Our favorite volume so far in Kent's tribute to the legendary UK Sue label – and a great little collection that's overflowing with soulful tracks from the 60s! The premise is a bit obscure to most American listeners – as the CD brings together tracks that were licensed to UK indie Sue Records, for English release in the 60s – but the music more than speaks for itself, no matter what the setting! Sue did a mighty fine job of moving past the hits, and brought a heck of a lot of great American indie soul over the Atlantic back in its day – as you'll hear in this fab 25 track set (Dusty Groove)
Guy Stevens,the man who offered so much to the UK music industry, and more importantly the UK music fan, was immortalized by Mick Jones and Joe Strummer in 1981, the year of his death, in a song that showed tender regard for his maverick genius, whose unique production skills had brought out the best of them on the album London Calling. 2004 was the year in which Guy was at last recognized rather than forgotten, and in this respect it is apt that our final volume of the UK Sue Records label story, The Soul Of Sue, should appear in the same month that the 25th Anniversary of London Calling, Stevens' most notable mainstream success, was being celebrated. Yet, while rock fans fawn over that fine album, we would argue that Guy Stevens made his greatest contribution to music a decade or so earlier, at the helm of the first modern soul label in the UK, Island's Sue Records subsidiary.
In the first two volumes released on our Ace label we saw how Stevens' expertise in rock 'n' roll and rhythm and blues had led him to an influential deejaying slot at the Scene club in Ham Yard; and working for various record companies, advising them what to do with the US records from labels such as Chess and Excello. We then learnt how Island's Chris Blackwell employed him to run the UK Sue label that had been set up to release Charlie and Inez Foxx's Mockingbird. Guy used his knowledge to turn the label into a haven for all sorts of records released from his myriad of contacts at labels across the US. In the process he would have the first club-based record label, responding to what was popular there, and specifically working scams to draw club success in. In this respect he was both setting the mark for all future labels in this field, and also became in his own right a precursor of the celebrity club DJ. On top of this his records provided the source material for many of London's R&B groups, and he suggested tunes they should cover.
Our first two volumes consist of a Sue's Greatest Hits story, and a look at the wealth of blues and rock 'n' roll that was introduced to the UK's music fan by the label. Volume 3 concentrates on Sue's amazing soul records. In the mid-60s soul was the new sound of black America, a cutting edge sort of thing, and while labels such as London and Stateside also released soul records, Guy's knowledge was deep enough to bring out some fantastic recordings, both on 45 and across an incredible range of LPs such as Soul 66, and Dr Soul that are now very difficult to find.
On this CD we go from the well-known: records that were in effect broken by Sue's persistence such as Hurt By Love, Night Train and Harlem Shuffle, through to all shades of soul. To me, seeing a mix that goes from OV Wright on past Jackie Day, taking in the Lamp Sisters, Bobby Bland and the Kelly Brothers shows some serious dedication to the music. And while we're about it, who can resist some screaming monsters as the Anglos (definitively not Steve Winwood, whatever anyone tells you), or the sheer beauty of Baby Washington's I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face. So if you need further proof of what a wonder Sue Records is, or if you just feel it's right to complete the trilogy this is the one for you. - Dean Rudland, Ace Records
trax:
1. Harlem Shuffle - Bob & Earl 2. Incense - The Anglos 3. Hurt By Love - Inez & Charlie Foxx 4. Do-Re-Mi - Lee Dorsey 5. Your Red Wagon (You Can Push It Or Pull It) - Donnie Elbert 6. Gimme Gimme - Z.Z. Hill 7. Don't Mess With My Man - Irma Thomas 8. Night Train - James Brown & The Famous Flames 9. Continental Mind - Ernestine Anderson 10. Stronger - Thelma Jones 11. Before It's Too Late - Jackie Day 12. Oh, How Happy - The Shades Of Blue 13. I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face - Baby Washington 14. The Last Minute Pts 1 & 2 - Jimmy McGriff 15. What Did You Tell This Girl Of Mine - O.V. Wright 16. Searchin' For My Baby - The Manhattans 17. Crying Days Are Over - The Kelly Brothers 18. Talkin' Woman - Lowell Fulson 19. I Can't Stand It - The Soul Sisters 20. Hitch Hike - Russell Byrd 21. Dancing Fast, Dancing Slow - The Intentions 22. Am I A Fool In Love - Ike & Tina Turner 23. You Don't Want Me - James Carr 24. Believe In Me - Jerry Butler 25. That Did It - Bobby "Blue" Bland
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