This entry in our limited edition EP series contains four fine tracks from Money, a label famous for fabulous Los Angeles soul. Money’s biggest star was Bettye Swann, who scored an R&B hit with her debut 45, ‘Don’t Wait Too Long’. The follow-up, ‘The Man That Said No’, sold less well, despite Bettye appearing on the TV show Shindig to plug it. Its resulting scarcity has now put the original 45 into the three-figure bracket. The label’s most prolific male artist was the talented Bobby Angelle, whose stage show was reputedly a riot. Arranger Arthur Wright’s worked up some urgent instrumentation for Bobby’s Northern Soul favourite ‘Too Much For You’, and recycled the backing track for ‘I’ll Be A Soldier Boy’, which appears on vinyl for the first time here. The M&M’s & the Peanuts’ first single, ‘Lil’ Valley’, is a throwback to the doo wop days but with a bang up-to-date gang fight theme. Soul music became more sophisticated, particularly in production, by the early 70s when Delilah Moore’s ‘I’ll Just Walk Away’ was issued. Despite its sad motif, the record has a feel-good factor.
Ady Croasdell
