New release from Ace in June: The Contours and Dennis Edwards

[kenneth]

Fantastic cover! Can't wait for this one!

[keith_hughes]

Thanks Carole. For the record [[ahem), from L to R it's Council Gay, Dennis Edwards, Sylvester Potts, Jerry Green and guitarist Huey Davis. [[Darn it, this has now turned up on a separate page from the picture! Sorry, outside my control ...)

[kenneth]

http://acerecords.co.uk/just-a-littl...motown-1965-68

Here you go...

L to R it's Council Gay, Dennis Edwards, Sylvester Potts, Jerry Green and guitarist Huey Davis

[bradburger]

Was just going to post that the page for this collection was up, but I was beaten to it!

And the samples are up too!

I note that the third version of 'Baby Hit & Run' [[ref, posts 45 & 46) is indeed the one that has been circulating as an mp3 for sometime, with the lead vocal that was thought to have been that of William Weatherspoon.

It will be interesting to see if what the notes say!

Cheers

Paul

[keith_hughes]

I'm not sure the notes say this explicitly, but BH&R was taken direct from a Motown master tape - this was mixed by Motown, not by Ace. It was very rare for Motown to mix a demo recording and add it to a master tape - they'd mix and cut direct to acetate so the artist could listen and learn the song at home. Most artists didn't own tape recorders.

[honest man]

http://acerecords.co.uk/just-a-littl...motown-1965-68

WOWEE Carole for link, just played soundbytes,FANTASTIC,Dennis Edwards one of my all time faves.the Contours cd is amazing Our Last Rendevouz sounds interesting got to be in my top3 ACE releases,next time compilers Spinners vol 2,Edwin Starr Lost and Found ,Fantastic 4 anthology,JJ Barnes Anthology INC Unissued,Cheers Gang.

[kenneth]

WOWEE Carole for link, just played soundbytes,FANTASTIC,Dennis Edwards one of my all time faves.the Contours cd is amazing Our Last Rendevouz sounds interesting got to be in my top3 ACE releases,next time compilers Spinners vol 2,Edwin Starr Lost and Found ,Fantastic 4 anthology,JJ Barnes Anthology INC Unissued,Cheers Gang.

Yep, I second the emotion for all those releases, except I am not familiar with J.J. Barnes. He must have some singles in TCMS series so I'll have to check him out there. But would love to have more Spinners, Starr and Fantastic 4.

But amazingly, I can't believe the Tempts haven't had practically anything at all. They must have a ton of stuff in the vault. They were so famous; I can't believe there wouldn't still be enough collectors interested in their material that we've never seen any except the one Hip-O release [[I forgot the name of it but it was part of their single CD series which I think was also called "lost and found").

[Nothing But Soul]

[QUOTE=kenneth;229356]Yep, I second the emotion for all those releases, except I am not familiar with J.J. Barnes. He must have some singles in TCMS series so I'll have to check him out there.

Kenneth, you won't find any J.J. Barnes recordings in the TCMS series. He does appear a total of five times in the Cellarful series. Motown did not release any of his recordings, presumably because he sounded too much like Marvin Gaye. J.J. did have recordings that were released on a variety of other labels including Ric-Tic, Groovesville and Volt.

[kenneth]

[QUOTE=Nothing But Soul;229364]

Yep, I second the emotion for all those releases, except I am not familiar with J.J. Barnes. He must have some singles in TCMS series so I'll have to check him out there.

Kenneth, you won't find any J.J. Barnes recordings in the TCMS series. He does appear a total of five times in the Cellarful series. Motown did not release any of his recordings, presumably because he sounded too much like Marvin Gaye. J.J. did have recordings that were released on a variety of other labels including Ric-Tic, Groovesville and Volt.

Very interesting...I wonder why they signed him in the first place if he sounded a lot like Gaye, or perhaps that was the reason? Maybe to keep him out of the spotlight and avoid competition? A curious happening that they never released anything! Thanks for the information.

[marv2]

[QUOTE=kenneth;229436]

Very interesting...I wonder why they signed him in the first place if he sounded a lot like Gaye, or perhaps that was the reason? Maybe to keep him out of the spotlight and avoid competition? A curious happening that they never released anything! Thanks for the information.

I have heard that Motown did employ the practice of signing artist that could compete with the homegrown Motown Artists. How much of it is true, I don't know.

[roger]

[QUOTE=kenneth;229436]

Very interesting...I wonder why they signed him in the first place if he sounded a lot like Gaye, or perhaps that was the reason? Maybe to keep him out of the spotlight and avoid competition? A curious happening that they never released anything! Thanks for the information.

J J BARNES was acquired by Motown when they bought up the Ric-Tic and Golden World labels for which he was recording.

His Ric-Tic recordings were vaguely Marvin-ish but when he got the full Motown production treatment he sounded VERY Marvin-ish. This is one of the few Motown recordings that has crept out so far ...



On the subject of this CONTOURS collection I can't wait to get my own copy

Roger

[honest man]

[QUOTE=Nothing But Soul;229364]

Yep, I second the emotion for all those releases, except I am not familiar with J.J. Barnes. He must have some singles in TCMS series so I'll have to check him out there.

