Formidable and unusual dig this week as this is a CD, found in my mother’s attic in Portugal during my last holiday. This is the very first Superfly production back in 2001 and only 5 of these were ever made I totally forgot about this one but a good friend of mine that was one of the lucky ones to get one actually reminded me about this CD a few months ago telling me she could have sold hundreds… No wonder as this is a wonderful selection of tunes that were very little known back then. If you like Soul music, then this is for you!
This dates back to a time when finding a good tune meant so much more and wasn’t just a matter of a couple of clicks. This was a time when one would have trouble sleeping before a good record fair. Most of these tunes were acquired during my time in London at the end of the 90s from amazing record dealers, paper lists and record fairs. Some tracks were really hot back then like Arnold Blair and Brief Encounter. The compilation was made with the help of now Martinique expatriate DJ Magic who used to rock the dancefloor here in Paris with the Modern Soul sound that’s so hype today. I was Soul Superman for this one Big thanks to Lars Larsson (you’re the best!), Des Toussaint of legendary DT Records fame (is he still around?), Gerald Jazzman Records, DJ Nick the Record, late Percy Prescod, Shin Takei (Face Records, Tokyo), Masao Maruyama (Disque Dessinee Tokyo), ‘Big Dave’ Fibonachi Scales, Tony Camden, Fwed Kistaa, and all those amazing mail order people : Black Knight records, Soul Explosion, etc… I used to tremble when i would get those lists. This also brings back memories of the old Champeret Record Fair here in Paris which carried a vibrating Soul scene with amazing record dealers at that time. Dédicace aux quelques anciens, inconditionnels de la Soul que je vois sur Facebook : Gear Raresoul, K-Melson K-Melson, Jack Lefrancois, Thierry Perez, Francine Faleu… La bonne Soul, c’est de la bombe!

To finish there are 2 CDs still in the attic called Brazilian Soul 1 & 2, I will publish those after my next trip to Portugal. Curious to check what’s on them but it should be good.

Various – Body and Soul
Superfly Records 2001

Track list :

1- Odyssey : 5 peace of mind
2- Whirlwind : don’t let him get the best of you
3- Beverley & Duane : glad i gotcha
4- The Brief Encounter : human
5- Barbara Hall : count on me
6- Arnold Blair : trying to get next to you
7- The Odds & Ends : let me try
8- Gloria Jay : know what you want
9- Starvue : body fusion
10- Esther Byrde : touch me, take me
11- Art Wilson : I know we can make it
12- Barbara Blake & The Uniques : superman
13- Bobby Reed : the time is right for love (take from the Soul Spectrum comp, because original $$$$$…)

Mixcloud, : https://soundcloud.com/paulo-superfly/various-body-and-soul