Various Artists Eccentric Soul The Forte Label Numero Group 2013

Various Artists Eccentric Soul The Forte Label Numero Group 2013 Cat # 047

This is my favorite release of 2013.  The archivist label, Numero Group, has collected 28 tracks from the Kansas City soul label Forte and threw them onto a two LP set.  It's complete with an amazing and well researched booklet.

Kansas City has it's rich tradition for jazz and blues.  We even have claim to some nice indie-rock.  But as far as soul music, we never developed a famous sound.  The Forte label attempted to capture some of Kansas City's talent in terms of soul music.  Most the performers featured here were around town doing Motown style revues.  But, when the artist got the chance to do their own thing in a local studio on  a regional label, there are some amazing moments.

Now-a-days, these records are nearly impossible to locate.  They likely enjoyed forms of regional success and sold decent, the label stayed active from the mid-60's into the 70's, but the 45's seem to only be available on-line for high prices.  Collectors started gravitating to rare soul side in the 80's.  People wanted regional and unheard sides, the label's output is now blanketed into the term "Northern Soul," which is a reference to all night dance raves taking place in England, but today just means rare soul.

The most popular of these Forte artists is Kansas City, KS' Marva Whitney.  The collection features two selections from Forte output.  She sustained a fairly successful career after leaving Kansas City.  After Forte, she cut some sides for the famed Federal label.  Then, she was featured as a member of the James Brown touring show and recorded for King.  Her King singles and one studio LP are revered by funk collectors as the some of the dirtiest and raw funk recorded by a female.  In the 80's she found herself recording for number of other labels never catching on in one spot.  Her tracks on this collection are representative of her work, she belts out a song like no other, it's like you're being yelled at, and while the talent around her isn't anywhere near the level she had with King, her tunes here are still stunners.

The collection does showcase what could be termed a Kansas City soul style.  However, lots of obscure, regional soul sounds just as raw as what's featured here.  It's not as clean and crisp (and well, as white) as what Motown was doing.  It's not as earthy and blues oriented as what Stax was doing.  It's not as funky as James Brown, but tries awful hard to be.  The main purpose is to get people out to the dance floor, so it's up-tempo, sock-to-me style soul.  Shouters and screamers that would make you think of Sam & Dave or Dyke and the Blazers.  During the 70's the label did allow for more experimentation, Olathe, KS' Everyday People Life reach into prog-rock realms while trying to conjure a Sly & Family Stone feel.  There's also some Willie Mitchell/Al Green style slickness attempted, some of great, some of it only decent. Overall a highly recommended release filled with obscure, but amazing Kansas City musicians.

Marva Whitney Daddy Don't Know About Sugar Bears
The Fantasticks-Cry Night and Day

Earl Robinson and the Five Scamps Live at the Sni-Blue Lounge Volume #1 Paul Grey Productions

Earl Robinson and the Five Scamps Live at the Sni-Blue Lounge Volume #1 CAT# PG-102

Not sure what year this came out, but it's likely late 70's, early 80's.  There's a lot of stuff like this floating around in KC.  The jazz scene was a distant memory to most at this moment in time, but many of the players remained and played locally on a nightly basis.  A number of brave souls decided to fund private press recordings of these old timers, I can't imagine any of them had success.  By this time, Jazz was on its last legs as a genre, not just a distant memory in Kansas City.

Earl Robinson and the Five Scamps date all the way back to 1937 and were generally referred to simply as the Five Scamps.  The founding members met each other working in Kansas based Great Depression work camp.  They put the Scamps together and released work as Five Scamps on Columbia, O'Keh, and a few other small labels.  Their early work is great jump blues and was regulated to the R&B scene that played second fiddle to Kansas City Jazz.

This release finds the band playing jazz.  It doesn't swing too hard, the Sni-Blue Lounge was located next to the Sports Complex far away from Kansas City night life.  The crowd would have been causal drinkers and dinner patrons.  They find moments to swing, but keep it pretty in check throughout the recording.

