my boat I'm afraid.
Picked up from Amazon marketplace for £3.99 including p&p, an absolute bargain.
