Long overdue sampler of Charles Stepney's dazzling productions issued by Ace/BGP

The boffo 20-track Charles Stepney comp Eternal Journey – put together by Dean Rudland – has been in the works since 2017. 

Here's the scoop...

"Eternal Journey – The Arrangements And Productions Of Charles Stepney" a compilation we started work on back in 2017 will finally be released tomorrow (Friday, March 5). One not to miss, particularly for fans of Terry Callier, Rotary Connection, The Dells, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Ramsey Lewis, Phil Upchurch, Marlena Shaw and Buddy Guy!

Charles Stepney gained worldwide success as the producer for Earth Wind & Fire and Deniece Williams but the producer and arranger’s earlier work at Chess is now regarded as some of the most original ever laid to tape, and in the past 20 years has become a primary influence on scores of producers and arrangers, with his records being sought after by DJs and collectors. Despite a couple of attempts, his most important work has never been compiled on one volume until now. This compilation gathers up his most famous productions for the likes of Rotary Connection - and their singer Minnie Riperton, Ramsey Lewis, Terry Callier, Marlena Shaw and the Dells.

An influence on everyone from Masters At Work to Radiohead, Charles Stepney’s production for the Chess labels captured the spirit of the era by mixing soul, jazz, electronics, composed music and a touch of psychedelia, all arranged brilliantly and produced to an incredibly high standard. Shockingly there has never been a compilation dedicated to this area of his work, something that we are rectifying with “Eternal Journey.”

Stepney was a jobbing arranger when Marshall Chess recruited him to co-produce his new project Rotary Connection, which allowed him to realise his symphonic productions. With the success of their debut album, Stepney was recruited to work on many of the labels most important artists including Ramsey Lewis, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and The Dells. He also took on his own projects working with Phil Upchurch, Terry Callier and others.

Beautifully remastered and housed in a sleeve based on a 1960s Rotary Connection Billboard Magazine advert, this is 16 tracks of Chicago brilliance. Compilation producer Dean Rudland has told the story of Stepney's emergence through his most dazzling work and also their building blocks in the day to day arrangements from R&B and soul stars such as Little Milton and Buddy Guy. His in depth sleeve note includes interview with many of those who worked with Stepney including the author's conversations with both Terry Callier and Marshall Chess. 

Get a copy of "Eternal Journey" directly from Ace/BGP UK right here. Check out the tracklisting followed by a few audio clips below. 

Eternal Journey – The Arrangements and Productions of Charles Stepney

1. DEAR PRUDENCE - RAMSEY LEWIS

2. LES FLEUR - MINNIE RIPERTON

3. IT'S ALL UP TO YOU - THE DELLS

4. BY THE TIME I GET TO PHOENIX - BILLY STEWART

5. STAND UP AND BE COUNTED - MEDITATION SINGERS

6. LOVE HAS FALLEN ON ME - THE NEW ROTARY CONNECTION

7. WHAT COLOR IS LOVE - TERRY CALLIER

8. BROTHER WHERE ARE YOU - MARLENA SHAW

9. MORE AND MORE - LITTLE MILTON

10. ETERNAL JOURNEY - RAMSEY LEWIS

11. CALIFORNIA SOUL - MARLENA SHAW

12. CAN'T CATCH THE TRANE - TERRY CALLIER

13. THE LOVE WE HAD (STAYS ON MY MIND) - THE DELLS

14. TEACH ME HOW TO FLY - ROTARY CONNECTION

15. MORE AND MORE - PHIL UPCHURCH

16. I'M HIGH AGAIN - BO DIDDLEY

17. LET'S SPEND THE NIGHT TOGETHER - MUDDY WATERS

18. SMOKESTACK LIGHTNING (1969 version) - HOWLIN' WOLF

19. GIRL YOU LIT MY FIRE - JUNIOR WELLS

20. I'M GONNA KEEP IT TO MYSELF - BUDDY GUY

One For The Weekend: Hank Jacobs & Don Malone

Then new BGP comp The World Needs Changing gets it's name from a 1970 funk gem Hank Jacobs & Don Malone for Call Me. 

Various Artists – The World Needs Changing (BGP)

The world needs changing? Well, we’re pretty sure it already has, and one of those changes is that we’re not quite as likely to release a various artists compilation on BGP as we used to. In-depth looks at some of our favourite artists are more the order of the day. Fortunately for those of you who like multi-artist collections, we’re sending a couple your way in the next two months, starting off with this wonderful look at black American music from the late 60s to the mid-1970s – basically from the start of funk to the rise of disco.

The music within brings together a cross section of great sounds that would grace – and in many cases already have – any DJ’s record box. Take Little Eva, whose medley of ‘Get Ready / Uptight’ was championed by Eddie Piller at Snowboy’s Goodfoot Night at Madam Jo Jo’s and is now a clubland staple. Willard Posey’s medley was a big Keb Darge spin at the same venue a decade earlier, whilst Esther Marrow’s wondrous vocal version of ‘Walk Tall’ has for a long time been one of my DJ secret weapons.

Some of our tunes haven’t really made it onto club playlists as they are too rare or simply unreleased. Hank Jacobs and Don Malone provide our title track (listen below), for many years an unheard release on the Call Me label. Huck Daniels’ creations are rarer than hen’s teeth, while Tina Bryant and George Jackson give us two previously unreleased cuts recorded at Fame’s short-lived Memphis-based studio. Elaine Armstrong, with the forceful ‘That’s The Way It Goes’, and Melvin Sparks conclude the tunes you will never have heard before.

