NORTHERN-ISH

Concept Nine: No Escape b/w When
From 7″ (Tangerine, 1960s/70s)

Picked this one up at the Groove Merchant a while back and was hoping to find more info on them. Cool Chris seemed to think they were out of the Bay Area or at the very least, California. That makes sense since Tangerine was a Ray Charles-owned label, presumably based in L.A. at the time. The record’s producer, Dave Braithwaite, also worked on other Charles-related productions, including at ABC (he also engineered Billy Brooks’s “Forty Days“!) which probably means he was also in L.A.

Anyways, what struck me about this was “No Escape,” which opens with an early ’70s funk groove but then flips back towards a straight up Motown/Northern beat and throughout the song, it switches between those two styles. “When” is more of a straightforward, mid-tempo Northern ballad; clap along.

The People’s Choice: Run to Me b/w You’re Mine
From 7″ (Veroneeca, 196?)

This was most likely a Chicago group and shouldn’t be confused with the Philly group, The People’s Choice, who released singles on Phil L.A. of Soul. Both sides were produced and arranged by personnel associated with Chicago’s Lovelite Records and this, to me, is a phenomenal A/B-side 7″ that stays under the radar (and is a cheapie to boot). Of the two side, “Run To Me” gets the nod for that gorgeous opening of rhythm guitar and piano, sliding in the the harmonized vocals of the group. The whole song is a crossover goodness but the chipper “You’re Mine” is a great, ore uptempo stomper as well.