LET'S GET IT ON! It's the ~~~ 1970s SOUL ALBUMS POLL ~~~ NOMINATIONS AND CAMPAIGNING THREAD

One of my favourite albums on the list is Smokin' by Greg Perry. The last two songs are some of my favourite productions in music ever. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes the slicker side of 70s soul.

https://youtu.be/1ZtQivd797k

My favourite album on the entire list is Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta. I know she already has fans on here but if you don't know that record it's well worth hearing. Her voice is incredible and the songs every song is a winner. The second side is kind of like the soul Abbey Road, but without the filler.

https://youtu.be/t4Ug_-WYey8

Another gorgeous album on the list is 2nd Resurrection by Stairsteps. Again, the production is just so good. This song is as lush as soul music gets.

https://youtu.be/dZ-u_0-KiC8

Are soundtracks allowed?

Some Ohio Players
https://youtu.be/Y47G-Wa4qfs

Slave - Slide
https://youtu.be/y1tKTjRgJuE

Black Nasty - Talkin To The People
https://youtu.be/B1LV1OsD4cU

My fave piece of music from the 70s
Chairmen Of The Board - Life & Death
https://youtu.be/H0jDFLjJHdw

The best hit single/anthem that never was
Mandrill - Ape Is High
https://youtu.be/kr55GRDYpkg