Kenneth, you won't find any J.J. Barnes recordings in the TCMS series. He does appear a total of five times in the Cellarful series. Motown did not release any of his recordings, presumably because he sounded too much like Marvin Gaye. J.J. did have recordings that were released on a variety of other labels including Ric-Tic, Groovesville and Volt.

I Read somewhere[maybe here]there are 30 plus track recorded for Motown in vaults would love them,the 5 released track released up to now are Magnificent ,more please....................

[kenneth]

[QUOTE=roger;229454]

J J BARNES was acquired by Motown when they bought up the Ric-Tic and Golden World labels for which he was recording.

His Ric-Tic recordings were vaguely Marvin-ish but when he got the full Motown production treatment he sounded VERY Marvin-ish. This is one of the few Motown recordings that has crept out so far ...

On the subject of this CONTOURS collection I can't wait to get my own copy

Roger

Wow! He really does sound like Marvin, especially on the "Oh baby" type of ad libs. If I hadn't known, I'm sure I would have thought that was Gaye. Great song, always loved this one by Stevie. Thanks so much for posting!

[RossHolloway]

Does anyone know what happened to Huey Davis after the Contours disbanded?

[marv2]

Does anyone know what happened to Huey Davis after the Contours disbanded?

Huey passed away in 2000.

[marv2]

When we first heard this, we thought it was Marvin Gaye:

[carole cucumber]

Huey passed away in 2000.

Wikepedia says 2000, but every other music source that I checked says 2002.

[carole cucumber]

http://books.google.com/books?id=Dyk...OgBMA0#v=onepa

indicates that after the Contour disbanded, Huey took jobs in construction and private security.

[bradburger]

I'm not sure the notes say this explicitly, but BH&R was taken direct from a Motown master tape - this was mixed by Motown, not by Ace. It was very rare for Motown to mix a demo recording and add it to a master tape - they'd mix and cut direct to acetate so the artist could listen and learn the song at home. Most artists didn't own tape recorders.

Thanks again for the info Keith.

I did send you a PM regarding the third version of 'Baby Hit & Run', [[not sure if you got it) but we now know it's the same track [[as you suspected).

Am I right in thinking that Ivy Hunters version of 'Ask the Lonely' was one of the rare instances of a demo vocal that was mixed, mastered, and kept? [[Although I seem to recall that the tape box or info was marked up as Tommy Good, hence the confusion on 'Motown Sings Motown Treasures').

Anyway, listening to the samples of 'Sometimes I Have To Cry' and 'Our Last Rendezvous', from the new Contours CD , the lead vocalist sounds to me different to the one that's on 'Baby Hit & Run'. [[For some reason, the vocalist sounds like, or reminds me of Bobbie Smith!)

And listening to 'When A Man Loves A Woman', the lead on this sounds different to that on the other two tracks I mentioned!

That all said, I'm very much looking forward to this CD, so thanks to you, and all involved in bringing it to fruition.

Cheers

Paul

[jboy88]

So going from the inclusion of "Come see about Me" and "Need Your Lovin", It appears that Goodnight Irene" is the only legit track Joe Stubbs did with the Originals. [[As far as previosly released material goes) Can you elaborate on this further Keith?

[keith_hughes]

You're probably right, jboy. There are a few unmixed multi-tracks that need checking out.

[booty]

Does anyone know when Ace will be releasing this set. Usually they despatch it earlier than Amazon.

[kenneth]

I'm surprised to see Amazon US posting this as costing $42! That's awfully high even for an Ace limited edition. I don't think I've ever paid that much for one of their earlier offerings such as the Brenda Holloway, Patrice Holloway, Monitors, Shorty Long, etc.

On Amazon UK, it shows at only 14 pounds which is only about $23! Guess I'll be buying it there.

[theboyfromxtown]

I suspect you guys from the US are NOT happy about having to buy US produced music from the UK at inflated prices.

I suspect us Brits would feel the same if we had to buy Beatles music from the US.

[Nothing But Soul]

There was a time when amazon.com used to have the best prices for imported CDs, but that ended quite awhile ago. There are several US web sites that sell UK CDs for significantly less than amazon.com [[importcds.com, blowitoutahere.com and ebreggae.com, to name but three).

[Nothing But Soul]

I suspect you guys from the US are NOT happy about having to buy US produced music from the UK at inflated prices.

I suspect us Brits would feel the same if we had to buy Beatles music from the US.

I reside in the same town in Michigan where Junior Walker lived and is buried. I remember back in 2003 when there were two UK two-fer reissues that contained four of Junior's albums. As a I walked by a display of Junior's LPs that were being showcased at our local library at the time, I though to myself about how ironic it was that the only place I could get CDs of Junior's recordings was from England.

[MIKEW-UK]

Quote by Marv : When we first heard this, [["Baby Please Come Back Home")we thought it was Marvin Gaye:


Marv, I thought the same when I bought it. J. J. Barnes claims he co-wrote it with Stevie Wonder!

