Having heard Robbie Vincent play a version of New Version Of Soul's “66 Mello” on his Jazz FM show recently, I thought it a good idea to dig out this fine, fine album for your attention. This soundtrack was released to accompany the late, great Robin Harris' Cartoon movie, BeBe's Kids in the Autumn of 1992. What was criminal about this – and like most quality releases – was it was criminally ignored or overlooked at the time. Richard Searling added a track on here for his Soul Boulevard compilation and I have noticed that a few cuts have found their way onto various bootlegs since. The CD is still available at a very reasonable price on Amazon and if you do not own a copy then what are you waiting for?! LOL. The album was not unlike the dear old beautiful game – a game of two halves. The first half was very much hard – if amusing – rap and not at all bad either, really. I recently gave King Tee's “I Got It Bad Y'all” a spin and it did raise a smile. The real gems, though are the soulful inclusions which were produced by an old favourite of mine, John Barnes and assisted by another old fave, Billy Griffin. The cream of soul certainly rose to the top on this album and the performances they give are nothing short of memorable. I already mention “66 Mello” which features as a racier and harder version but a crackin' dancefloor number with some soulful rap and typical of the stuff coming out on the day. I already alluded to Aretha Franklin's “Standing On The Rock Of Love” is a recent Soulchoonz review for the new Evelyn “Champagne” King album and it is here where you will find the original song, and boy does Aretha sound great on here! Joey Diggs' “You Love Keeps Working On Me” was an instant classic then, and is still a monster today, 16 years on. Brilliant dance floor material and cannot be beaten. The O'Jays also cannot be beaten, and their inclusion is the John Barnes produced ballad, “Can't Say Goodbye” which has plenty of harp and Philly guitar and a certain Billy Griffin on writing and backing vocals. My top choice, though, has to be Ronald Isley's KILLER track, “Deeper”. This really is 90s soul at it's very best. The slap bass and Soul II Soul type bassline combined with John Barnes' haunting backing music is simply outstanding. Add to this Phil Perry and Renée Digg's Marcus Miller-produced “All My Love” and you have no reason NOT to head to Amazon and snap up a bargain copy. The CD closed with a rollicking outing for the Emotions with “I Want To Thank You For Your Love” - and they sound fantastic too. With the music industry going into it's quiet period as it tends to do around this time of year, why not stock up on some old – yet timeless – classics? Once a soulchoon ALWAYS a soulchoon!
The Vibe Scribe
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