I discovered Helene Smith "Sings Sweet Soul" about 15 or 20 years ago. A regular customer of mine had asked me to keep my eyes out for a copy and I said, "I sure will," not knowing at the time just how rare the record was. I did track down audio, wanting to hear just why this record sold for $2500. Even beat up copies sold for almost $2000. It's been a favorite ever since, when I remember I have the files, like I did yesterday. A vinyl copy has never made it into my hands.
Helene Smith has been called "Miami's First Lady Of Soul," and the tracks she recorded for Clarence Reid's label Deep City Records are all pretty incredible. It may be sacrilige, but I like her version of "Pain In My Heart" more than I like Otis's version. (Though I like Irma Thomas' "Ruler Of My Heart" more than either.)
3 comments:
Helene sounds great. Thanks for the tip. I made a playlist of the 14 songs available on Qobuz (12 from “I Am Controlled By Your Love” and two from the compilations “Crate Diggers: Rare Soul & Funk Hems: North vs. South 1966-1980” and “Miami Soul: Soul Gems from Henry Stone Records). There’s a 2-song single from 2019 as well, “Let A New Day Begin” that is on Spotify.
- Paul in DK
I need to check her out! Great start to my morning. Thanks for noting Dave Mason's passing, too.
Very cool find. I too checked out Qobuz and the 2023 release “I Am Controlled By Your Love”, which replaces 3 songs (A Woman Will Do No Wrong, You Got To Be A Man, and Like A Baby) on Sings Sweet Soul with Pot Can't Talk About the Kettle, Pain In My Heart, and Gossip Don't Worry Me. Nine songs the same on both the 67 original and the 2023 release, which is available only on vinyl and streaming.
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