Here's a really interesting interview by Bill Randall with J.J. Barnes which gives his deep insight into what happened with Ric Tic, the Motown acquisition, and the Marvin Gaye situation which led to his departure

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2g...-motown_people

[MIKEW-UK]

another example of how J J Barnes was a match for Marvin......

[MIKEW-UK]

and another....

[Nothing But Soul]

and another....

Thanks for posting this, Mike. "Snow Flakes" is without a doubt my favorite J.J. Barnes recording.

[RossHolloway]

I reside in the same town in Michigan where Junior Walker lived and is buried. I remember back in 2003 when there were two UK two-fer reissues that contained four of Junior's albums. As a I walked by a display of Junior's LPs that were being showcased at our local library at the time, I though to myself about how ironic it was that the only place I could get CDs of Junior's recordings was from England.

Battle Creek?

[Nothing But Soul]

Battle Creek?

Yes, Ross, you guessed it! Junior didn't grow up in Battle Creek, but he lived here for many years up until his death in 1995. At least two of the original All Stars are also buried here.

[kenneth]

I suspect you guys from the US are NOT happy about having to buy US produced music from the UK at inflated prices.

I suspect us Brits would feel the same if we had to buy Beatles music from the US.

Back in the late 70s, when I still lived at home in Detroit, I traveled with my father to Europe. When we got back, he complained - laughingly - to everyone that he had to spend all his time in Paris waiting outside record stores while I went in looking for Motown albums! It was true at the time - the only place you could get reissues of the early Stevie Wonder and other LPs was on the French record labels. [[Odeon maybe? I'm not sure which label it was now.)

[RossHolloway]

Yes, Ross, you guessed it! Junior didn't grow up in Battle Creek, but he lived here for many years up until his death in 1995. At least two of the original All Stars are also buried here.

I grew up in Kalamazoo, so I know the area.

[theboyfromxtown]

I grew up in Kalamazoo, so I know the area.

Cal and Bertha of the Velvelettes did too...and still live there. Did you see the museum exhibit on the ladies?

[theboyfromxtown]

Whooppeee!!

[RossHolloway]

Cal and Bertha of the Velvelettes did too...and still live there. Did you see the museum exhibit on the ladies?

Betty Kelly also is from Kalamazoo, she was a couple of years behind my mother in high school at Kalamazoo Central.

[theboyfromxtown]

Small world...isn't it! LOL

[superlou]

My copy showed up today. Listening to it as I type this. Really a great collection. The unreleased tracks are amazing. A few more listens and I'll have my favorites.

[paul_nixon]

This is one of the best ACE - Motown releases to date [[that might just be my preferences) but the whole thing just sounds right and really gels - I guess this will be stuck to my CD player and Ipod for the next few months.

[144man]

Grrrrr! My copy hasn't been despatched yet

[Ryon6]

So are there selections with Dennis singing with the actual Contours, as well as Dennis solo and the Contours as a group without Dennis as lead? I'm just curious. Debating which site i'll order mine from but until then .......

I, too, would love for the Originals and Edwin Starr to be represented properly.

[144man]

Amazon have now given me an estimated delivery date of July 9 - 14. Has release date been changed?

[Nothing But Soul]

The release date has not been changed. I ordered it from a dealer in California last Wednesday, and my copy arrived in the mail on Saturday at my home in Michigan. I've been listening to this great compilation and enjoying it since it arrived. It was also a lot cheaper from this dealer [[$13.99 plus $3.64 shipping) than from Amazon [[$35.98).

[144man]

I should have said Amazon UK.

[theboyfromxtown]

[theboyfromxtown]

Not only Billy Gordon and Dennis Edwards singing lead..there are more leads

So are there selections with Dennis singing with the actual Contours, as well as Dennis solo and the Contours as a group without Dennis as lead? I'm just curious. Debating which site i'll order mine from but until then .......

I, too, would love for the Originals and Edwin Starr to be represented properly.

[RossHolloway]

The release date has not been changed. I ordered it from a dealer in California last Wednesday, and my copy arrived in the mail on Saturday at my home in Michigan. I've been listening to this great compilation and enjoying it since it arrived. It was also a lot cheaper from this dealer [[$13.99 plus $3.64 shipping) than from Amazon [[$35.98).

Who did you order from??

[robb_k]

[QUOTE=Nothing But Soul;229364]

Yep, I second the emotion for all those releases, except I am not familiar with J.J. Barnes. He must have some singles in TCMS series so I'll have to check him out there.

Kenneth, you won't find any J.J. Barnes recordings in the TCMS series. He does appear a total of five times in the Cellarful series. Motown did not release any of his recordings, presumably because he sounded too much like Marvin Gaye. J.J. did have recordings that were released on a variety of other labels including Ric-Tic, Groovesville and Volt.

Let's not forget J.J.'s first recordings on Kable, Mickay's and Ring Records produced by Joe Hunter and Fred Brown, and he also had some on Revilot after Groovesville.

[Nothing But Soul]

Who did you order from??

I ordered from www.ebreggae.com. As the name would indicate, they specialize in reggae music, but they carry soul, r&b and other types of music as well. They have lots of imports, including pretty much the whole Ace catalog.