Ace’s KENT subsidiary imprint continues to celebrate its 40th anniversary with a plethora of vinyl releases to satisfy the most discerning of soul collectors.
Amongst the upcoming 7”s is a disc on the Houston Outlaws (who despite their name worked for Detroit’s Westbound label!). The record pairs ‘Ain’t No Telling’ with ‘It’s No Fun Being Alone’. Both are in demand; the former a pleasing dancer, the other a harmony ballad. Then there’s a 7” that spotlights the work of Charles Spurling, writer and producer at King Records in the 60s. The disc has Connie Austin’s ‘Ball Of Fire’ on the A side while Spurling himself takes vocals on the previously unissued ‘You’ve Goit Love On Top of Love’ which is on the Kent flip.
Sam Dees’ fans will be delighted to know that there’s also a 7” pairing two Dees-linked songs. The A side features Alpaca Phase III with ‘Paper Man’ – a recently discovered version of a Dees ballad. The B side sees Dees taking lead on his own ‘False Alarms’ which first appeared on a Kent 1995 CD, ‘Second To None’. Both these tracks come from Dee’s time at Moonsong / Clintone.
The big vinyl release though, is a box set (Kent’s first ever!) that offers seven 45s taken from the revered Loma back catalogue. Amongst the tunes are the Marvellos with ‘It’s Your Love That I Need’ (written by Willie Hutch), The Invincibles, another Los Angeles outfit, with ‘Heartstrings’ and the bonkers ‘Got A Thing Goin’’ and Ben Aiken’s ‘Satisfied’ – a proper, classic Northern Soul dancer.
Find out more about Ace/Kent’s vinyl treasure trove @ https://acerecords.co.uk/
