Serious soul collectors will be familiar with Chess/Cadet group The Soulful Strings. They were marshalled by uber 60s producer Richard Evans and were essentially a group of top Chicago session players like Phil Upchurch and Cleaveland Eaton. Amongst their most collectable singles is ‘Burning Spear’ – a mysterious, flute-led item with a haunting feel.
The tune has been covered many times most notably by the Salsoul Orchestra and now it resurfaces courtesy of the SURE FIRE SOUL ENSEMBLE.
That band is nine piece from San Diego with four Colemine albums under their belt. Their upcoming long player is a live set…. ‘Live at Panama 66’ and that’s the source of this new version of ‘Burning Spear’. It’s out now via All Town Sound.