James Brown Maybe I'll Understand/I Love You King

James Brown Maybe I'll Understand/I Love You King CAT # K-12594

The sickness continues.  Just picked this up, because it fits the rules of my 7" collection in my warped, vinyl damaged mind.

It's obviously good, it's James Brown.  He didn't start to suck until the 80's and even then, he didn't suck as bad as other hanger-ons.

Here's Kansas City nugget, for you.  At Mr. Brown's funeral, Kansas City, KS born and raised singer, Marva Whitney was invited to be a singer.  Like Brown, she recorded for King.  More on her later, though.

James Brown Mother Popcorn Parts 1 & 2 King 1969

James Brown Mother Popcorn Parts 1 & 2 King 1969 CAT # 45-6245

Record collecting is a strange hobby.  It becomes addictive because it's so easy to do..  It's so easy that most collectors begin to overwhelm themselves in the amount of vinyl they pick up.  This is especially true when you're new to the hobby.  You just start buying stuff at places like Goodwill for a dollar just because it looks interesting or you've heard of the band (never mind liking the music) just as a way to continue and grow the collection.

For me, this was especially true of 45s.  The things are cheap and easy to find.  In any pile that you find at a thrift store or a garage sale, you're bound to find some gems.  I bought the crap out of them throughout college and beyond.  In fact, I was buying boxes full without ever looking at them first.  I mean, how could you resist a plastic bag full of 50 of them at a thrift store for a couple bucks?

First problem with this method is that you end up with a lot of crap.  Second problem is that these things were played a lot.  In jukeboxes, on crappy turntables, on radio stations, when you buy a 7" from the 60's there is a really good chance it will sound like shit and completely defeat the purpose of listening to music on vinyl.  Yet another problem is that there is nothing you can do with the loads of crap you have outside of just giving it away.  If it's beat up, common, or by an artist no one cares about, no one will buy it off you.  You're stuck with it until you find a way to sell in bulk at a garage sale or on Craigslist for a super cheap price, but, that also creates a problem because who wants to feel they're ripping the next guy off, right?  If you can't do that, they all go back to a thrift store or sit in your home collecting dust.

Much of my 45 collection gotten to the collecting dust point.  I had nowhere to put all these records and there was no need to own them.  So, I made a conscious decision to dump the 45 collection.  I mean, at this point I'm pretty grown up, I have a wife and kids.  I no longer had the energy to get up off my ass every 3 minutes to flip a side, so focusing on LPs made perfect sense.  I began selling the good stuff on eBay, made a bunch of money, bought LPS with money earned.  Then, I took the good stuff with minor condition issues and posted on Craigslist, "Will trade 45s for LPS."  That worked out okay, got a few bites and thinned the collection out a little more.  The decent stuff went to stores for trade value I used to buy more LPS.

At this point came regret.  I sold and traded some really cool stuff.  The amazing LPS I picked up along the way didn't seem so amazing anymore.  I'd also held onto some stuff that was still important to me, mostly the local stuff from bands I knew in my douche bag hipster days.  I knew I was never going to have it in me to sell off the first Get Up Kids 7", so a compromise was made to thin out the collection.  The only 7"s I would hold onto would be local.  Problem solved, right?  I got rid of everything but some R.E.M. 45s (couldn't do it, like that band too much) and retained locals.  The idea was, 7" collection is done, it's complete, not buying anymore.

Well, fuck if I don't buy the shit out of local 7"s.  I mean, once I gave myself an excuse.  However, I am more focused right now on scoring 45s than I was before, so that helps keep things in check.  That is until I read a quote James Brown, Godfather of Soul, in which he stated that he lived in Kansas City for a year while his father worked in Olathe, Kansas.  Apparently, he lived on Harrison Street in KCMO when he was between the ages of 14 and 15.  So, of course, the first James Brown 45 I see after reading that quote; I bought.

I've convinced myself that because James Brown lived in Kansas City for small amount of time it fits my collection.  I mean, I'm making fun of myself for doing it, that's how absurd record collecting can be.  I'm not buying James Brown because he's a local artist.  I'm just buying James Brown 45s because he's awesome and I want to own more vinyl.

Mother Popcorn