Results for “compilations”

In these straitened times everyone is looking for a bargain. When it comes to the world of re-issues, there is a flood of CDs out there utilising recordings made prior to 1963 that are now free of copyright. Good news for the bargain hunters amongst you, as dozens of independent labels scramble to release ever-cheaper compilations of old masters.

The mod is an important figure in the world of youth cults. Originally emerging from darkened Soho basements of the late 1950s, they have continued to reappear to such an extent that they are now a permanent fixture on the cultural landscape. In 2012 mod culture could claim the winner of the Tour De France and the leading actor in one of the year’s highest profile films. While the music associated with mod is now wide and varied, you have to look back to its roots as a club culture to see where its heart lies.

The original mod protagonists could be found listening to the sharpest late 50s jazzNew York could provide, and we pay tribute to this mythical beast with our “Mod Jazz” series, which now runs to seven volumes, each one full to the brim with a bluesy jazzy mixture heated up with a touch of Latin.

The mods then moved on to American soul and R&B. These sounds were initially brought to them by DJs such as Roger Eagle and Guy Stevens and then by sharp record labels – usually the UK versions of American greats such as Chess or Atlantic, but also Guy Stevens’ British Sue logo.

Mods went away for a few years but their legacy lingered on in Northern Soul and southern clubbing, before a revival based around the Jam and Quadrophenia led to a new generation of mohair-clad lovers of jazz, R&B and soul. It is this legacy that is touched on in compilations such as “Looking Good” and our “New Breed R&B” series.

The selection here would provide you with the backbone of a very good mod collection. 

Where soul and R&B are concerned, Ace’s mostly male A&R team makes make no secret of its total admiration for the music of the fairer sex. We like to release as much of it as we can, as often as we can. If you don’t believe us, take an in depth look at the Ace website or our printed catalogue. You’ll find the titles of dozens of great compilations by some of soul’s foremost females from the past 50 years. That great declaration of admiration made by the Impressions and Jerry Butler almost 50 years ago is as true today as it was in the mid-60s – “The Woman’s Got Soul”.

The women we love recorded up north, down south and from coast to coast – as can be seen from the cross-section of releases just across the page – and always with an excellence to match and often exceed their male counterparts. There are no two ways about it, when it comes to singing about “the good, the bad, the hurt”, women have never been the weaker sex in soul music.

We could probably fill a whole edition of Sure Shots with fantastic packages by our soul girls, and still have plenty left over for the next one. Rather than do that, we’ll tantalise you with a representative selection, and leave the rest of the voyage of discovery to you. It doesn’t matter if you prefer your lady soulsters to sound sweet’n’teeny like Nella Dodds, sassy’n’saucy like Millie Jackson or gritty’n’gospel like Mitty Collier, we definitely have lots to suit you.

Let’s hear it for the girls!

Jon Savage is an author, filmmaker, journalist and broadcaster. His books include England’s Dreaming: Sex Pistols and Punk Rock, Teenage: The Creation of Youth 1875-1945, and 1966: The Year The Decade Exploded. His film credits – as writer and consultant – include The Brian Epstein Story, Joy Division and Teenage. He writes regularly for the Guardian and Mojo and has released several compilations including “Meridian 1970”, “Dreams Come True: Classic First Wave Electro 1982-7”, “Black Hole: Californian Punk 1977-1980”, “The Shadows Of Love: Jon Savage’s Intense Tamla 1966-68” and “Perfect Motion: Jon Savage’s Secret History Of Second Wave Psychedelia 1988-93”.

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Here come the girls! From Ace’s earliest days, there’s always been a place in our hearts for music’s feminine side. Every few months since then has seen a new release to keep girl pop aficionados satisfied – whether single artist sets and twofers or multi-act series and themed compilations. The Where The Girls Are collections zone in on the 1960s girl group sound, paying special attention to the rare and obscure: think castanets, anguished teen sirens, Svengali-esque producers and mini-sonatas about dancing and boyfriends (sometimes deceased). Get the picture? The Early Girls series, on the other hand, is drawn entirely (well, almost) from Billboard magazine’s Hot 100 of the pre-Beatles era.