Tags: Soul Disco

Review: The amount of ultra-rare, hard to find, essential Northern Soul classics seems to be infinite. Here comes another reissue that aims to right that wrong with an officially licensed pair of tunes from the Phase One Network that has artwork based on the original promo version. 'Don't You Worry Baby The Best Is Yet To Come' is brimming with soul and immediately swells your heart with its elegant strings, graceful piano chords and swirling sense of groove all lifting you off your feet. 'Try To Leave Me If You Can' is a heartbroken slow song to conjure up memories of all the loves you've lost, or maybe never had.

Review: Athens of the North boss Euan Fryer recently described Premonition as "the best obscure New York boogie act you've never heard of". He'll be releasing an entire album of their rare and unreleased material later in the year, but first he's treating us to a reissue of their best-known moment - impossible-to-find 1986 soulful boogie slammer "Don't Act Like A Fool". The track ticks all the right boxes -rubbery slap bass, mid-80s FM synth sounds, passionate male lead vocal, needless but delicious sax and electric guitar solos etc - and is little less than an overlooked dancefloor heater. On the flip you'll also find original B-side "In Love", which Fryer brilliantly (and accurately) describes as a "mid-tempo floater".

Review: Following the excellent excavation of the Miami band's unreleased album Best Kept Secret, AOTN's Fryer treats us to his two favourite cuts on a 500-only never-to-be-repressed 45. Seeped in powerful vocal harmonies, "Let Go" is rare groove gold with smooth sax and a dynamic that keeps on surprising while "Will You Be There" is an end of night soul shakedown with a tenderness that's tangible in every element. Don't sleep on this... Or the album. One of AOTN's most exciting releases this year.

Review: Eddie Carmichael started Mirror having left his previous band The Voshays when he caught their manager stealing. He formed it with Derry Shepherd, Sandy Ficca, Duncan Bethel, bass player Dave Segal, Bob Groszer on keys and Flynn Emanuel to play trombone. They were regular performers on Miami Beach and recorded only a few tunes, but what tunes they were. It is said that had the band had a better manager they could have gone on to be one of the best of their era. Either way, at least we have these two dazzling disco and soul gems.

Review: As the title makes clear, this three-disc, unmixed collection has one simple aim: to soundtrack kitchen discos, living room dances and long car journeys with a jam-packed selection of disco hits and disco-tinged pop favourites. It does a good job at that, even if some of the selections tend towards the lesser-known end of the commercial disco spectrum, with all three discs showcasing such disco must-haves and part-starting sing-alongs as Dan Hartman's soaring 'Relight My Fire' (famously covered by Take That in the 90s), Diana Ross's 'I'm Coming Out', Chaka Khan's inspired 'Young Hearts Run Free', Grace Jones' punk-funk Roxy Music cover 'Love Is The Drug', McFadden & Whitehead's epic 'Ain't No Stopping Us Now' and Cheryl Lynn's peerless 'Got To Be Real'.