Mutiny - Lump.
https://youtu.be/LuxIYhnapUs

Guaranteed to get your asses moving

~~~ Nominations updated ~~~

Paul Kelly's 1970 "509." I believe this was cut in Muscle Shoals.
https://youtu.be/zJDhfl3RpNU

xp We have exactly 1111 albums at the moment!

Howard Tate's "Little Volcano," from Reaction, not his best album, but this is a great track.
https://youtu.be/JpZ3bPZdtek

Awesome picks, everybody. My tip of the day:

Alice Clark - Charms of the Arms of Love

Cameo - Rigor Mortis
https://youtu.be/nQY1jCbrC2k

Maia and Ben live '81:
https://youtu.be/Sce1SSzuNzs

I don't care for the Meters' later albums because they lost the eccentricity that made the best of their Josie instrumentals so great, but this 1970 track is a master class in drumming and a great example of the interplay they had before someone convinced them they had to be a vocal group. Beefheart shoulda got Ziggy Modeliste to play with him.
"Rigor Mortis"
https://youtu.be/tgdKApyrtuA

Added a few more tracks to my list... I think I'm on 13 now. So want to ask some questions about 'Where Are We Going?', hopefully one of you is geeky enough to know the full story.... I've been in love with that song for the past years and adding it to the list I noticed a strange story. Here's the song:

Donald Byrd version: https://youtu.be/tTFFt8bimp4
Marvin Gaye version: https://youtu.be/56AgF4gSSZQ
Falcon Punch - Donald's Bird (nice remix of Donald Byrd's version): https://youtu.be/W7TCRdBE6Ns

So, this song was originally written by Marvin Gaye for his 'Let's Get It On' album in 1972 but the song was never released and got shelved like for 30 years. Donald Byrd loved it and released a version with some really smooth arrangements a year later. Question is: anyone knows the full story? Why was the song shelved when it could've been one of the best cuts in an already classic album. How come Donald Byrd got the song? Was he friends with Gaye? Just tell me anything you know about this song I love it.

Larry Mizell interview from 2006. I bet Motown had more than one set of producers trying to cut with Gaye, and perhaps Motown wasn't happy with the Mizells' results. I've never read anything about Donald Byrd and Gaye, and don't know if there's anything out there that goes into more detail on this. But there is a documentary in the works about What's Going On. The song was done after that album, not during the sessions--see below.

No, we made three cuts. It was three, right? Marvin only overdubbed only two of them with vocals. What happened was, Marvin was in a sophomore slump after What’s Going On. Berry Gordy thought it was too political, but when he put it out it influenced everybody, it just knocked everybody out. So Marvin had to come up with something else and he was tripping, he was in a creative slump. So Motown had meetings to bring in other producers to write tunes with Marvin, and Marvin’s perfectly capable of coming up with smash hits off the yin yang. But this time the procedure got started, Marvin agreeably went in and did the overdubs. And then we came to our senses; there were other politics happening, too, but the records got shelved. It ended up, this particular song and the other one, the one that got released on Marvin, "Where Are We Going," since we knew they weren’t coming out we cut those songs on Donald Byrd. If you notice on the Donald Byrd album the publishing is listed as Jobete, which is Motown’s publishing company. We were anticipating they would never come out but after Motown was sold to Universal "Where Are We Going" came out. Yeah, it was supposed to be the follow-up. After working at Motown we moved forward to start our own production company, Skyhigh Productions.

Thank you! Donald Byrd's version is amazing but it would be perfect with Gaye on vocals. Which I had the ability to mash em up.

Kitchen Person, have you heard Blue Magic? Possibly even lusher than the Stairsteps:

https://youtu.be/eamL5JBdcM8

ugh they lost me when they quoted fucik. hate fucik.

Kitchen Person, have you heard Blue Magic? Possibly even lusher than the Stairsteps:

― ArchCarrier

I have this song on a compilation but it's the only one I've heard by them. I'll check out the album before voting.

Two of their albums are on YouTube; I especially like this one from their self-titled:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv-2uus7Jhc

My favorite party radio stream just played 'The Groove Line', but this one is nice as well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQdUCCeHekM

OK guys, I'm cancelling the poll. I just heard the first two Stylistics albums for the first time, and I won't accept the fact that something else might finish above these two masterpieces.

So thanks and enjoy yourselves while I go and listen to 'Children of the Night' once again.

lol

Also, if you really did want to cancel, that reason is valid.

I assume everyone will have those two in their top 5. The Stylistics are out of this world.

'Children of the Night' is amazing! I personally can't stand the Stylistics for more than three songs at a time tho, I find that specific kind of falsetto grating. They're mighty fine albums I agree, I just prefer them in small doses.

Pff, you sound like my wife. She just turned off You Make Me Feel Brand New! :(

so everything in that RYM list is going to be a choice in the poll (plus additional nominations) or do we have to nominate from that RYM list?

anyways just want to plug those gil scott heron albus w/ brian jackson, those are incredible

Marcos: The constantly updated RYM list is the longlist to vote from. No need to nominate the nominations :)

The voting period will be one week only (October 7-14), rollout soon after that.

cool thnaks!

The only GSH I've heard yet is a few songs off Pieces of a Man, but I felt the opening track >>>> the rest. Do you have any particular favorites from those albums?

the Bottle
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
Lady Day and John Coltrane
Home is Where the Hatred Is
Did You Hear What They Said?

My favourite is the Midnight Band one - First Minute of A New Day. It doesn't look like it's listed as it goes. Can we add it please?

I'll do that tomorrow morning, off to bed now.

From South Africa to South Carolina is my favorite of the GSH-Brian Jackson albums

The only GSH I've heard yet is a few songs off Pieces of a Man, but I felt the opening track >>>> the rest. Do you have any particular favorites from those albums?

― ArchCarrier

You need this in your life:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpNUqNe0U5g

Also Outic recommendations are pretty much his best songs.

I made a thread about my favorite soul from this period btw: lush post-1970 soul music from motown / tamala / atlantic is the best shit ever

I don't think there's any controversy regarding Tim Maia as a soul artist is there? If you don't know his Racional series you should take a listen it's pretty good:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPEbJ2nk16g

James Brown - There It Is

7/10

I made a thread about my favorite soul from this period btw

Am I the only one to consider The Delfonics debut sort of epochal? It is schmaltzy at places but that only undercuts how beautiful the stuff that works is. It's like hearing something new and amazing come out of the most unlikely places. Thom Bell made sterile, over the top soul heavenly for the first time imo. The Stylistics albums are better but they are fully formed. I find the tension in La La Means I Love You fascinating. Hope I can get into the self titled more by the time voting starts. It never grabbed me as much.

*underlines not undercuts obviously

~~~ Nominations updated ~~~

Rose Banks - Rose

James Brown - There It Is

YES!!! What a great record.