Credits:

Various Artists

Description:

Gotta Get a Good Thing Goin documents the musical impact of postwar Caribbean and African immigration on Britain in the 60s and leaves ample room to accommodate selections by Black American expatriates. Its four discs celebrate Black artists whose music -- issued on labels ranging from independents Planetone, Blue Beat, and Island to the majors -- circulated first through domestic blues parties and mobile sound systems, extending to the annual Notting Hill Carnival (launched in 1959 as Caribbean Carnival, following a wave of racist attacks) and beyond. The deep-digging nature of the set is indicated by its title song. Among many tracks making a first appearance on CD, "Gotta Get a Good Thing Goin" is an upbeat piece of group harmony pop-soul by the short-lived Soul Brothers, featuring Trinidadian Tony Wilson (before he co-founded Hot Chocolate). Many other shades of R&B fill the anthologys first half. Horn-decked swinging soul is served up by U.K.-stationed U.S. Air Force veteran Geno Washington and the Ram Jam Band, an inspiration for Dexys Midnight Runners chart-topping "Geno." London-based South Carolinians the Flirtations deliver the girl group cult classic "Nothing But a Heartache," a belter. Caleb Quaye draws the link to Ghana with the wild freakbeat of "Baby Your Phrasing Is Bad." The grandest and most riveting song here is provided by the Chants, a Beatles-approved group from Liverpool. Their "A Man Without a Face" is a sorrowful ballad that reveals: "I go and see a movie show, the people move when I come near/But when Im standing on that stage, people shout and then they cheer." Incredibly, it was a B-side, and is among the tracks new to CD. Shifting focus, disc three focuses on Caribbean-derived styles such as calypso, ska, and rocksteady, offering apposite and largely underappreciated tunes from the likes of Laurel Aitken ("Scandal in Brixton Market"), "My Boy Lollipop" singer Millie (the Desmond Dekker-penned "My Love and I"), and Cab Kaye, Caleb Quayes calypsonian father ("Everything Is Go"). The last disc casts a wider net, spotlighting artists as dissimilar as pop powerhouse Shirley Bassey (another B-side, "Sunshine"), folk singer/autoharpist Dorris Henderson (beside John Renbourn on "Watch the Stars"), and pianist Winifred Atwell (with the aptly titled instrumental "Bossa Nova Boogie"). In addition to the trove of music, theres an image-rich booklet with an extensive essay from Soul Survivors magazine co-founder Fitzroy Facey and track-by-track annotation. ~ Andy Kellman

Tracklisting:

1.Gotta Get a Good Thing Goin' / The Soul Brothers
2.Nothing But a Heartache / The Flirtations
3.Serving a Sentence of Life / Carl Douglas
4.Springtime / Jimmy Thomas
5.This Heart of Mine / Jimmy James & the Vagabonds
6.Come on Home / Jackie Edwards
7.One Way Ticket / Chris Rayburn
8.Coming Home to You / Herbie Goins & the Night-Timers
9.Waterfall / Jimmy Cliff
10.I Can't Break the Habit / The Ferris Wheel
11.Michael / Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band
12.Don't You Pass Me By / Cleo Laine
13.Whose Little Girl Are You / Danny Williams
14.Picture Me Gone / Madeline Bell
15.Some Lovin' / Watson T. Browne & The Explosive
16.If You Knew / Ebony Keyes
17.Take It Easy / Sugar Simone
18.The Real Thing / Kim D.
19.Looky, Looky / Brothers Grimm
20.Ain't Love Good, Ain't Love Proud / Lucas & The Mike Cotton Sound
21.Ask the Lonely / Fantastics
22.Drowning in My Own Despair / Oliver Norman
23.Gonna Work out Fine / Owen Gray
24.Lookin' for Love / John L. Watson & The Hummelflugs
25.Movin' Away / Kenny Lynch
26.Let's Go Somewhere / Root & Jenny Jackson
27.What Love Brings / Kenny Bernard
28.Yes I Do / Ram John Holder
29.Turn Me On / Hoagy Benson