Soul Superman / With A Dab Of Soul Various Artists (Pied Piper)

£11.70

Genre:
60s Soul
Label:
Kent
Format:
CD
Catalogue Id:
CDKEND 505

This product is also available in these versions:
Soul Superman (MP3), MP3 (£7.99)
With A Dab Of Soul (MP3), MP3 (£7.99)

The rare soul scene is overwhelmingly a 7” record-collecting world but there are a few notable exceptions. 1967 saw two Detroit-recorded LPs issued from one of the most admired production teams in the city – Pied Piper Productions. Motown musician Jack Ashford and his business partner Shelley Haims assembled the cream of Motown’s Funk Brothers musicians for the sessions and supplied classic sophisticated soul songs for the diverse artists who were to be given a shot at the album market. Cleveland group the Hesitations had hit with their debut 45 ‘Soul Superman’ and this success gave them a chance to expand into the album market. Detroit singer Freddy Butler’s more sophisticated ballad-singing was seen as ripe for an LP by the team.
 
The Hesitations’ album continued the hip 60s dance tracks of ‘Soul Superman’ with numbers such as ‘She Won’t Come Back’, ‘You Can’t By Pass Love’ and ‘That’s What Love Is’ – the backing track of which would be reused on Eddie Parker’s ‘I’m Gone’ 45 and be acknowledged as a pinnacle of Northern Soul. Every track has its admirers, the mid-tempo ‘I’ll Be Right There’, ‘Wait A Minute’ and ‘You’ll Never Know’ in particular, but the three subsequent singles taken from the album failed to chart and the LP was forgotten – until UK 60s soul connoisseurs later acclaimed it as a classic of the genre.
 
Freddy Butler was a big-voiced solo act who had already recorded for Detroit labels M&M, Samo, Starmaker and Wheelsville. The only single from this LP, ‘There Was A Time’, was recorded at United Sound studios in September 1966 and though it failed to chart, the project went ahead. There was more emphasis on big ballads such as ‘They Say I’m Afraid (Of Losing You)’ and ‘Just Because You’ve Been Hurt’, but the sound is still unmistakably Pied Piper, evident in the slick mid-tempo rhythms of ‘I Like Your Style’, ‘Deserted’ and ‘You’d Better Get Hip Girl’. The most famous track was the bouncy ‘That’s When I Need You’, which was played at the UK’s big Northern Soul all-nighters in the 70s when it was bootlegged onto a 45 despite having only legitimately been an LP selection.
 
The songs of Jack Ashford, Lorraine Chandler, Joe Hunter, Mike Terry and Herbie Williams – coupled with the best Detroit soul arrangers and musicians – mean this really is a case of dropping the needle anywhere and finding a gem.
 
With such high-quality music, it was inevitable the records’ prices would rise dramatically; originals are three-figure items. Here they are remastered from tape on one easily affordable CD.

Ady Croasdell

 

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Track listing

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Side 1

  • 01 Preview She Won't Come Back - The Hesitations

  • 02 Preview You'll Never Know - The Hesitations

  • 03 Preview You Can't Bypass Love - The Hesitations

  • 04 Preview I Believe To My Soul - The Hesitations

  • 05 Preview That's What Love Is - The Hesitations

  • 06 Preview Soul Superman - The Hesitations

  • 07 Preview Soul Kind Of Love - The Hesitations

  • 08 Preview I'm Not Built That Way - The Hesitations

  • 09 Preview I'll Be Right There - The Hesitations

  • 10 Preview Wait A Minute - The Hesitations

  • 11 Preview Soul Superman #2 - The Hesitations

  • 12 Preview Clap Your Hands - The Hesitations

  • 13 Preview There Was A Time - Freddy Butler

  • 14 Preview That's When I Need You - Freddy Butler

  • 15 Preview I Like Your Style - Freddy Butler

  • 16 Preview I Fell In Love (I Can't Help It) - Freddy Butler

  • 17 Preview Never Let Love Go - Freddy Butler

  • 18 Preview They Say I'm Afraid (Of Losing You) - Freddy Butler

  • 19 Preview This Thing! - Freddy Butler

  • 20 Preview Just Because You've Been Hurt - Freddy Butler

  • 21 Preview You'd Better Get Hip Girl - Freddy Butler

  • 22 Preview Give Me Lots Of Lovin' - Freddy Butler

  • 23 Preview She's Foolin' You - Freddy Butler

  • 24 Preview Deserted - Freddy Butler

Delivery & Returns

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We offer free P&P to UK addresses. For all other territories packaging is free and postage is charged on a weight basis.

We use Royal Mail First Class for UK deliveries and standard Air Mail for all other territories, very large orders will usually be sent via parcelforce. You may cancel your order at any time prior to your order being dispatched by emailing us at orders@acerecords.com ensuring that you quote your name, address and order reference number or by telephoning +44 (0) 208 453 1311 between 9am and 5pm GMT/BST, Monday to Friday. Please note: As music downloads are dispatched immediately after purchase, there is no possibility of cancelling these orders.

In the event that any products supplied to you by us are damaged or defective, we agree to replace or repair the damaged or defective products or refund the amount you paid for such goods (including postage & packaging) providing you notify us (either via post at or e-mail: orders@acerecords.com ) and return the goods within 28 days of purchase. Physical goods should be sent back to us in the same condition you received them to: “Returns” Ace Records, Such Close, Letchworth Garden City SG6 1JF, United Kingdom. Music downloads should be returned to us via the e-mail address above including a copy of your notification.

You have the right to cancel your order within seven days of purchase, or seven days of receipt of the goods (whichever is the longer). If you choose to cancel your order, full payment will be returned to you. Returned items should be sent to: “Returns” c/o Ace Records, Such Close, Letchworth Garden City SG6 1JF, United Kingdom. Music downloads should be returned to us via the email address: orders@acerecords.com including a copy of your notice of cancellation and order number.

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