Ain’t Nothing But A House Party – 60s and Early 70s Club Soul Classics

• 3CD collection of 60s and 70s club classics, from mod to northern soul.

• Including floor fillers from Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Ike And Tina Turner, Curtis Mayfield, Wilson Pickett, The Chairmen Of The Board and many more. Plus a host of obscure gems.

In 1980 Dexy’s Midnight Runners talked of a “new soul vision”. They were referring to their own music but they and other groups including The Jam through covers of soul songs such as ‘Seven Days Too Long’ (Dexy’s), ‘One Way Love’ (Dexy’s), ‘Big Bird’ (The Jam) and ‘Move On Up’ (The Jam) inspired a new generation of teenagers to seek out the originals then go deeper. ‘Ain’t Nothing But A House Party’ provides a soundtrack to those exciting times, a celebration of 60s and early 70s soul that filled dance floors again in the 80s.

Discs 1 and 2 focus on US soul music and include tracks by soul legends Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, The Temptations, Four Tops, Martha And The Vandellas, Chairmen Of The Board and more, while disc 3 spotlights soul made in Britain including visiting US stars Garnet Mimms and Little Richard and London based groups such as mod favourites Jimmy James And The Vagabonds and Geno Washington And The Ram Jam Band.

There are soulful gems from Darrell Banks, Bobby Bland and Darrow Fletcher, calls to dance from James And Bobby Purify, Jackie Lee and The Miracles, James Bond inspired belters from Edwin Starr (he’s not 007 he’s ‘Double ‘O’ Soul’) and Rex Garvin And The Mighty Cravers and an anthem of positivity by Curtis Mayfield.

Musical gold is mined from Detroit’s Motown stable of labels, Stax Records of Memphis, Chicago’s Chess Records, Mirwood of Los Angeles and the New York based R&B giant Atlantic Records. Other nuggets appeared on little known local labels such as our title track by the Philadelphia based The Show Stoppers whose ‘Ain’t Nothing But A House Party’ was one of several songs on the compilation that was bigger in the UK than the US.

Though not a straight northern soul compilation there are loads of northern soul favourites here including foot stompers and floor shakers plus 60s mod club spins including dynamic duo Sam And Dave’s ‘You Don’t Know Like I Know’, The Capitols’ ‘Cool Jerk’ and The Ramsey Lewis Trio’s cool instrumental version of Dobie Gray’s mod anthem ‘The In Crowd’.

DISC ONE
1 The Show Stoppers – Ain’t Nothing But A House Party
2 Shirley Ellis – Soul Time
3 Bobby Sheen – Dr. Love
4 Marvin Gaye – Can I Get A Witness
5 The Soul Sisters – I Can’t Stand It
6 Edwin Starr – Agent Double O Soul
7 The Impressions – You’ve Been Cheatin’
8 The Temptations – Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)
9 The Marvelettes – I’ll Keep Holding On
10 Little Anthony & The Imperials – Gonna Fix You Good (Everytime You’re Bad)
11 The Contours – Just A Little Misunderstanding
12 Darrell Banks – Open The Door To Your Heart
13 Soul Brothers Six – Some Kind Of Wonderful
14 Sam & Dave – You Don’t Know Like I Know
15 Jr. Walker & The All Stars – Tune Up
16 Martha & The Vandellas – In My Lonely Room
17 Solomon Burke – Keep Looking
18 Aretha Franklin – Save Me
19 Ike & Tina Turner – Finger Poppin’
20 James & Bobby Purify – Shake A Tail Feather
21 Jackie Lee – The Duck
22 Darrow Fletcher – The Pain Gets A Little Deeper
23 The Astors – Candy
24 Tony Clarke – Landslide
25 Booker T. & The MG’s – Hip Hug- Her
26 The Miracles – Mickey’s Monkey
27 Rufus Thomas – The Memphis Train
28 Johnny Otis – Country Girl
29 Wilson Pickett – Baby Don’t You Weep
30 Mack Rice – Baby I’m Coming Home
31 Betty Lavette – Witch Craft In The Air

DISC TWO
1 Curtis Mayfield – Move On Up
2 Marlena Shaw – Let’s Wade In The Water
3 Ramsey Lewis Trio – The “In” Crowd
4 Dobie Gray – See You At The “Go-Go”
5 Little Carl Carlton – Competition Ain’t Nothin’
6 Four Tops – Something About You
7 Chuck Wood – Seven Days Too Long
8 The Olympics – The Same Old Thing
9 The World Column – So Is The Sun
10 Eddie Floyd – Big Bird
11 R. Dean Taylor – There’s A Ghost In My House
12 The Velvelettes – Needle In A Haystack
13 Kim Weston – Helpless
14 Bobby Bland – Shoes
15 The Drifters – One Way Love
16 The Capitols – Cool Jerk
17 Homer Banks – A Lot Of Love
18 The Falcons – Has It Happened To You Yet
19 Doris Willingham – You Can’t Do That
20 Robert Knight – Love On A Mountain Top
21 Willie Tee – Walkin’ Up A One Way Street
22 Otis Redding – Hard To Handle
23 Rex Garvin & The Mighty Cravers – Sock It To ’Em J.B. Part 1
24 The O’ Jays – Working On Your Case
25 Bobby Wells – Let’s Copp A Groove
26 Mr. Flood’s Party – Compared To What
27 Chairmen Of The Board – Give Me Just A Little More Time
28 Freda Payne – Band Of Gold
29 Fork In The Road – Skeletons In The Closet

DISC THREE
1 Garnet Mimms – As Long As I Have You
2 Little Richard – Get Down With It
3 Herbie Goins & The Night-Timers – Number One In Your Heart
4 Madeline Bell – I Really Got Carried Away
5 Jackie Edwards – I Feel So Bad
6 J.J. Jackson – Come See Me
7 Jimmy James & The Vagabonds – Hi Diddley Dee Dum Dum (It’s A Good Good Feelin’)
8 Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band – I’ve Been Hurt By Love
9 Timebox – Beggin’
10 Kenny Bernard – Ain’t No Soul (Left In Those Old Shoes)
11 The Ferris Wheel – Number One Guy
12 Jason Knight – Love Is Getting Stronger
13 Lorraine Silver – Lost Summer Love
14 Paula Parfitt – Love Is Wonderful
15 Elmer Gantry – The Painter
16 Carl Douglas & The Big Stampede – Crazy Feeling
17 The Alan Bown Set – Emergency 999
18 The Foundations – Am I Groovin’ You
19 Lucas & The Mike Cotton Sound – Jack & The Beanstalk
20 The Soul Brothers – Good Lovin’ Never Hurt
21 Ronnie Jones – My Love
22 Bobby Johnson & The Atoms – Tramp
23 Sugar Simone – It’s Alright
24 Wynder K Frog – I’m A Man
25 Gene Latter – Sign On The Dotted Line
26 Val McKenna – Love Feeling
27 Major Lance – The Right Track
28 Jack Hammer – Swim
29 Tommy Hunt – Loving On The Losing Side