There is some great funky soul from Cesar 830, Gil Scott-Heron and Darrow Fletcher with ‘Now Is The Time For Love’, one of his most underrated numbers. Lonnie Liston Smith’s ‘Expansions’ is well-known, but how often do you get to hear the crisp and succinct 7-inch version? Lonnie’s label Flying Dutchman tried to repeat his success with others and one of the best attempts, Brenda Jones and Groove Holmes’ ‘This Is The Me Me (Not The You You)’, is included here.

We’ve also got some fantastic instrumentals – or almost instrumentals – from jazz saxophonist Harold Alexander, Joe Savage and the Soul People and Funk Brother Johnny Griffith. Alexander’s break-beat heavy ‘Mama Soul’ is an explosive groove topped by some vibrant flute playing. Producer Bob Thiele’s group Emergency open things up with the filmic ‘Head Start’.

I’d like to say it’s all housed in the best sleeve we’ve done for a while, but that would be to do a disservice to our other recent releases, so let’s just say that this is just as good. I think you’ll be glad to have a new BGP comp in your home. – Dean Rudland

Get the BGP comp The World Needs Changing: Street Funk & Jazz Grooves 1967-1976 right here here. Listen to the title track below. 

 

BGP celebrates 45 years of Ace with swingin' Yusef Lateef two-sider

BGP's 7-inch reissue of Yusef's "Love Theme From Spartacus" comes backed with "Brother John." Get it here.

One For The Weekend: The Prophet & His Disciples

Detroit Funk Vaults – Funk & Soul From Dave Hamilton 1968 to 1979

1. A DROP IN THE BUCKET - The Deacons
2. YOU FOOL YOU FOOL - Prophet & The Disciples
3. A THING CALLED THE JONES (ALT) - Chico & Buddy
4. NATIVE RHYTHM - Bolton Brothers
5. BAD THINGS (YOU SAID TO ME) - The Barrino Brothers
6. BRAND NEW GIRL (INST) - Billy Garner Band
7. CLAP YOUR HANDS - Tokays
8. (MARRIAGE IS ONLY) A STATE OF MIND - James Carpenter
9. GHETTO STRIDE - Dave Hamilton
10. POSSESSION - Little Ann
11. MISTER SUPERSTAR - Charmaine
12. WHO - Jackie Dee
13. LOVE BANDIT - O.C. Tolbert
14. SIMON SAYS - The Future Kind
15. LET'S HAVE A BALL - Chico and Buddy
16. HARD TIMES - O.C. Tolbert
17. YOU FOOL YOU FOOL (PT 2) - Prophet & The Disciples
18. PARTY TIME (INST) - Dave Hamilton
19. I'LL TAKE MY FLOWERS - Barrino Brothers
20. I'M SENDING VIBRATIONS - The Webb People
21. YOU WON'T MISS YOUR WATER - Chico and Buddy
22. WHAT'S GOING ON - Dave Hamilton

When Ace's Ady Croasdell released the first Kent Records compilation of Dave Hamilton's holdings in the late 90s it was thought the archive might throw up just two CDs but between the Kent and BGP labels we have found sufficient material for several more, including a whole CD featuring Dave’s own instrumentals. He wasn’t the most methodical of archivists and he recorded constantly, so as we’ve gone through the tapes more and more gems have been found, along with a ton of stuff that was very ordinary. Since we issued “Dave Hamilton’s Detroit Funk” I felt a need to revisit Dave’s funk archive and my research was worth the effort. Some of these recordings collected on “The Detroit Funk Vaults” are previously unreleased, others have turned up in various forms on Kent albums – sometimes in different takes – whilst others are incredibly rare funk records whose reissue is long overdue.

One example is ‘You Fool, You Fool’ by Prophet & The Disciples. A masterpiece of ghetto funk, it is a cautionary tale against drug addiction, it is so rare that we haven’t been able to turn up a copy in good enough condition to release it at an earlier date. (Note: Back in January, a VG- copy of the Pressco label single sold on eBay for an astonishing $510 US and on May 24, an EX copy went for $630 US which means two people won't be thrilled by the appearance of both sides of the pricey seven-inch on this relatively inexpensive new BGP comp. D'oh!)

At heart a jazz musician, Dave made great instrumental records and we’ve unearthed several more for this CD, including a new cut by The Deacons ‘A Drop In The Bucket’ and Dave’s own Quincy Jones-sounding ‘Ghetto Stride’, and we’ve included a wonderful version of ‘What’s Going On’. As promised in our earlier volume we have included Dave’s instrumental of ‘Party Time’ and the instrumental of Billy Garner’s ‘Brand New Girl’.

Of the unreleased masters the most exciting is probably the proto-funk frenzy of ‘Clap Your Hands’ which we are pretty sure is an unreleased cut by the Tokays. But we also have some compelling stuff from Chico & Buddy and the Future Kind whose ‘Simon Says’ sounds very influenced by Funkadelic. I’m also fond of the delicate – to the point of falling apart really – ‘Mister Superstar’ by Dave’s daughter Charmaine.

Overall another excellent overview of work from the Dave Hamilton archive. The last one? You’d think so, but as someone once told Sean Connery ‘Never say never’. By Dean Rudland